Today's a very special one for the royal family, as they took part in the Trooping the Colour event at Buckingham Palace as part of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Royal fans were treated to an adorable moment between the Cambridge siblings in the carriage rides there and lots of waving from the Queen herself – and naturally, as is the case with any big royal event, all eyes were firmly on Kate Middleton too. Or should we say, the Duchess of Cambridge's outfit.
Today's pick is noteworthy for many reasons – with the jewellery in particular having a special symbolic meaning. For today's celebrations, Kate opted for a white Alexander McQueen coat dress (a British designer) with strong shoulders, which she teamed with a Philip Treacy hat (an Irish designer).
Kate's hair was styled in a chic twisted knot, that showed off her sapphire and diamond earrings perfectly – which were once owned by none other than Prince William and Prince Harry's late mother, Princess Diana.
The Princess of Wales often wore the earrings teamed with a sapphire choker too, as seen in the below photo taken 8 July 1991 when she attended a concert at Royal Albert Hall. She also donned them for the Met Gala in 1996:
The style of jewellery is also in-keeping with the ring Prince William used to propose to Kate with, which famously features a blue sapphire stone surrounded by a cluster of diamonds.
This is far from the first time we've seen the Duchess wear something previously worn by Lady Di either, or the Queen herself for that matter – last spring during Prince Philip's funeral, we saw that Kate wore pearl earrings and a pearl choker necklace, both of which are reportedly on a long-term loan to her from Her Majesty (and part of the Queen's personal collection). Wearing the Queen's jewellery was a special way for Kate to show her loyalty the newly widowed monarch during that tough time. It looks like Kate's choice of jewels today were also a way for her to pay tribute to Princess Diana.
Happy Platinum Jubilee celebrations, one and all!
Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
