The Touching Ways The Royals Are Paying Tribute To The Queen With Their Jewellery

Princess Charlotte wore a horseshoe-shaped brooch.

Princess Charlotte Queen's funeral

by Natalie Hammond |
Updated on

As well as wearing black during the period of mourning, the royals are paying tribute to the late monarch through their choice of jewellery. At today's funeral, Princess Charlotte, who attended with her older brother Prince George, wore a black coat and beribboned hat. And in tribute to her great-grandmother, the princess pinned a silver horseshoe-shaped brooch on her left lapel - an homage to the late monarch's love of horses.

Princess Charlotte Queen's funeral
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Meghan Markle wore the same pair of earrings that she wore to the procession last Wednesday. The delicate pair of pearl and diamond stud earrings was a gift from the Queen - and she wore it for their first engagement together in 2018.

Meghan Markle Queen Elizabeth II's funeral
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Catherine, Princess of Wales wore a four-stranded pearl choker that belonged to the Queen, the Japanese Pearl Choker. If it looks familiar, it might be because she also wore it to the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh, along with a matching pair of pearl earrings, the Bahrain Pearl Drop Earrings. The necklace was gifted to the late monarch in the 1970s, from Japan, and has also been worn by Princess Diana.

Princess of Wales Queen Elizabeth II's funeral
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Last Thursday, Catherine visited the floral tributes outside Sandringham. She kept her jewellery subtle, in keeping with the sombre national mood, and wore a small pair of diamond and pearl earrings that belonged to the Queen.

Meghan Markle procession
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The Princess of Wales, was also seen wearing a diamond brooch on her left lapel from the backseat of a car that joined the cortège to Westminster Hall. The diamond and pearl leaf brooch belonged to the Queen - who had previously leant it to her granddaughter-in-law for a visit to Ypres. The Queen owned a significant number of brooches and, if she was wearing one, always pinned it to her left lapel, never right. At last Tuesday's visit to Northern Ireland, Camilla, Queen Consort, wore a four leaf clover brooch.

King Charles Camilla Queen Consort Northern Ireland
King Charles and Camilla, Queen Consort, in Northern Ireland ©Getty

The Queen was also famously diplomatic when it came to choosing the right brooch to deploy at the right moment. Her maple leaf brooch, for example, has been worn by herself, Catherine and Camilla on visits to Canada.

Also at last week's procession, Camilla wore one of her favourite sets of jewellery: a four-stranded pearl collar necklace and matching pearl earrings. She wore the same set last Monday, when she attended the vigil at St Giles' Cathedral.

Camilla, Queen Consort
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The Queen, of course, was very fond of pearls - and was often spotted in a three-stranded necklace, along with pearl and diamond earrings, when performing public duties. Camilla's choice of jewellery, therefore, could have been a subtle nod to her late mother-in-law. Catherine also chose pearls after the news broke. When the 'fab four' reunited to meet mourners outside Windsor Castle, she too wore one of her favourite pairs of pearl earrings: tear-shaped pearl drops from Annoushka, which she threaded onto diamond hoops by Kiki McDonough.

Kate Middleton pearl earrings
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According to The Mirror, pearls are now frequently worn during the period of mourning, a tradition that the royal family has upheld since the reign of Queen Victoria. As well as actual mourning jewellery - pieces that were often made out of black enamel and might even include a lock of hair belonging to the loved one who had passed away, according to the Museum of London - Queen Victoria also wore her 'widow's weeds' with pearl earrings and necklaces.

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