![Princess Anne, Princess Royal hosts the Not Forgotten Association Garden Party at Buckingham Palace on May 12, 2022 in London, England](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-1011-01-anne01.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Last week, the Princess Royal made a quick trip to New York, and stirred up possible rumblings about a jewelry connection to her late mother in the process. Did Princess Anne wear the late Queen’s pearls for a recent reception? We take a closer look today—and dig into Anne’s impressive personal collection of pearls, too.
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On Monday, October 3, Princess Anne made a visit to the headquarters of the English-Speaking Union of the United States in New York and was the guest of honor at a gala at the Cosmopolitan Club afterward. For the black-tie gala, Anne wore pearls and diamonds with her ensemble: pearl and diamond button earrings, a three-stranded pearl necklace, and her Diamond Ribbon and Tassel Brooch. You can see photographs from the gala on the ESU website, as well as an additional gallery in the embedded Instagram post above (click through to photo number 3 to see Anne’s gala jewels).
![Britain's Princess Anne, Princess Royal awaits the arrival of Spanish King Felipe VI and Spanish Queen Letizia for a banquet at Guildhall in central London on July 13, 2017, on the second day of the Spanish King and Queen's three-day state visit](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-1011-01-anne24.jpg?resize=1200%2C1544&ssl=1)
The diamond and pearl button earrings have been in Anne’s collection for years, as has the ribbon and tassel brooch. Here’s a closer view of a previous outing for the brooch, at the Guildhall banquet during the Spanish state visit in July 2017. (She’s also wearing her diamond festoon tiara and necklace with its matching earrings.) The diamond brooch was a wedding gift to Anne in 1973 from her brother, King Charles III.
![Queen Elizabeth II receives an honorary BAFTA in recognition of a lifetime's support to British Film and Television at Windsor Castle on April 4, 2013 in Berkshire, England](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-1011-01-anne22.jpg?resize=1200%2C1562&ssl=1)
It’s the three-stranded pearl necklace worn for the October 3rd gala, though, that has caught the attention of many jewelry lovers. I’ve received numerous messages asking whether the pearls (seen in a good close-up here) might be from the collection of the late Queen. Both necklaces feature three strands of evenly-spaced ivory pearls. Anne’s necklace does bear some resemblance to the one most frequently worn by Queen Elizabeth II on numerous occasions. (Above, she pairs her pearls with her Aquamarine Clip Brooches as she receives an honorary BAFTA in April 2013.)
The necklace shown above is just one of the late Queen’s many three-stranded pearl necklaces, and it’s extremely difficult (if not impossible) to tell them apart with only photographs as evidence. Pearls are often restrung, and they can look quite different from image to image, depending on the posture of the wearer and the clothing with which they’re worn. That makes it really, really difficult to say whether Anne’s pearls from last week’s gala are some of the ones worn by the late Queen, too.
![Anne, Princess Royal, in Austria during a state visit with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, May 1969](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-1011-01-anne02.jpg?resize=1200%2C1754&ssl=1)
Princess Anne has a whole lot of pearls in her jewelry box, and most of them have been part of her collection for years. She often wears necklaces featuring two strands of pearls, shown on her here (with her Grima earrings and a modern rooster brooch) in 1969 during the British state visit to Austria.
![Anne, Princess Royal, attends a formal event, UK, 13th June 1975](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-1011-01-anne03.jpg?resize=1200%2C1714&ssl=1)
She also wears two strands of pearls (with the Grima earrings) in this photograph, taken in June 1975.
![Princess Anne, Princess Royal attends Ladies Day during Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse on June 21, 2012 in Ascot, England](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-1011-01-anne12.jpg?resize=1200%2C1751&ssl=1)
Here, she wears a two-stranded necklace with her diamond and pearl button earrings on Ladies’ Day at Royal Ascot in June 2012.
