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Kate Middleton paid a subtle tribute to Princess Diana at the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday.
The Princess of Wales attended the Westminster Abbey crowning ceremony wearing an elegant Alexander McQueen embroidered gown with a special accessory taken from Diana's jewelry box.
The princess wore a pair of the late royal's statement diamond and pearl earrings which were first worn publicly in the early 1990s. After Diana's untimely death at the age of 36 in 1997, her expansive jewelry collection was inherited by her two sons, Princes William and Harry.
Since both princes married, their wives, Kate and Meghan Markle, have worn a number of items from the collection with Kate wearing the pieces of high status such as Diana's pearl and diamond jewels.
This is not the first time that Kate has worn the earrings which are of unknown provenance but were first spotted being worn by Diana in 1990 at the coronation banquet of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan.
The earrings were a favorite of Diana's and feature two stylized curves of diamonds with a pearl suspended from each. In her lifetime the earrings had attached two large south-sea pearls as pendants but when Kate first started wearing them in 2019 these were replaced with smaller diamond-topped pearl drops.
Diana used the earrings to accessorize many of her most famous outfits and continued wearing them after her divorce from Prince Charles in 1996. Later in that year, during a visit to Australia, the princess wore the jewels with a striking asymmetric blue evening dress designed by her friend, Gianni Versace.
Kate's wearing of her mother-in-law's earrings comes just days after the royal broke her usual public silence regarding the late princess.
During a visit to Wales on April 27, Kate was asked about her sapphire and diamond engagement ring which had been given to Diana by King Charles on their engagement in 1981.
"It's the same ring [as Diana's], and it's exactly the same size as when I tried it on, yeah," Kate told a well-wisher. "So it's very, very special. It's an honor to be able to carry on wearing it."
Expanding on her own relationship with her mother-in-law who died 14 years before her wedding to William, Kate said: "I never, sadly, got to meet her...Obviously now with the children—her grandchildren—her being a grandmother...she'd be brilliant. You know, we miss her every day and that's what's important."
For the coronation ceremony on Saturday, Kate's outfit was designed for her by the same fashion house - Alexander McQueen - who made her wedding dress.
According to Buckingham Palace, the royal's dress was made of ivory silk crepe and worn beneath her robes as a member of the Royal Victorian Order. Celebrity stylist and royal fashion expert, Miranda Holder, told Newsweek:
"All eyes were on Princess Kate as she made her much-anticipated entrance to the abbey wearing a full-length Alexander McQueen in ivory silk crepe, embellished with silver bullion embroidery by the highly skilled Royal school of needlework underneath her splendid red white and blue coronation robes.
"The final flourishes of her majestic look were her order of the garter and a stunning McQueen and Jess Collett silver headpiece in the shape of leaves - the perfect sparking compromise between a headpiece and full-on tiara."
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more