The new Princess of Wales, Kate, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, chose symbolic jewelery to dress up their mourning attire on Monday at Queen Elizabeth II’s grand funeral.
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Prince William’s wife wore a necklace of four rows of pearls with a diamond clasp, which belonged to Elizabeth II.
The necklace, created by the famous British jeweler Garrard, the first house to be named official jeweler of the Crown, was also seen in 1982 on the neck of Lady Diana – who also bore the title of Princess of Wales at the time – during a State visit of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands to London.
The choker was commissioned by the Queen from a set of pearls donated by the Japanese government after her first state visit to the country in 1975, according to royal jewelry specialist The Court Jeweller.
The Princess of Wales accompanied the jewel with diamond and Bahrain pearl earrings, also from the sovereign’s collection.
The earrings had been created from pearls received as a gift from Bahrain for the wedding of Elizabeth II and Philip Mountbatten in 1947. They had often been seen on the monarch in her first years of reign.
Kate wore the same jewelery set to the funeral of Prince Philip, who died last year.
More sober, Meghan opted for a simple pair of earrings, also in diamonds and pearls.
This jewel was given to her by the Queen in 2018 when she entered the royal family after her marriage to Prince Harry – and before the couple moved with a bang to California and left their official duties.
Pearls are also associated with mourning, a symbolism that dates back to the reign of Queen Victoria.
British designers were also in the spotlight at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral with great fanfare, with Kate donning a black wrap dress by Alexander McQueen and Meghan opting for a black cape dress by Stella McCartney.