Wait, Kate Middleton Casually Unveiled Never-Before-Seen Jewelry With a Queen Elizabeth Connection
Kate Middleton has new earrings courtesy of the late Queen Elizabeth II’s personal jewelry collection. The Princess of Wales debuted pearl earrings in November 2023, which, per a report, had never been seen before publicly. The catch? The late monarch sported them as a different type of jewelry, a brooch.
Kate wore pearl earrings made from a brooch of Queen Elizabeth’s on Remembrance Day
On Nov. 12, 2023, Kate joined her fellow British royals to mark Remembrance Day in London, England. Held annually at The Cenotaph war memorial, Kate’s known to wear black, three red poppy pins, and pearls for the occasion.
This time was no different. The 41-year-old repeated an outfit consisting of a black ensemble as well as pearl and poppy accessories. Kate wore a black military-style coat from Catherine Walker along with a Philip Treacy hat.
However, her pearl earrings garnered some attention. According to Hello, the earrings were “from the same demi-parure of Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond and Pearl Leaf brooch.”
Per The Court Jeweller, Kate first wore the brooch during a July 2017 visit to Belgium. The following year, in November 2018, Kate wore it again. Except this time, poppy pins covered almost the entire brooch.
Previously, Queen Elizabeth’s “most notable outing” wearing the brooch happened in 1999 when she attended a concert in Seoul, South Korea.
Kate made an ‘important and powerful homage’ to Queen Elizabeth by wearing the brooch-turned-earrings
Speaking to The Mirror about Kate’s pearl earrings, body language expert Judi James told the outlet the mother of three looked to be “making a very important and powerful homage to the late queen.”
“The pearls don’t look like Kate’s usual personal style,” James said. (Kate often wears affordable pieces mixed with royal family baubles.) “But they are the ones worn by the late queen as a signature statement piece that is immediately associated with her,” the expert added.
“The combination of Kate and the late queen’s pearls make a very powerful message of continuity and combined forces,” James continued, noting how she stood at the “front of the royal party with her head held up and a very solemn facial expression.”
“Kate’s pose and the symbolic pearls here make her look like the late queen’s appointed her as future Queen and female head of the Firm,” she concluded.
Kate wore pearls as a nod to the queen at her 2022 funeral
Known to thoughtfully plan every detail of her outfits for public appearances, Queen Elizabeth’s funeral on Sept. 19, 2022, proved to be an important sartorial moment for Kate. She stepped out at Westminster Abbey for the televised service wearing pearls in the queen’s memory.
But not just any pearls. Kate donned a pair of pearl drop earrings given to the late queen as a wedding present in 1947. She also wore a four-row Japanese pearl choker with a diamond clasp made from cultured pearls gifted to the royal family by the Japanese government, which the queen — and Princess Diana — wore in the 1980s and ‘90s.
Showbiz Cheat Sheet acknowledges conditions and cultures can impact body language and is sensitive to all backgrounds.
