Inside the Multi-Million Dollar Jewelry Collection Kate Middleton Inherited From Princess Diana
Inside the Multi-Million Dollar Jewelry Collection Kate Middleton Inherited From Princess Diana
Bailey BujnosekFri, June 26, 2026 at 12:40 PM UTC
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Catherine, Princess of Wales wears Princess Diana's sapphire and diamond earrings while attending the formal welcome for The President of the Federal Republic of Germany's State Visit to the U.K. in December 2025.Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty ImagesThe Gist -
Princess Diana bequeathed her multi-million dollar jewelry collection to her future daughters-in-law, whom she never met.
Princess Kate inherited some of Princess Diana’s jewelry through her husband, Prince William, including her sapphire blue engagement ring in 2010.
Princess Kate has styled some of Princess Diana’s favorite jewelry in her own unique, modern way.
If there’s any mother-in-law with an impressive jewelry collection to pass on, it’s Princess Diana. The late style icon possessed heirloom jewels that still make waves today, thanks to her equally stylish daughters in law, Princess Kate and Meghan Markle.
Princess Diana wrote in a “letter of wishes” that she wanted all of her jewelry to be allocated between her sons, “so that their wives may, in due course, have it or use it,” according to The Telegraph.
Considering this, it’s no surprise that Prince William proposed to Kate Middleton with his mother’s own engagement ring in 2010: a diamond encrusted sapphire oval set in 18-carat white gold (heavy is the hand that wears the ring)! In 1981, Diana defied the royal family’s tradition of wearing custom-made jewelry by choosing it from a Garrard’s catalog. Despite the ring’s controversial origins, today it’s a royal treasure valued at over $517,000, per InStyle.
While the sapphire ring is the most famous, it's far from the only piece of Princess Diana’s jewelry that Kate wears. From tiaras to pearl-drop earrings, here’s a list of the royal hand-me-downs Kate Middleton has inherited from Princess Diana through her husband.
01 of 11
Sapphire Engagement Ring
Kate Middleton wearing her sapphire engagement ring, previously Princess Diana's, in 2023.Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
Since 2010, Middleton has worn Diana’s sapphire engagement ring, as it was her own proposal piece from now-husband William. The prince popped the question while the two were on holiday in Kenya. They’d been dating for nearly a decade.In an ITV interview following the announcement of the couple’s engagement, William elaborated on his choice to gift Diana’s ring to his soon-to-be bride. “It’s my mother’s engagement ring, and it’s very special to me, as Kate is very special to me now as well,” he said. “It was only right the two were put together. It 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.”The ring features a 12-carat sapphire set in a halo of 14 round brilliant diamonds. InStyle previously reported its worth at approximately $520,000.
02 of 11
Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara
Catherine, Princess of Wales wearing the Queen Mary's Lover's Knot Tiara at a state banquet in 2022.Credit: Chris Jackson/Getty Images
The Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara (sometimes referred to as the Cambridge Lover’s Knot Tiara) is one of the most iconic diadems in royal history. Before it was Kate Middleton’s go-to and one of Diana’s favorites, the headpiece belonged to Queen Mary. Upon the latter’s death in 1953, the headpiece went to Queen Elizabeth II. Diana wore it on loan from the queen, meaning it stayed in the royal collection following her divorce from Prince Charles. Reportedly, it was so heavy it gave Diana headaches.
Middleton became a royal following her 2011 marriage to Prince William, but she didn’t debut the Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot until 2015, wearing it to the annual diplomatic reception at Buckingham Palace. She’s since worn it on at least 10 other occasions, including at two state banquets in 2025.
03 of 11
Diamond and South Sea Pearl Earrings
Prince William and Kate Middleton at the 2019 BAFTAs.Credit: Tim Ireland - WPA Pool/Getty Images
Speaking of the Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara, Princess Diana once paired it with a set of diamond and South Sea pearl earrings at a banquet in 1990. The unique earrings can be worn with or without their sizable pearls—Diana donned them sans pearls while attending a performance of Swan Lake in June 1997, one of her final public appearances.
