The Duchess of Cambridge pays tribute to Princess Diana and the Queen with pearl necklace

The Duchess of Cambridge honoured both the Queen and Princess Diana by wearing a diamond and pearl necklace that Her Majesty once loaned to the late Princess at Prince Philip’s funeral at St George’s Chapel in Windsor on Saturday 17 April.

Kate is believed to have worn Her Majesty’s Japanese pearl choker with pearl drop earrings, selected from the monarch’s personal collection. The Duchess looked elegant in a black Roland Mouret dress and a black pillar box hat with a black net veil.

The necklace is said to have been a gift to the Queen from the Japanese government.

The Duchess previously wore the necklace for the Queen and Prince Philip’s 70th wedding anniversary celebrations at Windsor castle in 2017. Princess Diana wore the pearl choker for a dinner thrown by Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus of the Netherlands at Hampton Court Palace in 1982 – which was one of Diana’s first Royal engagements.

The 94-year-old monarch has worn the jewellery in the 1980s and 1990s, including at a banquet for former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s 70th birthday.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s ceremonial funeral began with an eight-minute-long procession, which featured Prince Philip’s coffin being carried from Windsor Castle to St George’s Chapel. Prince Charles and Princess Anne headed up the Royal Family at the front of the procession, followed by Prince Edward and Prince Andrew, and then the Duke of Cambridge, Peter Phillips and the Duke of Sussex.

Zara Tindall and Mike Tindall, Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, and Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank were also in attendance.