On Saturday afternoon, Kate Middleton honored the late Queen Elizabeth by wearing considered one of her favorite jewelry pieces to a lunch reception at Buckingham Palace. The newly named Princess of Wales was photographed wearing the Queen’s famous three-strand pearl necklace. The piece was considered one of her favorites and he or she wore it almost day by day.
A royal source confirmed with Entertainment Tonight that it was indeed the identical necklace and that Kate was wearing it with a pair of pearl and diamond earrings and a pearl bracelet that also belonged to Elizabeth.
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The luncheon was attended by King Charles III, Camilla, Queen Consort and Prince William as well, and was held to host the governors-general of the Commonwealth nations. They’ve arrived in anticipation of the queen’s state funeral which shall be happening on Monday September 19. Other heads of state from around the globe are expected to attend, including Emmanuel Macron, Justin Trudeau, and Joe Biden.
The Queen had an in depth jewelry collection on the time of her death, though the crown jewels technically belong to the state. Her private collection will likely be divided amongst her family, though royal expert Katie Nicholl told ET that first alternative would traditionally go to the Queen Consort, Camilla. But it surely looks like either Camilla passed on the pearls or they were intended for Kate all along.
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“There may be a hierarchy in all of this,” Nicholl said. “The Queen Consort, really, gets first alternative of the queen’s jewelry. And after that’s Princess of Wales, after all, Kate [Middleton]. The Duchess of Sussex, I’m sure, will are available for some jewelry in some unspecified time in the future, but she is far further down the pecking order.”
It’s unknown how much the Queen’s private collection is price as those pieces haven’t been publicly accounted for and appraised. Queen Elizabeth also received lots of her jewels as gifts throughout her life, attaching each historical and nostalgic value to them. Nicholl says that essentially makes the gathering “priceless.”
Before her grandmother-in-law’s death, Kate had been seen wearing her jewelry, including a pair of diamond and sapphire earrings at a gala dinner on the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 2015. Clearly, Elizabeth enjoyed seeing Kate in her jewels.
Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, shall be released by Dial Press in February 2022.