Following Diana’s death, the earrings were absent from the spotlight for over 20 years. They reemerged when Middleton wore them at the 2019 BAFTA Awards (with a different pair of pearl drops than the ones her late mother-in-law wore). She later styled them with a high-neck polka dot dress at the 2022 Royal Ascot and that year’s Remembrance Sunday service. In 2023, the elegant jewelry reappeared as the Princess of Wales selected them for King Charles’s coronation.
04 of 11
Three-Strand Pearl Bracelet
Kate Middleton, wearing the three-strand pearl bracelet previously worn by Princess Diana, in 2022.Credit: Pool/Samir Hussein/WireImage
Diana loved her pearls, giving even Elizabeth Taylor a run for her money. Case in point: her delicate three-strand pearl bracelet. According toPeople, Nigel Milne designed the piece for the princess in the 1980s. Diana famously wore it with her “Elvis” outfit—a white Catherine Walker dress embroidered with 28,600 pearls—on a 1989 trip to Hong Kong.
Photos show that the bracelet has diamond and pearl spacers for added sparkle, making it the ideal accent for subdued looks. For example, Middleton debuted it with a contemporary Markus Lupfer bird-print dress on a 2017 royal tour of Germany. She later proved the three-strand pearl bracelet’s versatility by pairing it with an elegant white lace Alexander McQueen dress on a 2022 royal tour.
A lover of pearls almost as much as her late mother-in-law, Kate kicked off her first Buckingham Palace garden party appearance of this year with the bracelet on her left wrist. Sporting a cream ensemble, she paired the piece with Princess Diana’s pearl drop earrings, paying tribute to both the late Princess and the late Queen Elizabeth II.
05 of 11
Emerald Choker
Kate Middleton at the 2022 Earthshot Prize Awards on December 2, 2022.Credit: Karwai Tang/WireImage
Who can forget when Diana donned her emerald and diamond choker as a headband? The jewelry trailblazer stepped out with the unique converted headpiece on a 1985 tour of Australia with Prince Charles, according to People. She’d previously worn it as a necklace in the early 1980s, and would continue to after its famous headband appearance—including on her 36th and final birthday, July 1, 1997, when she attended a gala at the Tate Gallery.Middleton wore the emerald choker as a necklace at the 2022 Earthshot Prize Awards ceremony. She paired it with a bright green Space London dress rented from HURR, nodding to the night’s sustainability theme.
Per People, the glittering necklace originally belonged to Queen Mary. The Ladies of India bestowed it upon her in 1911. Diana received the choker as a wedding gift from Queen Elizabeth, and bequeathed it to her sons to give to their wives after her passing.
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06 of 11
The Reinvented Sapphire Necklace
Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, in 2020.Credit: JONATHAN BRADY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
While not confirmed, many royal watchers believe that the Princess of Wales reinvented one of Diana’s sapphire necklaces into a stunning pendant. Princess Di received the initial sapphire suite as a wedding gift from the Saudi royal family in 1981, perTown & Country. It includes a necklace, earrings, a ring, and a bracelet, and was made to match the bride’s signature sapphire engagement ring.
Fast forward to 2020, and Middleton welcomed Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy to Buckingham Palace while wearing a sapphire pendant that bore a striking resemblance to the stone in Diana’s necklace. The new pendant is flanked by diamonds and suspended on a fine gold chain, according toPeople.
The Princess of Wales loves her sapphires, just like her mother-in-law did! Princess Kate wore the pendant again at the Commonwealth Day service in 2022, according to Hola! Though her royal title says princess, she’s the queen of monochromatic looks. Princess Kate wore the necklace with her drop sapphire and diamond earrings, and a matching blue coat and pillbox hat.
07 of 11
Sapphire and Diamond Earrings
Kate Middleton wearing Princess Diana's diamond and sapphire earrings in November 2025.Credit: Geoff Pugh-WPA Pool/Getty Images
Another piece from the sapphire suite that Middleton inherited from Diana was a pair of sapphire and diamond earrings. Prince William gave them to his future wife ahead of their 2011 wedding. 14 years on, she’s still accessorizing with the deep blue beauties, wearing them during a November 2025 visit to the Anna Freud Center in London.
