Kate Middleton Wore Princess Diana’s Sapphire Earrings and Solved a Royal Mystery

Kate Middleton is the Princess of Wales and the queen of incorporating sentimental royal heirlooms into her sophisticated wardrobe. She frequently wears pieces that belonged to the late Queen Elizabeth II as well as her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana. Most recently, Middleton wore a pair of the former Princess of Wales's earrings that were believed to have been missing for many years.

On Wednesday, Middleton attended the Shaping Us National Symposium at The Design Museum in London in a sleek and vibrant Emilia Wickstead pant suit, which she accessorized with a familiar pair of earrings. The diamond-and-sapphire drop earrings were once owned by Lady Di and even matched her engagement ring (which Middleton inherited when Prince William proposed).

Diana was spotted wearing the set on multiple occasions including during a trip to Canada in 1991, on the cover of British Vogue in 1994, and at the Met Gala in 1996.

Middleton has worn the jewels on several occasions this year, including the Trooping the Colour and the Commonwealth Day Service, and first wore the earrings back in 2022, debunking a long-standing myth in the process.

For many years, Middleton has worn a similar but smaller pair of sapphire-and-diamond earrings, and it was widely believed that the original pair was missing because they had not been seen since Diana's death. Writer and jewelry historian Lauren Kiehna of The Court Jeweller blog maintains that the earrings are two different pairs.

"The sapphires in Diana's earrings are cabochons, and the sapphires in Kate's smaller earrings are faceted," Kiehna told People. "The claim has now been fully debunked as Kate has now worn the double cluster earrings."