Having attended countless royal ‘dos since her wedding to Prince William in 2011, the Duchess of Cambridge’s attendance at the service for Prince Philip was her first royal funeral, and she made sure to tribute several members of the royal family for the event.
The event, which took place at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor on April 17, was a particularly sad one for Kate, given her closeness with the late Prince. In fact, the pair knew each other for over a decade, and apparently shared a rather close bond, according to Prince William.
“I will always be grateful that my wife had so many years to get to know my grandfather and for the kindness he showed her,” the Duke of Cambridge noted in a personal tribute to his grandfather on April 12. “I will never take for granted the special memories my children will always have of their great-grandpa coming to collect them in his carriage and seeing for themselves his infectious sense of adventure as well as his mischievous sense of humour!”
Attending the service alone, Kate Middleton wore a fitted Roland Mouret black coat dress, along with a black fascinator hat with a veil. But it was an item around her neck that all eyes were on. Paying tribute to her late mother-in-law, she paired her outfit with a four-strand pearl necklace from Her Majesty’s personal collection that was once loaned to Princess Diana.
Made from cultured pearls gifted to Elizabeth by the Japanese government and designed by Garrard according to The Court Jeweller, Her Majesty has worn the four-row pearl choker on a variety of high-profile occasions, including a state visit to Bangladesh in 1983 and Margaret Thatcher’s 70th birthday party in 1995.
Most famously, Queen Elizabeth loaned the necklace to a young Princess Diana, whose personal style apparently inspired the necklace’s design. Worn just a year after her marriage to Prince Charles, Diana opted to sport the stunning jewels when meeting Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands at Hampton Court Palace in 1982, along with Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara.
As per Harper’s BAZAAR U.S., this wasn’t the first time that Kate had worn the heirloom, having sported the choker at Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s 70th wedding anniversary in 2017.
To match the necklace, Kate wore dangling pearl earrings, which also paid a subtle tribute to her husband’s grandparents’ love story as they were a wedding gift to the Queen from Hakim of Bahrain in 1947, as per The Court Jeweller.
However, the choker is hardly Kate’s first nod to Princess Diana through her jewellery. In fact, Kate inherited several of the late Princess of Wales’ pieces, including the Cambridge Lover’s Knot Tiara, which was loaned to Diana from the Queen’s collection and was a favourite of hers. The Duchess of Cambridge wore the tiara in 2015, marking the first time that it had been worse since Diana’s tragic passing.
And of course, her engagement ring is the most significant of Diana’s jewellery that now belongs to Kate. Fans of The Crown may have noticed that in its fourth season it delved into the history of the famous sapphire ring, however embellished it may be.
For the funeral, Kate rode alone to St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, as Prince William had to walk in the procession. However, she did accompany her husband and brother-in-law, Prince Harry, after the service as they left the church.
“My grandfather was an extraordinary man and part of an extraordinary generation,” Prince William wrote of his grandfather last week. “Catherine and I will continue to do what he would have wanted and will support The Queen in the years ahead. I will miss my Grandpa, but I know he would want us to get on with the job.”
