Though Queen Elizabeth passed away on September 8, 2022—and there has already been a Remembrance Day since her death—grief never fully goes away, and the Princess of Wales continues to subtly honor her grandmother-in-law through her choice of jewelry. (Kate also honors her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana, in the same way.) At a Remembrance event yesterday, Kate paid homage to Her late Majesty and wore a triple-strand pearl necklace that appeared to be from the late Queen’s jewelry collection. She paired the piece with a black dress and a traditional red poppy pin (worn in honor of those who have died in war) while at Royal Albert Hall in London for the Festival of Remembrance.
Us Weekly reports that “Pearls were a favorite of Elizabeth’s, who received a triple strand from her father, King George VI, for his Coronation. The late king also gave Elizabeth a pearl every year for her birthday so that she had an elegant necklace by the time she turned 18.”
The necklace Kate chose for yesterday’s event appears to be the same one she wore at a lunch with Commonwealth leaders at Buckingham Palace two days before Her late Majesty’s state funeral in September 2022, the outlet reports.
Pearls are traditionally considered mourning jewelry, which was appropriate both for the mourning period surrounding the late Queen’s death in September 2022 and yesterday’s Festival of Remembrance. The Festival of Remembrance is an annual commemorative concert dedicated to all those who have lost their lives in conflict, Us Weekly reports, and Remembrance Day honors those who died while in the armed forces.
In addition to the pearl necklace, Kate also wore Her late Majesty’s diamond and pearl earrings, People reports. Last year at the Festival of Remembrance, Kate also wore Queen Elizabeth’s jewelry, though different pieces: she wore Bahrain pearl drop earrings and a four-strand pearl choker with a diamond in the center, which she had worn to the late Queen’s state funeral and committal service two months prior. She also wore the same choker and earrings combination for the funeral of Prince Philip in 2021.
“Pearls are one of the very few jewelry items you can wear in mourning and are inextricably linked with Queen Elizabeth and her personal jewelry legacy,” said Bethan Holt, author of The Queen: 70 Years of Majestic Style. “It’s a symbol of mourning a monarch but also a grandmother or great-grandmother.”
It was Queen Victoria who began the tradition of wearing pearls in mourning, one she established after the death of her husband, Prince Albert, in 1861. After his death, “she wore black until the day she died,” People reports. “Queen Victoria accessorized with colorless jewelry, often pearls, which she loved and thought more appropriately discreet and respectful than sapphires, rubies, or other colored gemstones.”
Today, on Remembrance Sunday, Kate stood on the balcony of the Foreign Office overlooking the Cenotaph, where wreaths were laid by King Charles and Prince William. For the occasion, Kate simultaneously wore a re-wear (one of her black military style coats from Catherine Walker and a Philip Treacy hat) with never-been-seen-before earrings. Hello reports that the earrings were “from the same demi-parure of Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond and Pearl Leaf brooch,” the outlet writes. “It’s never been seen in public before and was a touching tribute to the late monarch.”
Body language expert Judi James said, per The Mirror, that Kate appeared to be “making a very important and powerful homage to the late Queen.” She added, “The pearls don’t look like Kate’s usual personal style, but they are the ones worn by the late Queen as a signature statement piece that is immediately associated with her.” James also said that Kate was “sweetly bashful” with William, with “the intense puckering around his mouth forming a suppressed and rather boyish smile, while Kate is almost hiding behind her newly layered hair.”
The message with Kate’s accessories went far deeper than just pieces of jewelry: “The combination of Kate and the late Queen’s pearls make a very powerful message of continuity and combined forces here as she stands to the front of the royal party with her head held up and a very solemn facial expression, while William clasps his hands in front of his torso and tilts his head in an expression of silent sympathy and regret,” James said. “Kate’s pose and the symbolic pearls here make her look like the late Queen’s appointed her as future Queen and female head of the Firm.”
A source speaking to Us Weekly said that, while Kate continues to mourn the loss of the late Queen, she “wants people to see her as a strong leader, someone who’s capable of taking the title of Queen into a new generation.”
