Queen Elizabeth II displays her approval of the work of various members of the royal family in subtle ways. One of these ways is speculated to be shown through loans of jewelry that the queen makes from her own personal—and extensive—vault to the female members of her family.
Over the last decade the queen has loaned many important pieces of jewelry to Kate Middleton. The monarch's granddaughter-in-law has become on of the largest benefactors of the queen's jewelry generosity for both public and private events. From tiaras to earrings, necklaces, rings and brooches, Kate has been the custodian (if only for an evening) of some of the most precious and potent symbols of the monarchy.
The queen owns one of the largest private jewelry collections in the world, not inclusive of the crown jewels which she technically holds in trust.". The main beneficiaries of loans throughout the queen's reign have been her only sister, Princess Margaret, her daughters-in-law, Princess Diana and Sophie, Countess of Wessex and finally, Kate.
Here, Newsweek explores some of the most glittering and significant loans that the queen has made to Kate throughout her marriage from sentimental pieces to important regal heirlooms.
Queen Alexandra Pearl Necklace
One of the oldest and most important pieces of jewelry that the queen has loaned to Kate dates to the year 1863 and was given by Elizabeth II's great-grandfather King Edward VII (when Prince of Wales) to his future wife the Princess Alexandra of Denmark.
The necklace is made up of diamonds and large pearls arranged in graceful swags with perfectly matched pearl drops. The necklace was given to Alexandra with a tiara, earrings and a matching brooch.
Queen Alexandra wore the necklace throughout her married life and when she died in 1925 it found its way into the collection of her daughter-in-law Queen Mary (Elizabeth II's grandmother).
Mary was never photographed wearing the necklace and she loaned it to her daughter-in-law Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother who started wearing it in the 1930s. The necklace was considered one of the Queen Mother's most important pieces because of its size and its historical significance. When she died in 2002 the Queen Mother's jewels were inherited by her daughter, Elizabeth II who has never worn the piece publicly. Instead it remained unseen until it appeared around the neck of the Duchess of Cambridge in 2018.
Kate was loaned the necklace for the state banquet at Buckingham Palace in honor of the king and queen of the Netherlands. She paired it with Queen Mary's diamond lover's knot tiara and earrings that had belonged to Princess Diana. Pearls and sapphires have become the jewels most notably connected with Kate and this is due to her wearing many of the pieces formerly belonging to Diana.
Four-Strand Pearl Necklace and Bahrain Pearl Earrings
For the funeral of Prince Philip in April 2021 Kate wore two precious jewels which were loaned from the queen's private collection with links to the prince.
With her elegant black Catherine Walker & Co. coat dress, Kate wore a four-strand pearl necklace with a diamond-central element which reportedly has its origins in a gift of pearls from the Japanese government following a visit paid by the queen and Philip in the 1970s.
Kate was loaned the necklace to wear to the 70th wedding anniversary dinner for the queen and Philip at Windsor Castle in 2017.
To the funeral Kate also wore a pair of delicate diamond and pearl earrings owned by the queen. These were reportedly made from pearls given as a wedding present to the queen from the ruler of Bahrain in 1947.
Queen Mary's Diamond and Pearl Lover's Knot Tiara
One of Kate's most glittering jewelry loans has close ties to the queen but also to her late mother-in-law Princess Diana.
Queen Mary's diamond and pearl lover's knot tiara dates from the 1900s and was made by Elizabeth II's grandmother to imitate a tiara owned by her own grandmother, Princess Augusta the Duchess of Cambridge.
Mary had a keen eye for jewels and when she died in 1953, her lover's knot tiara was inherited by the queen who wore it in the early years of her reign. In 1981, the monarch gave the tiara on long-term loan to Princess Diana as a wedding gift.
After her divorce in 1996 Diana returned the tiara to the queen and it wasn't seen again until 2015 when Kate wore it to a diplomatic reception at Buckingham Palace. Since then she has worn the piece regularly.
Nizam of Hyderabad Necklace
One of the queen's most valuable necklaces was given to her as a wedding present by the Nizam of Hyderabad (an Indian subcontinental ruler). The piece was made by Cartier and the queen has worn it several times throughout her reign.
In February 2014, the queen first loaned the necklace to Kate who wore it to a reception given by the National Portrait Gallery of which she was a new patron. It was not loaned to her again until 2019 where she wore it to its best advantage against a black velvet evening gown by Alexander McQueen and with Queen Mary's diamond and pearl lover's knot tiara.
Queen's Dubai Sapphire Earrings
In 2021 Prince William and Kate hosted a special drive-in screening of the live-action Disney movie Cruella at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Scotland. For the occasion Kate wore an elegant trench coat from the brand Holland and Cooper and paired it with a pair of diamond and sapphire earrings, which had previously been worn by the queen.
The earrings formed part of a suite of jewels presented to her by Sheikh Rashid of Dubai in 1979 and the monarch has worn them sporadically in recent decades. The earrings complemented Kate's diamond and sapphire engagement ring—formerly the property of Princess Diana.
Maple Leaf Brooch
The Asprey diamond maple leaf brooch is a jewel that the queen inherited from her own mother. It was bought by King George VI for his wife ahead of a crucial 1939 state visit to Canada and the U.S. ahead of the outbreak of World War 2.
The brooch was a tribute to the Canadian flag which features a bold maple leaf and it has been worn by royal women on successive trips to the country. The queen loaned the brooch to Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall in 2009 for her first visit to Canada and also to Kate for her two tours of the country in 2011 and 2016.
Kate wore the brooch with her first outfits on both tours.
Diamond Bracelet from Prince Philip
When Prince Philip became engaged to the future Queen Elizabeth II he did so with a gift of jewels which had formerly belonged to his mother, Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark (born Princess Alice of Battenberg, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria).
Being relatively impoverished by royal standards as a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, Philip was given by his mother one of her tiaras to dismantle so that an engagement ring could be made with the diamonds. With the leftovers, he had a beautiful modern bracelet designed as a present for his future bride.
Sometimes referred to as the "Edinburgh Wedding Bracelet," the piece was worn touchingly by the queen regularly throughout her marriage.
In 2015, the bracelet was first loaned to Kate Middleton for the state banquet given in honor of the president of China. She has since worn it on numerous other occasions including to the 2017 BAFTA Awards ceremony.
Emerald Tassel Earrings
For an evening reception in Jamaica as part of the Cambridges' tour of the Caribbean in March, Kate debuted a new jewelry loan from the Queen in the form of a pair of diamond and emerald earrings.
The earrings had been a gift to the queen in the 1980s and she has worn them on few occasions since, including to the return dinner hosted by President Barack Obama during his 2011 state visit to Britain. Kate wore the earrings with an elegant Jenny Packham evening gown in a complementary emerald color, which showed the pieces to their best advantage.
