Since marrying Prince William in 2011, Kate Middleton has become one of the most senior members of the royal family, taking on the title of Princess of Wales in September 2022, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Over the years, to highlight her seniority and her increased trust within the monarchy, Kate has been seen wearing some of the institution's most prized jewelry pieces, each with strong links to past queens, whose title she is one day set to inherit.
Among these jewels are a glittering—and important—array of heirloom necklaces, most of which were loaned from Queen Elizabeth's personal collection to her granddaughte-in-law, baring links not only to herself, but to Princess Diana, Queen Mary and Queen Alexandra.
Here, Newsweek looks at six of the royal family's important heirloom necklaces that have been loaned to the Princess of Wales.
Nizam of Hyderabad Necklace
In 1947, Queen Elizabeth II (at that time still a princess) married Lieutenant His Royal Highness Sir Philip Mountbatten formerly of Greece and Denmark in a wedding ceremony at Westminster Abbey.
The princess received an array of jewelry pieces as wedding presents, two of which came from the Nizam of Hyderabad, the ruler of an area of central India.
As a gift to the princess, the Nizam is reported to have given her free reign to choose items of jewelry from Cartier's London store. The pieces chosen were a diamond tiara and large diamond necklace.
The tiara was later broken up and remade but the necklace remains today in its original form and was named in the Nizam's honor.
Queen Elizabeth wore the necklace throughout her reign and is reported to be among the most valuable pieces of personal jewelry she owned.
In 2014, Kate wore the necklace for the first time—the only member of the royal family apart from the queen to be photographed doing so. She re-wore the piece again in 2019.
Queen Elizabeth II's Japanese Pearl Choker
Another necklace from Queen Elizabeth's own collection which has been worn by Kate is a four strand pearl choker necklace with modern central diamond element.
Queen Elizabeth reportedly had the necklace made using pearls that had been a gift during a visit to Japan and began wearing it in the 1980s.
The monarch loaned the piece to Princess Diana and Sophie, the Duchess of Edinbugh, the wife of her youngest son, Prince Edward.
In 2017 Kate wore the necklace publicly for the first time to attend the queen and Prince Philip's diamond wedding anniversary dinner. Since then she has worn it on multiple occasions, most poignantly to the funerals of both Elizabeth and Philip.
Queen Alexandra's Wedding Necklace
Among the most historic necklaces worn by Kate, is the large pearl and diamond jewel which was first given as a wedding present from Queen Victoria's eldest son, Prince Albert Edward (later King Edward VII) to Princess Alexandra of Denmark (later Queen Alexandra) in 1863.
The necklace formed part of a full suite of jewelry but has been the most regularly worn element since the wedding.
The necklace was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, who is believed to have left it to her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, following her death in 2002.
Elizabeth never wore the necklace in public and it resurfaced 16 years after the Queen Mother's death around the neck of Kate for the state banquet held in honor of the King and Queen of the Netherlands.
Queen Mary's Art Deco Emerald Choker
A number of Kate's most important jewelry pieces were previously worn by her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana.
In 2022, Kate attended the Earthshot Prize awards ceremony in Boston wearing a diamond and emerald choker necklace that had not been seen worn since Diana's death in 1997.
The necklace was created in 1921 in the popular Art Deco style for Queen Mary, the consort of King George V and grandmother to Queen Elizabeth II.
Elizabeth gave the necklace to Diana as a wedding present and the princess wore it traditionally around the throat and also as a bandeau tiara across the forehead.
Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Festoon Necklace
For the coronation of King Charles III, royal jewelry watchers were saved from the disappointment of it being declared a tiara-free event by the resurfacing of an important diamond necklace owned by the late Queen Elizabeth.
The festooned necklace was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth's and was given to her by her father shortly before his death in 1952.
The coronation marked the first time that Kate was photographed wearing the important jewel, which is believed to have been loaned to her by King Charles III for the occasion.
Queen Elizabeth II's Three Strand Pearl Necklace
Though Queen Elizabeth owned necklaces with nearly every combination of precious stones, she is perhaps most closely associated with simple rows of pearls.
The exact number of pearl necklaces owned by the queen is unknown; however, at least one of the monarch's graduated three strand sets have been worn by Kate in the months since her death.
Most recently, Kate wore the necklace to the Festival Remembrance ceremony in London which echoed the late queen's wearing a very similar strand to the same event just four years earlier.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