![Princess Anne, Princess Royal talks to guests as she attends a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace on May 28, 2015 in London, England](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-1011-01-anne14.jpg?resize=1200%2C1844&ssl=1)
And two strands again here, with diamond and gold floral earrings and her stalactite brooch, for a garden party at Buckingham Palace in May 2015.
![Britain's Princess Anne is seen on May 6, 2008 during a commemoration at the memorial paying homage to the actions and sacrifices of the 'F Section' 104 agents, including 13 women of the special operation executive (SOE) during WWII in Valencay, western France](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-1011-01-anne08.jpg?resize=1200%2C1768&ssl=1)
One of Anne’s very favorite necklaces is this one, featuring three strands of cream-colored pearls with a gold, diamond, and sapphire clasp. She wears the necklace with the clasp both in the front and in the back, and often pairs the necklace with other coordinating jewels that look like they may have been made as a matching set. This photograph was taken in May 2008 during a World War II memorial service in France.
![Her Royal Highness Princess Anne attends a Memorial service for firefighters at St. Pauls Cathedral on September 16, 2003 in London](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-1011-01-anne06.jpg?resize=1005%2C1467&ssl=1)
Here’s the same necklace, with the clasp in the back, worn for a memorial service for firefighters at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London in September 2003.
![Princess Anne, Princess Royal waves off Zara Philips as she leaves Canongate Kirk on the afternoon of her wedding to Mike Tindall on July 30, 2011 in Edinburgh, Scotland](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-1011-01-anne11.jpg?resize=1200%2C1922&ssl=1)
Here’s the necklace with the clasp in the front (with the Grima earrings and the Royal Scots Brooch), worn in Edinburgh for the wedding of her daughter, Zara Phillips, in July 2011.
![Britain's Princess Anne, Princess Royal smiles as jockey Joe Fanning (not pictured) poses with the trophy after riding Subjectivist to victory in the Gold Cup on Ladies Day at the Royal Ascot horse racing meet, in Ascot, west of London on June 17, 2021](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-1011-01-anne19.jpg?resize=1200%2C1515&ssl=1)
And here’s the necklace, once again with the clasp placed in the back, at Royal Ascot in June 2021, paired with the Grima earrings and Anne’s gold, diamond, and pearl floral brooch.
![Britain's Princess Anne, Princess Royal attends the Queen's Garden Party at Buckingham Palace in central London on May 15, 2019](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-1011-01-anne18.jpg?resize=1200%2C1718&ssl=1)
There are numerous other necklaces in her collection, too. Among them is this single strand of pearls, worn with a diamond and aquamarine pendant, often paired with the Aquamarine Pineflower Tiara. Anne wears the necklace and her diamond and pearl button earrings here for a Buckingham Palace garden party in May 2019.
![Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Admiral of the Royal London Yacht Club is seen during the Royal London Yacht Club Champagne Party at Lendy Cowes Week at the Royal London Yacht Club on August 6, 2018 in Cowes, England](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-1011-01-anne17.jpg?resize=1200%2C1713&ssl=1)
Here’s a necklace of pearls and dark blue beads with gold spacer elements, worn for the Royal London Yacht Club Champagne Party during Cowes Week in August 2018.
![23rd March 1979: A BAFTA award being presented by HRH Princess Anne to Francesca Annis for her part in 'The Comedy of Errors'](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-1011-01-anne04.jpg?resize=1200%2C1576&ssl=1)
Anne also has several pearl choker necklaces in her collection. This one, worn at the BAFTAs in 1979, features a floral clasp and appears to have a matching bracelet.
![Princess Anne, Princess Diana (1961 - 1997) and The Queen Mother (1900 - 2002), wearing evening gowns, at the premiere of David Lean's film 'A Passage To India', London, UK, 18th March 1985](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-1011-01-anne05.jpg?resize=1200%2C1857&ssl=1)
Here’s the same necklace, worn with diamond and pearl drop earrings for the premiere of A Passage To India in March 1985.
