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While attending Queen Elizabeth II‘s funeral, Princess Kate paid tribute to the late monarch. The Princess of Wales selected a style that was the epitome of subtlety and accessorized with jewelry that expressed many different words through its symbolism. It was perceptive, courteous, and clearly not about her.
The Princess of Wales arrived for the royal burial service today with her two oldest children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, all dressed elegantly in mourning attire. Kate wore a black coat dress, matching stockings, pointed-toe heels, and a hat with a bow and a netted veil in the front.
She accessorized with sentimental, traditional jewelry, such as three-strand Japanese pearl choker necklace with a diamond center that was originally owned by Queen Elizabeth II and pearl drop earrings.
The jewelry she wore—chosen for its reverence during a ceremony at Westminster Abbey seen by millions—was where the true message was expressed. Over the course of her mourning period, Kate has paid tribute to the late monarch several times. Kate wore a gorgeous diamond and pearl brooch with three leaves on it that previously belonged to Queen Elizabeth II for the procession of the queen’s coffin. Additionally, this past weekend, she wore the late queen’s renowned three-strand pearl necklace while having lunch at Buckingham Palace.
Once more, Kate nodded to the late king while wearing pearls, the colorless gemstone that royals typically wear during times of sorrow because to its understated, unpretentious elegance. She choose the Queen of Bahrain’s pearl drop earrings, which were made from a collection of seven pearls that Princess Elizabeth, as she was then known, had received from Hakim of Bahrain on her wedding day in 1947.
Kate previously wore a four-strand pearl and diamond choker to the Queen and Prince Philip’s diamond wedding anniversary in 2017 and the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral in April 2021. The choker made more history when the Queen commissioned Garrard to make the unique clasped charm using pearls that were given to her by the Japanese government in the 1970s. When Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands was honored at a banquet at Hampton Court Palace in 1982, she loaned Princess Diana the dress to wear.
Kate has worn pearl and diamond earrings that belonged to Princess Diana in the past, a pearl necklace from the Queen’s jewelry collection, and Her Majesty’s Diamond and Pearl Leaf Brooch so far this week. This eye-catching accessory has three large pearls at its center and is set in a diamond pavé leaf. Each token, unique in design but with a common purpose, has been a fitting way for Kate to honor her grandmother-in-law and Britain’s longest-reigning monarch as the Princess readies for a new chapter in her own life.
She and her children watched the service today at Westminster Abbey in London while standing next to Duchess Meghan.
As a mark of respect for his grandmother, Prince William wore his uniform from the military. After joining Prince Harry and King Charles III in going behind the queen’s coffin, Prince William stood by them.
The queen’s living relatives, foreign royals, and international leaders all attended the funeral service, which started at 11 a.m. U.K. time.
The late monarch will be laid at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle after the funeral, the same location where her late husband, Prince Philip, who she had been married to for more than 70 years, was laid to rest last year.
