Millions across the world are tuning in to Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral today with some 2,000 guests in attendance at Westminster Abbey. Following tradition, mourners will be dressed in black in either morning suits and day dresses, with trouser suits permitted for women for the first time.
It is customary for royal ladies to be in black dresses and black tights with a traditional hat and lace veil in some form. But viewers are bound to spot that the grieving Queen Consort and Princess Kate, among others, will also don pearl earrings and pearl necklaces - just like they were for Her Majesty's lying in state procession.
Wearing pearls is regarded as a touching tribute to the late monarch, and is seen as appropriate in a time of mourning.
The Queen was rarely seen without her signature pearl necklace and had quite the collection of pearl jewellery, ranging from three strands to six.
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An unseen portrait of Her Majesty smiling with joy was released by Buckingham Palace last night on the eve of her funeral - and she is pictured wearing her favourite three-strand pearl necklace and matching pearl earrings.
But aside from being a favourite gemstone of the Queen's, they are often referred to as the official 'mourning jewellery' and the royal tradition dates back to Queen Victoria.
Following the death of her husband Prince Albert, the Queen famously commemorated him by wearing black for 40 years - only accessorising with either black or colourless jewellery, including pearls.
According to The Telegraph, the pearls were thought to represent tears, and she wore strands of them for the duration of her life.
Pearls have since been worn by royal ladies when attending funerals over the years.
Princess Diana was seen wearing a single strand of pearls at Gianni Versace's funeral in 1997.
Queen Elizabeth II also honoured the tradition at Princess Diana, Princess Margaret and King George VI's funerals.
At Prince Phi lip's funeral last year, both the Queen and Kate were seen wearing pearl jewellery.
As well as signifying grief, pearls are worn by royal ladies to represent modesty and decorum.
"Pearls are traditional for Queens going back one thousand years - there has never been a Queen who didn't wear pearls," Leslie Field, author of The Queen's Jewels, told People.
"They were rare, beautiful and lustrous and the more you wear them, the more lustrous they become."
Field added: "She wants to wear pearls every day as her mother and grandmother did before her.
"She wouldn't wear a diamond necklace to go to a charity lunch - it is simply traditional that a lady would wear pearls during the day."
The Queen's love of pearls began early on in her life and will continue to be passed down through generations of royal women to come.
You can buy Friday's historic Daily Mirror commemorating the death of the Queen here: mirror.co.uk/commemorative.
