Historic Diamonds / Royal Stories
How Catherine, Princess of Wales Carries on a Royal Jewelry Legacy
By Hannah Militano, Published: September 12, 2025
From her years as the Duchess of Cambridge to her role as the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton has brought a modern sensibility to even the most historic royal diamond jewels.
Catherine, Princess of Wales wears her wedding earrings at a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace, in London, on May 20, 2025. (Getty Images)
Since her 2011 wedding to Prince William, Catherine, Princess of Wales, has enjoyed access to one of the world’s most dazzling collections of aristocratic diamond jewelry. This trove of tiaras, necklaces, earrings, and brooches has graced generations of royal women—from Queen Mary and the Queen Mother to Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret, Princess Anne, and Princess Diana.
Over the past 14 years, Kate Middleton has gained a reputation for breathing new life into the Crown Jewels, making the oldest and most historic royal jewels feel youthful and contemporary.
Meet the Author
- Hannah Militano covers diamond jewelry trends, the fashion industry, pop culture, and celebrity news.
- She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology.
- As a journalist, her work has been featured in publications such as Editorialist, Carine Roitfeld’s CR Fashion Book, L’Officiel USA, Grazia USA, Coveteur, and more.
Surprisingly, the Princess has only worn four different diamond tiaras, consistently returning to her trusted favorites throughout her years as Duchess of Cambridge and now Princess of Wales. Yet her array of royal jewels—from her iconic engagement ring to her beloved tiaras and earrings—feels nothing short of infinite.
Ahead, learn more about the legacy of Kate Middleton’s jewelry, a dazzling blend of tradition and modernity that continues to shape her enduring image as a style icon.
Princess Diana’s Sapphire and Diamond Engagement Ring
One of the most famous engagement rings in history, Princess Diana personally picked her sapphire and diamond cluster ring upon her engagement to King Charles III in 1981. Set with a 12-carat Ceylon sapphire, the Garrard jewel is surrounded by a sumptuous halo of 14 solitaire diamonds.
After Diana’s death, the ring was actually inherited by Prince Harry, who gave it to his older brother. Prince William proposed to Catherine, Princess of Wales, with his late mother’s engagement ring in October 2010 during a visit to Kenya. “I literally would not let it go,” the Prince said at the time. “Everywhere I went, I was keeping hold of it, because I knew this thing, if it disappeared, I’d be in a lot of trouble.” The couple went on to officially announce the engagement in November at St. James’s Palace in London.
The Cartier Halo Scroll Tiara on the Royal Wedding Day
Catherine, Princess of Wales, made a striking historical statement with her very first royal tiara. She wed Prince William on April 29, 2011, at Westminster Abbey, Middleton wearing a custom Alexander McQueen gown, completing her bridal ensemble with Queen Elizabeth’s Cartier Halo Scroll Tiara.
George VI originally commissioned Cartier to craft the refined Art Deco diamond and platinum topper for his wife, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the (future) Queen Mother, as a gift in 1936, just before he ascended the throne. She passed the heirloom down to her daughter, the soon-to-be Queen Elizabeth II, on her 18th birthday in 1944. Many believe the Halo Scroll Tiara to be the first in the monarch’s expansive tiara collection. Made with nearly 1,000 diamonds, the piece includes 739 brilliant-cut diamonds and 149 baton diamonds.
With its dainty and delicate design, the Cartier Halo is considered a strong “starter tiara,” best fit for younger members of the family due to its smaller stature — the perfect choice for Middleton’s wedding day. Queen Elizabeth frequently loaned the tiara to her younger sister, Princess Margaret, who wore it on several occasions, including at the 1953 coronation. In later years, the piece was also borrowed by the Queen’s daughter, Princess Anne, during her youth.
Robinson Pelham Diamond Earrings Designed for the Royal Wedding
Carole and Michael Middleton marked the occasion by commissioning a pair of bespoke diamond drop earrings. Designed by Robinson Pelham, the earrings feature pavé diamond oak leaves—symbolizing the trees of West Berkshire, where Catherine grew up—suspending delicate diamond acorns inspired by the Middleton family crest, granted shortly before the 2011 royal wedding.
In May, the Princess of Wales wore the sentimental danglers at a Buckingham Palace garden party she and William hosted.
Queen Mary’s Diamond Bar Bracelet
In 2016, Kate Middleton attended the East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices ‘A Taste of Norfolk’ Gala at Houghton Hall in a blush sequined Jenny Packham gown, styling Queen Mary’s diamond chain link choker as a bracelet, giving it a more modern feel.
Queen Mary was photographed wearing her Art Deco diamond bar choker, which was later converted into two bracelets. After Queen Mary’s death in 1953, the choker was not seen in public until 1975, when the Queen Mother wore it as a bracelet in a series of portraits for her 75th birthday, photographed by Norman Parkinson.
After the Queen Mother’s passing in 2002, the updated jewel was inherited by Queen Elizabeth II, who later loaned it to Catherine, Princess of Wales. She debuted the bracelet at a 2015 State Banquet in honor of Chinese President Xi Jinping and has continued to wear the piece at royal occasions ever since.
The Cambridge Lover’s Knot Tiara
Kate Middleton most recently wore her go-to tiara, the Lover’s Knot, at the State Banquet held this July at Windsor Castle, welcoming French President Emmanuel Macron and Mrs. Brigitte Macron—the first French State Visit in 17 years.
The Princess debuted the tiara at the Diplomatic Reception in 2015 and favored it for the next four consecutive years, later bringing it back into rotation for several State Banquets. Inspired by a Duchess of Cambridge from generations past, the diadem is a fitting choice for the Princess as a tribute to her first HRH title.