The earrings feature only a single sapphire each, but are often confused with Diana’s double-drop sapphire and diamond earrings. Diana wore the sapphire and diamond earrings in a stud setting, while Middleton appears to have modernized them by altering them into drop earrings.
08 of 11
Double-Drop Sapphire and Diamond Earrings
Catherine, Princess of Wales attends the Christmas Morning Service on December 25, 2023.Credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage
Of all the earrings in Diana’s covetable jewelry box, few are as instantly recognizable as the double-drop sapphire and diamond earrings. The jewels were part of the set gifted to her ahead of her wedding in 1981 by the Saudi royal family. The ‘people’s princess’ modeled them on the cover of Vogue in the ‘90s and at her one and only Met Gala appearance in December 1996. For the latter occasion, she styled them with a trendy John Galliano for Dior slip dress and a Lady Di Dior bag, perVogue.
Middleton debuted the dangly sparklers at the 2022 Trooping the Colour parade. She’s since worn them on a visit to the U.S., at a 2023 Shaping Us event, and the 2023 Christmas Day Church service in Sandringham. The earrings matched perfectly with her royal blue (no pun intended!) coat and blue suede boots.
The stunning blue jewels made another winter appearance at the German President’s state visit in December 2025. Again, the earrings complemented the blue Christmas coat designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen. She recently wore the earrings again to the Anzac Day Memorial Service in London—this time, with a rarely-seen tanzanite necklace gifted to her by Prince William in 2015.
09 of 11
Four-Strand Pearl Choker
Kate Middleton at Katharine, Duchess of Kent's Requiem Mass service on September 16, 2025.Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
Three generations of royals have worn the four-strand pearl choker, which originated as part of Queen Elizabeth’s collection. The necklace is part of what’s known as the Japanese Pearl Suite, as the pearls were reportedly given to Elizabeth by the Japanese government in the 1970s, according to the Court Jeweller. It has a diamond clasp.
Diana styled the layered necklace with the Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara and pearl earrings during a 1982 state banquet. Decades later, Middleton wore it to a celebration of Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s 70th wedding anniversary in 2017. She later chose the necklace as a tribute to the couple, donning it at both of their funerals.
10 of 11
Collingwood Pearl Earrings
Catherine, Princess of Wales at the 2025 National Service of Remembrance on November 9, 2025.Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
Royal wedding gifts tend to be on the opulent side, as is the case with the Collingwood pearl earrings, a gift from the jewelers to Diana ahead of her July 1981 nuptials. The engagement present made its first public appearance before her wedding, and she continued to wear them throughout her tenure as princess.Middleton became the girl with the pearl earrings in 2017, stepping out in the Collingwood pair at a state banquet. She’d later wear them for a portrait commemorating her 40th birthday. She saved the earrings for another special occasion in 2025, where she paired them with Queen Elizabeth’s Japanese pearl choker at the Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey in March. Middleton later donned the heirloom earrings on her 14th Remembrance Sunday since marrying Prince William in a poignant tribute to her late mother-in-law.
11 of 11
Prince of Wales Three Feather Brooch
Catherine, Princess of Wales during the arrival of U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a state visit at Windsor Castle in September 2025.Credit: Aaron Chown - WPA Pool/Getty Images
It’s only fitting that the Princess of Wales wears a brooch showcasing the badge of the Prince of Wales. The diamond-encrusted three feather brooch was originally an engagement gift to Queen Alexandra of Denmark in 1863. Since then, the “Prince of Wales” brooch has been worn by Princess Diana, Queen Camilla, and Kate Middleton. Princess Diana notably enjoyed wearing the brooch as a pendant instead of a pin, and occasionally showcased its drop emerald, per InStyle.
Kate took a different approach in 2022, where she debuted the brooch (sans emerald drop) while welcoming South African president Cyril Ramaphosa and his wife to London for King Charles’ first state visit of reign. The $137,000 piece stood out against her simple yet elegant plum-colored coat dress with a matching pillbox hat. Kate notably wore the brooch again to welcome President and First Lady Donald and Melania Trump to Windsor in 2025.
on InStyle
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