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Happy Birthday to the Duchess of Cambridge, who celebrates 38 sparkling years today! We’re joining in the festivities with a massive roundup of the royal jewels that Kate has worn since she became part of the royal family almost a decade ago. From rings to tiaras, necklaces, and bracelets, Kate’s worn a whole lot of impressive heirloom jewels!
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Prince William proposed to Kate Middleton in 2010 with the same diamond and sapphire ring that his father gave to his mother back in 1981. In the couple’s engagement interview, William explained that the ring was “my way of making sure my mother didn’t miss out on today, and the excitement, and the fact that we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together.” Kate still wears the ring regularly, stacking it with her gold wedding ring and a diamond eternity band.
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On her wedding day in April 2011, Kate arrived at Westminster Abbey wearing an heirloom tiara from the collection of William’s great-grandmother, the late Queen Mother. The diamond halo tiara, made by Cartier in 1936, was an anniversary gift from King George VI to Queen Elizabeth. It was later worn by both Princess Margaret and Princess Anne, but it belongs to the Queen, who loaned it to Kate for the occasion.
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Kate began wearing this eye-catching gold shamrock brooch, which features a single emerald nestled in the center of its leaves, shortly after her royal wedding. You’ll often see her wearing it on St. Patrick’s Day as she hands out shamrocks to the Irish Guards.
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The Queen has loaned the Diamond Maple Leaf Brooch to Kate for both of her tours of Canada. The brooch, which originally belonged to the Queen Mother, has also been worn by the Duchess of Cornwall during her Canadian visits.
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Kate debuted this delicate pair of diamond earrings at a BAFTA event in Los Angeles in the summer of 2011. The palace has since confirmed that they’re a loan from the Queen, who has never been worn them in public herself. Kate often reaches for the earrings for glittering gala occasions.
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In 2014, Kate wore this important royal necklace for the first time at the National Portrait Gallery in London. The piece, made by Cartier, was part of a suite of jewels given to the Queen as a wedding gift by the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1947. Kate’s worn it on several subsequent occasions as well.
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For the Cambridges’ 2014 visit to New Zealand, the Queen loaned Kate this silver fern brooch. The diamond and platinum brooch, a gift from the women of Auckland, was presented to the Queen on Christmas Day 1953 during her visit to the nation.
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The second royal tiara that the Queen loaned to Kate is the Lotus Flower Tiara, another legacy from the late Queen Mother. The Queen Mother had it made using stones from a dismantled necklace in the early 1920s. Kate’s most important appearance in the tiara to date came during the Chinese state banquet at Buckingham Palace in October 2015.
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These fantastic fringe earrings are another jewel from the Queen Mother’s collection. Kate wore them in October 2015 for a 100 Women in Hedge Funds gala dinner held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
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Kate wears this dazzling brooch, once awarded to the top female Air Cadet of the year, in her role as the Honorary Air Commandant of the Air Cadets. You’ll often see her wearing it at events related to the Royal Air Force.
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This diamond bracelet, worn above by Kate at a charity function in Norfolk in June 2016, was made from an Art Deco choker necklace that belonged to the Queen’s grandmother, Queen Mary. The piece was also worn as a bracelet by the Queen Mother. Kate has worn it several times at gala events.
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Kate notably wore this pair of diamond and pearl drop earrings, a loan from the Queen, during a solo visit to the Netherlands in October 2016. The Queen famously wore them during her Silver Jubilee festivities in 1977, and now Kate wears them frequently at important daytime events.
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These elegant diamond and pearl drop earrings were made using pearls given to the Queen as a wedding present by the Hakim of Bahrain in 1947. Kate wore them for the first time on Remembrance Sunday in November 2016, and she’s worn them frequently since, including a gorgeous appearance at Royal Ascot in June 2017.
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Kate debuted this stunning pair of diamond earrings during the Place2Be Wellbeing in Schools Awards at Mansion House in November 2016. These earrings are also a loan to Kate from the Queen.
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One of the most significant loans offered to Kate by the Queen is this diamond bracelet, which was the Duke of Edinburgh’s wedding gift to the then-Princess Elizabeth in 1947. You’ll spot this often on Kate’s wrist for important gala occasions, including an appearance at the BAFTAs in February 2017.
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Kate debuted this three-stranded bracelet of cultured pearls during the Cambridges’ visit to Germany in July 2017. The piece belonged to her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana; it was made by Nigel Milne to support Birthright, one of Diana’s charities, in 1988.
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This large diamond bracelet, featuring a quatrefoil pattern in its design, is another loan to Kate from the Queen. The piece was a favorite of the late Queen Mother, and it has also been worn by the Queen herself. Kate wore the bracelet for the first time at a gala dinner in support of the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families in November 2017.
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Kate chose this large leaf brooch, set with diamonds and pearls, for ceremonies to mark the centenary of Passchendaele in Belgium in July 2017. The brooch belongs to the Queen, who has only worn the brooch once, during a 1999 visit to South Korea.
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The Queen loaned this diamond and ruby necklace, made by Boucheron for Mrs. Greville in 1907, to Kate for the Spanish state banquet at Buckingham Palace in July 2017. The Queen received the necklace as a wedding gift from her parents in 1947. Unlike the vast majority of jewels featured in this post, the necklace must have been a one-time loan, as the Queen wore it again herself in April 2018 at the CHOGM banquet.
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These classic diamond and pearl drop earrings have become some of the workhorses of Kate’s jewelry collection. The earrings were given to the late Princess Diana by Collingwood, the firm that made them. Kate wears them for both daytime and evening events.
This four-stranded pearl choker necklace, which has an unusual diamond clasp, was made for the Queen by Garrard, reportedly using pearls given to her by the Japanese government in the 1970s. The necklace was worn by Princess Diana, and Kate debuted the piece for the first time in November 2017 at a dinner celebrating the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh’s 70th wedding anniversary.
It’s almost impossible to tell the many diamond riviere necklaces from the royal jewelry collection apart, but we know that Kate wore one of them for the annual diplomatic reception at Buckingham Palace in December 2017.
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Kate wore this intricate pair of diamond earrings, which can be worn with interchangeable drops, for the BAFTAs in February 2019. The pair originally belonged to her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana, who wore them often in the 1990s.
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One of the jewels most associated with Princess Diana is this Lover’s Knot Tiara. Kate is now the fourth royal woman to wear it, after Queen Mary (who had it made as a copy of the original Cambridge Lover’s Knot Tiara), the present Queen, and, of course, Diana herself. Kate wore the tiara for the first time at the diplomatic reception in December 2015, and it’s since become her go-to diadem.
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For the Dutch state banquet at Buckingham Palace in October 2018, Kate delved into the royal vaults and unearthed the grand diamond and pearl necklace worn by Queen Alexandra at her wedding to King Edward VII in 1863. The necklace, a favorite of the late Queen Mother, hadn’t been seen in public since 2002. For the occasion, Kate paired it with another prominent diamond and pearl jewel: the Lover’s Knot Tiara.
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The Queen’s Pear-Shaped Diamond Drop Cluster Earrings
Kate wore these glittering diamond earrings for the first time at the Diplomatic Reception in December 2019. The earrings belong to the Queen, who has worn them in the past for gala events in the Czech Republic in 1996 and Australia in 2006. They’re part of a suite that also includes a matching necklace, and they’ve also been worn by the Countess of Wessex.
Which royal jewels do you hope we’ll see Kate wear next?
