The Princess of Wales Dazzles in the Late Queen’s Diamond Chandelier Earrings

The Prince and Princess of Wales made a glamorous appearance at the Royal Variety Performance this evening, with Catherine decked out in heirloom royal diamonds that belonged to Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and Queen Elizabeth II.

Prince William and Princess Catherine arrived at the Royal Albert Hall in London in classic black-tie evening wear ahead of tonight’s Royal Variety Performance.

Both William and Kate wore velvet: a jacket for him, and a dark green velvet gown for her. (The ladies of UFO No More have guessed that the dress might be a Talbot Runhof design.)

There was no doubt about the source of her diamonds: the royal vaults. Kate wore the fabulous Greville Chandelier Earrings for the occasion.

The earrings, like the spectacular tiara worn last night by Queen Camilla, were originally made for Dame Margaret Greville, the society hostess who became a close friend of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Cartier made them for her in stages after World War I, with tinkering that continued through the 1920s. The resulting pair of girandole-style earrings, according to the Royal Collection Trust, is “a lexicon of modern diamond cuts.” These include a trio of pear-shaped diamond pendants, plus diamonds in baguette, baton, emerald, half-moon, trapeze, and square cuts.

When she died in 1942, Margaret bequeathed a treasury of jewels to the Queen Mother, including these earrings. She, in turn, gave them to her elder daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, as a wedding present in 1947. The late Queen wore them often for gala appearances throughout her long reign. This picture shows her wearing the earrings with Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara and her diamond festoon necklace during the French state visit to London in 1960.

In recent years, the earrings have been worn exclusively by the Princess of Wales. We most recently saw her wear them with Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara during another French state visit: President Macron’s trip to Windsor in July.

Speaking of Queen Mary, Kate also wore a piece of grand diamond jewelry from her iconic royal jewelry collection: a classic diamond bracelet, worn by the Princess on her right wrist for the Royal Variety Performance.

Here’s a closer look at the bracelet, thanks to an excellent photograph from Yui Mok. The piece has clean, classic lines reminiscent of the Art Deco period.

Queen Mary often wore the piece as a choker necklace with an extender. Later, the piece was passed along to the Queen Mother, who wore it in bracelet form. Catherine has had the bracelet in her jewelry box now for a decade.