Kate Middleton Wears the Queen's Pearl Choker to Her Funeral

(Image credit: Getty)

published 19 September 2022

If the pearl choker Kate Middleton wore to Monday morning’s funeral for Queen Elizabeth looks familiar, well, it should—the choker belonged to Her Majesty, and the new Princess of Wales wore the same piece to Prince Philip’s funeral in April 2021.

According to Hello, the choker once belonged to the Queen, and is one of the many pieces of jewelry—mostly pearls, Her Majesty’s favorite—that Kate has worn this week to honor her. The Princess of Wales paired her all-black ensemble with a mourning veil and hat, in accordance with traditional royal funeral dress codes.

“The mourning veil is both symbolic and practical, as they are worn by those in the process of grieving for a loved one,” the outlet reports. “They are typically crafted from lace, tulle, or fine netting material that allows a person to see through it.”

Kate was joined by her husband, Prince William (in full military uniform), and two of her three children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, who too wore a mourning hat, a first for the seven-year-old princess.

Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.