The Princess of Wales continued to nod to Queen Elizabeth's fondness for pearls with her choice of jewelry for the solemn occasion.
This morning, members of the royal family and 2,000 notable guests processed and gathered at London's Westminster Abbey for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, England's longest reigning monarch who passed away at the age of 96 on Thursday, September 8. For the last 12 days, the royal family has made various mourning appearances in honor of her majesty, including standing vigil for the late monarch this past weekend. While Catherine, the Princess of Wales, was not present at the vigil this past weekend stood by Queen Elizabeth's eight grandchildren, Kate Middleton has made numerous appearances in the last week, in which she has subtly paid tribute to the queen with her jewelry. Of course, the Princess of Wale's outfit today, modest and sombre, also paid tribute to Queen Elizebeth II as well.
Naturally, Kate appeared in a simple and elegant black black coat dress, which was complemented by a simple black hat fitted with a modest netted mourning veil. It has been speculated that mourning veils might not appear at the monarch's funeral, since they were not present at the Queen Mother's funerary services in 2002, and as such have not appeared at royal funerals since the funeral of King George VI. But of course, the tribute to her late grandmother-in-law, was not in her clothes or her hat, but in her choice of jewelry for the occasion: pearls.
The Princess of Wales wore the Japanese Pearl Choker necklace—which was much-loved by Queen Elizabeth—featuring four strings of pearls and a diamond clasp in the center, a piece that was gifted to Queen Elizabeth by Japan in the '70s. The late monarch notably wore the piece many times, including to Prime Minster Margaret Thatcher's 70th birthday in 1995. The striking pearl necklace has been loaned out to the Princess of Wales a few times in the past couple of years, and was also worn by the late Princess Diana on a state visit to the Netherlands in 1992. Middleton was also wearing a pair of drop pearl earrings.
Pearls, however, were not just a beloved style of Queen Elizabeth, but have also been customary for funeral appearances because they are subdued and devoid of color. The precious jewel came to be associated with mourning during the reign of Queen Victoria, who took to wearing pearls during her 40 year mourning period after the passing of her husband, Prince Albert.
In the past 10 days, Kate has also worn the Diamond and Pearl Leaf Brooch to the gun carriage procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey, and the late monarch's three-strand pearl necklace to a lunch with Commonwealth leaders. As was expected, the Duchess of Sussex has also picked discreet pearls to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth during this period of mourning as well.
Roxanne Adamiyatt is the senior editor at Town & Country, where she writes about lifestyle, fashion, travel, and beauty.
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