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On Wednesday, Queen Elizabeth II was moved from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey to lie in state in a mile-long procession until her funeral on Monday morning. Mourners lined the route of the procession, reportedly stretching for nearly three miles along the River Thames. Members of the British royal family followed their late matriarch to the Abbey, including King Charles III, Camilla Bowles, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Prince William and Kate Middleton. During the Queen’s procession earlier this week, Kate Middleton paid a subtle tribute, wearing earrings that once belonged to her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana.
According to the Daily Mail, Middleton wore Diana’s pearl drop earrings for the occasion, which added some contrast to her all-black outfit. The outlet reports that the earrings were designed by Collingwood and were a gift before Diana’s 1981 wedding to current crown prince Charles III. The earrings feature a pearl drop shape suspended by a diamond cap and studded with three rows of round-cut stones studded with a large diamond stud. Diana wore these earrings often – in fact, they were her favorite accessory when she wore her infamous “revenge dress”, which she wore for her first public appearance after Charles’ infidelity became public.
For Middleton, this isn’t the first time she’s worn these earrings, but for this special moment, she paired them with a brooch that once belonged to the late Queen. The piece features three large pearls sitting on a trio of diamond-set leaf petals. Although it was not regularly seen on the Queen, she notably wore it on her 73rd birthday. Middleton was first spotted wearing it during a visit to Belgium in 2017.
Not only did Queen Elizabeth II wear a strand of pearls around her neck almost every day, but she always chose pearls for times of mourning or remembrance. Thus, regardless of which jewelry Middleton chose to wear this week, pearls alone were a nod to the queen.
