Kate Middleton Might Have Remodeled Princess Diana's Jewelry

britains prince william, duke of cambridge l and his wife britains catherine, duchess of cambridge talk with ukraines president volodymyr zelenskyand his wife olena, during an audience at buckingham palace in central london on october 7, 2020 photo by jonathan brady pool afp photo by jonathan bradypoolafp via getty images

(Image credit: WPA Pool)

By Emily Dixon published 9 October 20

Kate Middleton and Prince William hosted Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and first lady Olena Zelenska at Buckingham Palace Wednesday.
Kate wore a cornflower blue midi dress by Emilia Wickstead and some striking sapphire jewelry.
Royal style observers think Kate had some of Princess Diana's favorite jewels remodeled.

Earlier this week, Kate Middleton and Prince William held their first royal engagement at Buckingham Palace since lockdown began, hosting Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and first lady Olena Zelenska. Kate wore a cornflower blue Emilia Wickstead midi dress for the occasion, completing the look with a set of striking sapphire and diamond jewelry. Her engagement ring, which previously belonged to Princess Diana, we've obviously seen before, while her earrings, also remodeled from a pair of Diana's, are also familiar to royal style trackers. But Kate finished the set with a matching sapphire and diamond pendant, strung on a fine gold chain, in what seemed to be its public debut.

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As People reports, there's a strong chance the necklace originally belonged to the same jewelry set as Kate's earrings, though in a different form. In 1981, the Saudi royal family gifted Princess Diana a suite of sapphire and diamond jewels to celebrate her wedding from Prince Charles, designed to match her engagement ring (which again, later became Kate's). According to People, the full set included "an enormous Burmese sapphire and diamond pendant, suspended on a thin diamond necklace" as well as "matching earrings, ring, bracelet and watch." Diana wears several of the pieces in the photo below, taken in Brisbane, Australia, in 1983.

prince and princess of wales tour of australia and new zealand in the spring of 1983, princess diana attends a state reception at the crest hotel in brisbane, she is wearing a pink dress and tiara and sapphire engagement ring, 11th april 1983 photo by gavin kentmirrorpixgetty images

Seems pretty safe to say Kate's new necklace came from Diana's wedding gift, since the Duchess of Cambridge has refashioned her late mother-in-law's jewelry before (and the pendant perfectly matches the earrings). Mystery solved, style sleuths!

Emily Dixon is a British journalist who’s contributed to CNN, Teen Vogue, Time, Glamour, The Guardian, Wonderland, The Big Roundtable, Bust, and more, on everything from mental health to fashion to political activism to feminist zine collectives. She’s also a committed Beyoncé, Kacey Musgraves, and Tracee Ellis Ross fan, an enthusiastic but terrible ballet dancer, and a proud Geordie lass.