The tiara was commissioned by Queen Mary (Mary of Teck, Queen Elizabeth II’s paternal grandmother) in 1913 or 1914, crafted by the House of Garrard, the first official Crown Jeweler. Queen Mary requested the piece replicate that of a design owned by her maternal grandmother, Princess Augusta of Hesse, the Duchess of Cambridge. To create the Lover’s Knot, Queen Mary provided one of her existing tiaras, the Ladies of England Tiara, as well as other diamond and pearl pieces from her personal collection.
Consisting of 19 arches of brilliant- and rose-cut diamonds, the tiara is crowned with diamond ribbon “lover’s knot” motifs, each suspending a drop-shaped pearl. The original design also included 19 upright pearls set atop each arch, though these were later removed and replaced with individual round-cut diamonds.
The young monarch wore the Lover’s Knot frequently throughout the 1950s before favoring other pieces, such as the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara. In 1957, she had the jewel immortalized in an official portrait by British painter Leonard Boden for the Royal Military Academy.
After marrying Prince Charles in 1981, Princess Diana was given a treasure trove of royal jewels on permanent loan from the Queen, among them the Lover’s Knot Tiara as a wedding gift. Quickly becoming one of her signature pieces, Diana wore the tiara so often that it is now inseparable from her most iconic style moments, from the State Opening of Parliament to her glittering white beaded Catherine Walker “Elvis” gown in Hong Kong in 1989.
Princess Diana adored the Lover’s Knot so much that she was said to have endured discomfort for beauty—the tiara’s heavy, ornate design reportedly gave her persistent headaches. Kate Middleton, however, does not appear to have been deterred, as she has confidently and frequently chosen the piece for her own appearances.
After Charles and Diana divorced, the tiara was returned to the royal family and put into a safe at Buckingham Palace. According to People, the tiara had not been seen since Diana’s death in 1997 until Kate Middleton reintroduced it to the public in 2015.
Princess Diana’s Sapphire and Diamond Drop Earrings
Catherine, Princess of Wales often wears sapphire and natural diamond drop earrings that once belonged to Princess Diana. According to Royal Watcher, Diana’s sapphire and diamond drop earrings were fashioned from the strap of her Saudi sapphire watch. She first debuted the dazzling drops during a 1986 trip to Vienna, pairing them with her sapphire and pearl choker.
After Princess Diana passed away in 1997, the earrings were inherited by her sons and remained unseen in public for decades until Catherine, Princess of Wales, brought them out of the royal vaults. Since then, she has worn the earrings on multiple occasions, including the 2022 Trooping the Colour and her trip to Boston with her husband Prince William in November.
Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Edinburgh Wedding Bracelet
When Prince Philip sought to propose to Queen Elizabeth II, he got creative in sourcing the diamonds for her engagement ring. His mother, Princess Alice of Greece, generously offered her diamond and aquamarine tiara to provide the raw materials.
Alice’s uncle and aunt, Tsar Nicholas and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia, gave her the tiara as a wedding gift in 1903 when she married Andrew of Greece. Philip took the tiara to the prestigious Bond Street jeweler Philip Antrobus Ltd. to make Elizabeth II’s diamond engagement ring, and the remaining stones were used to create the Edinburgh Wedding Bracelet.
The Queen wore the bracelet on her wedding day in 1947 and continued to showcase it at royal engagements throughout her reign. Today, the historic heirloom has been spotted on the wrist of Catherine, Princess of Wales, who chose it for the 2017 BAFTA Awards, making it a meaningful addition to her royal jewelry collection.
Princess Diana’s Diamond and Pearl Earrings
As a royal patron of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Prince William regularly attends the BAFTA Awards with his elegant wife at his side. In 2019, Catherine, Princess of Wales, graced the red carpet in an angelic white asymmetrical Alexander McQueen gown, accentuated by dazzling earrings once cherished by Princess Diana.
The earrings showcase a circular crescent diamond design accented with dangling pearls, though the pearls themselves are detachable. Catherine, Princess of Wales, replaced the round South Sea pearls Diana once wore with elongated drops taken from another pair of Diana’s earrings. British jeweler and pearl specialist Claudia Bradby explained to People magazine, “These pearls look more elegant and more in proportion to the diamond element.”
Queen Mary’s Emerald and Diamond Choker
Catherine, Princess of Wales, attended the 2022 Earthshot Prize Awards in Boston, wearing one of Princess Diana’s most famous jewels. She paired her green off-the-shoulder gown with a pair of dainty diamond and emerald drop earrings and Queen Mary’s emerald and diamond choker.
The choker gained notoriety in 1985, when Diana got creative and styled the Art Deco jewel across her forehead at a ball in Melbourne during a royal tour of Australia with His Majesty King Charles III, then the Prince of Wales. The daring fashion statement caused a stir and made headlines around the world. Created by Garrard in 1921 with emeralds gifted to Queen Mary from the Ladies of India, the choker was inherited by Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 and later passed to Princess Diana as a wedding present.
Queen Elizabeth II’s Japanese Pearl and Diamond Necklace
Queen Elizabeth II commissioned Garrard to create a pearl and diamond choker necklace in 1980, a jewel both modern and timeless. The Queen provided the freshwater pearls from her collection, a gift from the Japanese government during a state visit in 1975. Said to be one of the Queen’s favorite pieces, the necklace features four strands of luminous pearls, united by a curved diamond pendant clasp.
She famously lent the necklace to Princess Diana for a banquet at Hampton Court Palace in 1983, where it attracted worldwide attention. Kate Middleton first borrowed the jewel in 2017 for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s 70th wedding anniversary. She later selected the necklace again for Prince Philip’s funeral in 2021, followed by Queen Elizabeth’s funeral the next year. Since then, the Princess of Wales has continued to wear the treasured heirloom on several significant occasions, underscoring its enduring symbolic power within the royal family.