![Anne, Princess Royal during the Royal Procession on day three of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse on June 19, 2014 in Ascot, England](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-1011-01-anne13.jpg?resize=1200%2C1670&ssl=1)
This is the same necklace, too, in a more recent appearance (Royal Ascot 2014) that gives you a much better view of the design and color of the clasp. Anne also wore diamond, sapphire, and pearl earrings and her diamond, ruby, and sapphire bar brooch for the occasion.
![Princess Anne, August 2003](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-1011-01-anne20.jpg?resize=1200%2C1789&ssl=1)
Anne’s collection also includes the lovely pearl and diamond lattice choker necklace that belonged to Queen Mary. She pairs it here with her diamond and pearl drop earrings at the Festival of Trees gala in London in December 2001.
![Princess Anne at Windsor Castle](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-1011-01-anne21.jpg?resize=1102%2C1826&ssl=1)
She also has this gorgeous pearl choker with an elaborate diamond, sapphire, and gold clasp. The necklace originally belonged to Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia and came into the British royal family via Queen Mary. Anne wears the necklace here in 2000 for a party at Windsor Castle celebrating her 50th birthday. She also wore her pearl and diamond button earrings and her sapphire cluster brooch for the event.
![Princess Anne the Princess Royal attends Royal Ascot Ladies Day on June 17, 2010 in Ascot, England](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-1011-01-anne09.jpg?resize=1185%2C1675&ssl=1)
Anne’s collection does include another three-stranded pearl necklace, but it’s a bit longer than the one she wore for the gala in New York last week. Here, she wears the longer necklace (with her Grima earrings and her rooster brooch) for Ladies’ Day at Royal Ascot in June 2010.
![HRH The Princess Royal speaks during the British Olympic Association's Gold Ball at the Guildhall on October 4, 2005 in London, England](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-1011-01-anne07.jpg?resize=1200%2C1750&ssl=1)
She wears the longer necklace for an evening occasion—the British Olympic Association’s Gold Ball at the Guildhall in October 2005—here, paired with diamond earrings and her gold, diamond, and pearl floral brooch.
![Anne, the Princess Royal, arrives at the West Door of Westminster Abbey for the wedding of Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton in London on April 29, 2011](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-1011-01-anne10.jpg?resize=768%2C918&ssl=1)
She wears the necklace with the same brooch and the Grima earrings in this photograph, taken during the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (now Prince and Princess of Wales) in April 2011.
![Princess Anne, Princess Royal arrives at the annual Royal Festival of Remembrance to commemorate all those who have lost their lives in conflicts at the Royal Albert Hall on November 11, 2017 in London, England](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-1011-01-anne16.jpg?resize=1200%2C1749&ssl=1)
Here, she wears the necklace with her diamond and pearl button earrings for the Festival of Remembrance in November 2017.
![Princess Anne, Princess Royal gives a speech as she attends the Team GB Ball at Battersea Evolution on November 30, 2016 in London, England](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-1011-01-anne15.jpg?resize=1200%2C1721&ssl=1)
And here, she pairs the necklace with her diamond and pearl drop earrings, plus a sparkling wreath-style brooch, for the Team GB Ball in London in 2016.
![Queen Elizabeth II, smiles with Princess Anne, behind, during a reception to celebrate the Women's Royal Naval Service 100 project at The Army and Navy Club on October 12, 2017 in London, England](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-1011-01-anne23.jpg?resize=1200%2C1434&ssl=1)
So, ultimately: do I think that Princess Anne wore one of the late Queen’s pearl necklaces for the gala in New York on October 3? I’ll give the question a hearty maybe as an answer. I wouldn’t be comfortable making any kind of firm statement on the piece without palace confirmation at this point—the kind we got regarding the pearls recently worn by the Princess of Wales. But I certainly do hope we’ll see some more of Queen Elizabeth II’s pearls gleaming on members of her family in the coming months and years.
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