Kate Middleton wears Princess Diana’s keepsake to Peter Phillips’ wedding
Kate Middleton marked Peter Phillips’ wedding by wearing Princess Diana’s heirloom pearl bracelet and Diana’s jewelry, including the earrings and a three-strand pearl bracelet she also wore during a 1989 tour of Hong Kong.
Kate arrived at Peter Phillips’ wedding with a very specific kind of remembrance on her wrist.
In photos obtained by InStyle, Kate Middleton wore Princess Diana’s earrings and her three-strand pearl bracelet as she stepped into the family gathering to watch Princess Anne’s son marry Harriet Sperling.
It wasn’t the first time Kate has chosen the piece. The bracelet has been linked to a 1989 tour of Hong Kong, when Princess Diana wore it.
Kate also styled the look with Kiki McDonough earrings, a Roland Mouret bouclé dress and a Jane Taylor London hat.
Diana’s presence didn’t stop at the jewelry. In 2023. Kate spoke publicly outside the Dowlais Rugby Club. where someone pointed out her sapphire engagement ring—previously belonging to her mother-in-law. “It’s the same ring and it’s exactly the same size as when I tried it on. ” Kate told them via TODAY. “It’s very special. What an honor to be able to wear it.”.
Kate has also been direct about what she feels she missed. “I never, sadly, got to meet her,” she said of Diana. “We miss her every day.”
Those words land with extra weight when you remember what Diana’s life changed for the people closest to her. Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris when Prince William was only 15.
And as William and Kate raise their three children—Prince George. Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis—Diana remains part of the family’s everyday language. William has described taking “some guidance from what my mother did. ” recalling that he and Prince Harry once visited homeless shelters with her. “I’d never been to anything like that before. ” he said in the ITV documentary Prince William: We Can End Homelessness via People. “And I was a bit anxious as to what to expect. My mother went about her usual part of making everyone feel relaxed and having a laugh and joking with everyone.”.
In the same telling, William described the moment it clicked: “I remember at the time kind of thinking, ‘Well, if everyone’s not got a home, they’re all going to be really sad.’ But it was incredible how happy an environment it was.”
Even without being alive, Diana’s role as a grandmother is woven into how the children are raised. In the documentary Diana. Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy via Newsweek. William said. “We’re constantly talking about Granny Diana.” He added: “We’ve got more photos up around the house now of her and we talk about her a bit and stuff.” He also acknowledged the gap that comes with time: “It’s hard because obviously. Catherine didn’t know her. so she cannot really provide that level of detail.”.
For what Kate might be like through Diana’s eyes, the perspective comes from Diana’s former butler Paul Burrell. In comments shared by The Sun. Burrell said Diana would have loved Kate. describing her as someone who. in his view. deserved the country’s affection. “I see the way she [Kate] dresses and the way she behaves. and if her mother-in-law could say anything. she would tell her that she’s doing an incredible job. ” he said. “The country adores her.”.
Kate Middleton Princess Diana Peter Phillips Harriet Sperling Princess Anne British royal family wedding jewelry three-strand pearl bracelet Kiki McDonough Roland Mouret Jane Taylor London Dowlais Rugby Club sapphire engagement ring