Kate Middleton pays tribute to the late Queen in her earrings as she arrives at Cenotaph with Prince William
KATE Middleton has honoured the late Queen Elizabeth today as she arrived with husband Prince William at the Cenotaph for Remembrance Sunday.
Today is the first time Kate, 42, has carried out official Royal engagements on consecutive days since last December.
Kate has paid homage to her late grandmother-in-law through her pearl earrings today.
She has worn a pair of earrings that belonged to the late monarch and were the Queen’s gemstone of choice: pearls.
Alongside a black coat, headpiece and three poppies, which she always wears on Remembrance Day, Kate finished off the look with the Queen‘s Bahrain Pearl Drop Earrings, which the Queen had previously loaned to her.
The Princess of Wales also wore these sentimental earrings to Queen Elizabeth’s funeral, in September 2022.
The earrings were a gift to the Queen for her wedding in 1947.
Kate, who continues to recover following her treatment for cancer, made a radiant return to duties at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance on Saturday evening.
Now, she attends the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, where the Prince of Wales and King Charles will lay wreaths.
Kate watched, as is tradition, from above on the nearby Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office balcony overlooking Whitehall with the Duchess of Edinburgh.
According to Bethan Holt, author of The Queen: 70 Years of Majestic Style: “Pearls are one of the very few jewellery items you can wear in mourning and are inextricably linked with Queen Elizabeth and her personal jewellery legacy.”
Bethan told PEOPLE: “It’s a symbol of mourning a monarch but also a grandmother or great-grandmother.”
The Queen has been a huge fan of pearls since she was a little girl, when her father, King George VI, gifted her a thin platinum chain to which he added two pearls on each birthday.
The tradition was started by Queen Victoria, who gave her daughters and granddaughters a pearl every year on their birthday so that when they reached the age of 18, they would have enough for a pearl necklace.
British jeweller Claudia Bradby, whose own pearl designs have been worn by everyone from Pippa Middleton to Helen Mirren, added: “Their power lies in the fact that they aren’t overwhelming.
“It’s a subtle and slightly restrained look and of course the connection to the Queen is incredibly strong.”
Claudia, who worked with Kate in her pre-royal days when she worked as a buyer at Jigsaw while dating William, added: “Since I first met Kate, she has worn pearls beautifully, and seems to have an ongoing love of pearls which has developed as her own style has too.
“It’s a very low-key luxury look and it tells a story — that’s the beautiful thing about jewellery.”
Also in attendance at the Remembrance Day service today are Keir Starmer and wife Victoria, as well as Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson.
William revealed Kate aims to step up her royal engagements in 2025.
He said: “I think hopefully Catherine will be doing a bit more next year, so, we’ll have some more trips maybe lined up.”
Last night, William, 42, affectionately put his arm around his wife as they emerged from their car outside the Royal Albert Hall.
The couple smiled and chatted warmly while taking their seats for the concert.
Kate, in a black dress and coat, wore Princess Diana’s pearl drop earrings with a diamond carrier, plus a matching necklace.
She was also seen in the earrings at the Cenotaph ceremony in 2022.
Diana had been gifted them by jewellers Collingwood for her 1981 wedding to Charles.