Princess Kate’s coronation jewellery pays tribute to Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth

Princess of Wales wore necklace and earrings passed down from Princess Diana and the late Queen Elizabeth II

While the Princess of Wales turned heads with the crystal headpiece she wore to the coronation of King Charles III, it was her crown jewels that stole the show.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla were crowned on Saturday 6 May at Westminster Abbey. The Princess of Wales arrived at the coronation wearing regal robes over an Alexander McQueen ivory dress, along with a crystal leaf embroidery headpiece designed by the British fashion house and milliner Jess Collett.

Princess Kate also carefully chose jewellery that honoured impactful women of the royal family, including her mother-in-law, the late Princess Diana, and the late Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away in September.

Kate Middleton’s layered diamond necklace was a touching tribute to the Queen. The glittering three-strand diamond necklace, known as the George VI Festoon Necklace, features 105 loose collet-set diamonds. The diamond necklace was first commissioned by King George VI for his eldest daughter and heir, then-Princess Elizabeth, in 1950.

It soon became a favourite of the late monarch’s, but just a few years later, she shortened the length of the necklace by removing ten of the diamonds. The Queen had been seen donning the George VI Festoon Necklace a number of times, from the State Opening of Parliament in 2012 to a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace in 2018.

Meanwhile, Princess Kate’s pearl-and-diamond drop earrings once belonged to her late mother-in-law. The Diamond and South Sea Pearl earrings came from Princess Diana’s jewellery collection. According to Woman and Home, Kate opted for a smaller pearl to drop from the earrings for a less dramatic look.

Queen Elizabeth II wears the George VI Festoon Necklace to the State Opening of Parliament on 9 May 2012 (Getty Images)

The earrings were worn by Princess Diana many times throughout the 1990s. The first known appearance of the large South Sea Pearl Earrings was at the Coronation Banquet of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan in November 1990. In 1991, the late Princess of Wales wore the earrings on a royal visit to Pakistan and at Royal Albert Hall.

She was also photographed with the South Sea Pearl Earrings at a black-tie fundraising gala in aid of the Cancer Research charity in 1995, as well as when she received the Humanitarian of the Year award from Henry Kissinger in New York later that year.

Princess Kate wears the South Sea Pearl Earrings from Princess Diana’s jewelry collection (Getty Images)

This isn’t the first time the Princess of Wales has donned jewellry passed down from her mother-in-law and Queen Elizabeth II. For the late monarch’s state funeral in September 2022, Princess Kate paid subtle tribute by wearing earrings that were gifted to her by the Queen.

The mother of three wore the Bahrain Pearl Drop earrings, which originated from the Queen’s personal jewelry collection. She’s frequently been pictured wearing the famed earrings, during the Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations last June and the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral in 2021.

The Prince and Princes of Wales attended the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla with their three children: Prince George, nine, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five. The mother-daughter duo wore matching crystal headpieces to the ceremony at Westminster Abbey, along with twinning ivory silk crepe dresses.

Follow along for live updates from the coronation.