Meghan Markle Wore Her Beloved Cartier Tank Watch for Her Vax Live Appearance

• In a pre-taped video message played at Global Citizen's "Vax Live: The Concert To Reunite The World," broadcast on Saturday night, Meghan Markle (opens in new tab) wore a Cartier watch similar to one beloved by her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana.
• The Cartier Tank Française watch (opens in new tab) was one of Diana's favorite pieces and she wore it frequently to royal engagements in the '90s.
• Long before joining the royal family, Meghan was a fan of the Cartier Tank and bought one for herself during her time on Suits. She has said she plans to pass her own watch down to her daughter someday.

Update, 5/9, 10 p.m. ET: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Meghan Markle was wearing the specific watch that had belonged to Princess Diana. We regret this error.

In a pre-taped video message that played during the broadcast of Global Citizen's Vax Live: The Concert To Reunite The World (opens in new tab) Saturday night, Meghan Markle delivered a brief speech about the long-term impact the pandemic will have on women, and especially women of color. In the video, Meghan discussed her unborn daughter, who will be part of a generation of women affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Eagle-eyed fans noted that her choice of watch seemed to pay tribute to an important woman from the generation that came before her own: Prince Harry's late mother, Princess Diana.

Royal fans quickly noticed (opens in new tab) that Meghan seemed to be wearing a gold Cartier Tank watch (opens in new tab) in the short video. Diana was frequently photographed wearing her own Cartier Tank at royal engagements in the '90s; it was reportedly a gift from her father, the 8th Earl Spencer.

Of course, it's worth noting that Meghan was a fan of the timeless Cartier watch long before she joined the royal family. The former actress bought herself a Cartier Tank watch during her time on Suits and has said she plans to pass it down to her own daughter (opens in new tab) someday.

"I've always coveted the Cartier French Tank watch," she told Hello Magazine in 2015. "I had it engraved on the back, 'To M.M. From M.M.' and I plan to give it to my daughter one day. That's what makes pieces special, the connection you have to them."

When Diana died in 1997, Prince William reportedly selected Diana's own Cartier Tank watch from his mother's collection, while Harry chose to keep her iconic sapphire engagement ring. While William cherished the watch for years, he is said to have asked Harry to trade him the watch for the engagement ring in 2009 when he was planning his proposal to Kate Middleton, according to Vanity Fair (opens in new tab).

In October 2020, Meghan was photographed wearing her iconic Cartier timepiece in portraits she and Harry sat for when they were selected for the TIME 100.