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Queen Elizabeth II has become synonymous with some key pieces of her jewelry collection. Whether it be her glittering Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara worn on coins and postage stamps, or the double strand necklaces made of pearls belonging to Queen Anne, Elizabeth II's jewelry collection has no rival.
There is one jewel in the Queen's regular rotation that is often overlooked but provides a fascinating insight into her working wardrobe and, importantly, her relationships with her granddaughters-in-law Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton. These are the diamond and pearl earrings to which the Queen is sentimentally attached.
The Queen owns and regularly wears at least two pairs of earrings, which comprise a single pearl surmounted by a diamond stud. One pair is significantly larger than the other and the Queen can be seen wearing them at the majority of her daytime engagements over the last 70 years.
Both pairs of earrings were either given to the Queen by her grandmother, Queen Mary. Mary was passionate about jewels and their status and amassed an enormous collection which were inherited by her granddaughter when she died in 1953.
The smaller pair of earrings has been identified by the Royal Collection Trust, Elizabeth II's art collection, as the "Ladies of Devonshire Earrings." They were a gift presented to Queen Mary on her wedding day by a group of women from the English county of Devon. The larger pair are known as "Queen Mary's Button Earrings."
The Queen has incorporated the understated but hugely valuable earrings into her everyday wardrobe and their chic unobtrusive nature means they pair with any outfit or occasion.
The Queen's preference for this style of earring has become well-known and so it is a touching familial gesture for her to gift or loan the female members of the royal family earrings in the same style for important occasions.
In 2018, Meghan Markle undertook her first engagement as a member of the royal family without Prince Harry, accompanying the Queen on a visit to Cheshire. On the day the Queen wore her famous pearl earrings. Meghan, to the delight of royal watchers, wore a pair of pearl and diamond earrings matching the Queen's—only with a much smaller pearl.
In her 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan described to the host how the Queen made her feel welcomed on their engagement together: "We [had] breakfast together that morning and she gave me a beautiful gift and I just really loved being in her company, and I remember we were in the car and she gave me some beautiful pearl earrings and a matching necklace, and we were in the car going between engagements, And she has a blanket that sits across her, her knees, for warmth and it was chilly and she was like, 'Meghan, come on,' and put it over my knees as well. And it made me think of my grandmother, where she's always been warm and inviting and really welcoming."
The touching gesture that the Queen made in presenting Meghan with a pair of earrings matching her own favored style was not lost on the duchess, who wore them on subsequent royal occasions.
Kate Middleton has also been given the special honor of a pair of diamond and pearl earrings from the Queen. This pair was first noted as being worn by the Queen in her silver jubilee year of 1977. Kate has worn them numerous times throughout her married life but most touchingly she seems to wear them on important occasions associated with the monarch.
On a visit to a Royal Air Force training facility on the Queen's 95th birthday, Kate was seen wearing the earrings, which are said to have been given to her as a long-term loan. Kate has shown her sentimental attachment to heritage pieces many times over the past ten years with her appreciation of Princess Diana's jewelry on constant display through her engagement ring.
Kate is often loaned important jewels by the Queen to wear at state occasions. For the state banquet during the visit of the King and Queen of the Netherlands, the Queen loaned Kate the diamond and pearl tiara purchased by Queen Mary and made famous by Diana, together with a very valuable pearl and diamond necklace given as a gift to Queen Alexandra by Edward VII as an engagement present.
Pearls are some of the Queen's favorite jewels. Speaking in a BBC documentary about her coronation and the Imperial State Crown, the monarch described how "pearls like to be living creatures." Not known for being demonstratively affectionate, it is through the subtle loans and gifts of copies of her most sentimental jewels that Elizabeth II's approval of her granddaughters-in-law is most apparent.
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