The Princess of Wales wore earrings believed to have been handed down by the Queen to view the monarch’s casket at Buckingham Palace.

Kate, 40, had an elegant, simple pearl and diamond set dangling from her lobes on Tuesday which she has previously worn on happier landmark occasions. The mum-of-three sported the gems the day she left hospital after giving birth to Prince Louis in 2018.

And she had them on while visiting the Netherlands in 2016, on her first overseas visit with her husband William, also 40.

Images comparing the Queen’s earrings and those Kate chose on Tuesday evening – when she joined senior royals for a private vigil around the monarch’s casket – show they seem to be Her Majesty’s old pair.

The Queen is renowned for handing down her treasures to other royals and spouses joining ‘The Firm’.

Kate also sported a pearl necklace on Tuesday in another apparent tribute to the Queen.

Royal watchers confirmed she donned the simple necklace in tribute to the late monarch, renowned for her lifelong love of pearls.

Arseiny Budrevich, founder of Budrevich Fine Jewellery Studio, told the Express royals – especially Queen Elizabeth – loved pearls because they ‘represent the aristocratic virtues of liberality, magnificence and generosity’, and symbolise ‘purity’ and ‘chastity’. 

He added: ‘Pearls have been associated with class, elegance and sophistication since the Ptolemaic dynasty in ancient Egypt, where the royal family wore pearls to show their status.

‘This tradition was then passed down through the holy Roman empire to the French monarchs who carried it into fashion in the middle ages, where it was subsequently dispersed through Europe.

‘This is when the British empire picked up the style.’

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Pearls are often worn by royals in mourning as part of a tradition dating back to Queen Victoria’s reign.

They were such a staunch favourite of the Queen’s she wore them following the death of her husband Prince Philip, who passed away last April weeks shy of his 100th birthday.

Kate’s pearl necklace choice follows Princess Anne’s suit.

The Queen’s daughter chose to wear a demure brooch with earrings said to cost around £3,000 in tribute to both of her late parents as she travelled yesterday evening with the Queen’s coffin from Edinburgh to London.

Anne has worn the Grima Pearl Earrings on countless occasions over the years, including a string of key life events.

A gift from her parents, Anne also wore the pair at Prince Philip’s funeral at Windsor Castle.

Zack Stone of jewellery experts Steven Stone has said: ‘Designed by Andrew Grima, Princess Anne’s Grima Pearl Earrings constitute gold, pearl, and diamonds in a modern leaf design.

‘Gifted to her by the Queen and Prince Philip in the late 1960s, the earrings are one of Princess Anne’s longest-serving pieces of jewellery and have huge sentimental value.

‘Worn frequently at public appearances, the Princess most notably wore them on her first royal tour as an adult, in Australia when she was with her mother at just 19 years old, to her wedding to Timothy Laurence in 1992 and to Prince Phillip’s funeral in 2021.

‘The retail price for a pair of earrings like Princess Anne’s would be at the top end of £3,000.’

Queen Elizabeth, who died peacefully at her Balmoral home on September 8 aged 96, will be buried wearing only two sentimental pieces of jewellery, a royal expert has claimed.

Lisa Levinson, head of communications at the Natural Diamond Council, told Metro.co.uk it is ‘unlikely’ the ‘humble’ British monarch will be adorned in heavy, lavish jewellery in her coffin.

She claimed Her Majesty will instead be laid to rest in her ‘simple’ Welsh gold wedding band and ‘pair of pearl earrings’. 

Ms Levinson added the royal’s engagement ring – embedded with diamonds taken from a tiara owned by the Queen’s late husband Prince Philip’s mother Alice of Battenberg – is likely to be handed down to her daughter Princess Anne.

Ms Levinson said: ‘Her Majesty is an incredibly humble woman at heart who is unlikely to be dressed in anything but her simple Welsh gold wedding band to rest and a pair of pearl earrings.’

She added most of the monarch’s life ‘has always been about the legacy of the royal family, in the UK and Commonwealth’ and that tradition of humility will continue into her burial.

The Queen’s private jewellery collection holds around 300 pieces, including 98 brooches, 34 pairs of earrings and 15 rings.

When not worn by the monarch, they were stored in the Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace. 

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The official Crown Jewels are held in the Tower of London, and the collection which dates to the 17th Century, consists of more than 23,000 diamonds, sapphires and rubies. 

Her favourite pieces included pearls, a diamond brooch valued at £40,000 and sapphires from the President of Brazil used at her coronation.

The Waleses last night joined the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and senior royals as they united in grief around the Queen’s English oak, lead-lined casket after it was brought from Edinburgh Airport to Buckingham Palace.

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