Late Queen’s £16m wedding gift to Princess Diana that’s been inherited by Kate Middleton – and she loves it
KATE Middleton has inherited a variety of jewels from the late Queen and Princess Diana, including a £16million choker.
The Princess of Wales, 42, has sparked several royal frenzies through her outfit choices over the years – and has honoured her late mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law through various ensembles.
It’s clear that since the mum-of-three joined the Royal Family, she has adopted several style cues from the late Princess Diana.
This includes wearing her jewellery – from earrings and necklaces, to her very own engagement ring.
Similarly, Kate has paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II on numerous occasions since her death in September 2022, including the sentimental earrings she wore for this year’s Remembrance Sunday service.
Just months after her death, Princess Kate carefully selected a piece of jewellery that was steeped in history from her in-laws.
As Prince William, 42, and Kate jetted to Boston for a three-day visit and attended the 2022 Earthshot Prize Awards, Kate graced the green carpet with an eye-catching emerald and diamond choker which sparkled as she greeted guests.
In keeping with the sustainable dress code, Kate paired the necklace with a £74 off-the-shoulder rented dress by Solace London, from designer rental company Hurr, and was met with huge cheers from US fans.
But the inherited emerald and diamond choker was the real showstopper.
This dazzling design reportedly costs an eye-watering $20,000,000 due to each diamond weighing 10 carats – which equates to around £16 million.
It’s no surprise that Kate loves the ultimate accessory, which paired perfectly with her pair of emerald droplet earrings from her personal jewellery collection.
The necklace dates back to the 20th century after it was formerly known as Queen Mary’s Emerald Choker, after she favoured the piece and wore it a number of times.
It was a gift to the Queen Mother from the Ladies of India by the Delhi Durbar during her visit with King George back in 1911.
This was to commemorate the succession of the Emperor of India during the British Reign in India and following her death in 2002, she left it to Queen Elizabeth.
Who inherited Princess Diana's jewellery?
AFTER her death, Diana's sons Prince William and Prince Harry were left three-quarters of her £21 million estate — with the other quarter going to her 17 godchildren.
In a special “letter of wishes”, Diana explained that she was leaving her jewellery to her sons’ future wives.
The letter reads: “I would like you to allocate all my jewellery to the share to be held by my sons, so that their wives may, in due course, have it or use it.
“I leave the exact division of the jewellery to your discretion.”
Some of Diana’s most iconic gems were on loan from the royal collection, while others were not included in her estate.
However she never publicly wore it as it is believed that she was not a huge fan of that necklace style, and instead, had a selection of other jewels she would prioritise and wear at state functions and events.
But on the day of Princess Diana‘s wedding day to the now King Charles, 76, in July 1981, Queen Elizabeth decided to gift it to her on a lifetime loan.
The late Queen's £533million jewellery collection, which now belongs to King Charles
KING Charles certainly has a vast treasure trove to select from as he inherited around £533million in jewellery pieces, according to Guardian.
The publication identified more than 90 pieces that were part of the late Queen’s personal collection, including diamonds, emeralds, rubies, amethysts, aquamarines and strings of pearls.
The royal family’s wills are kept secret, so it can’t be known for sure exactly what King Charles inherited after the Queen’s death in September 2022.
In a deal struck up by the then prime minister John Major, private inheritances from one monarch to another are also immune from inheritance tax.
Of course, it’s hard to know the full value of each jewellery piece today as the royal and historical connection would likely increase them exponentially.
We saw this with the auctioning of jewellery belonging to the late Princess Margaret.
Although her pieces were worth much less than the Queen’s sparkling collection, they sold for an average of 18 times the auction house’s top-end value.
Using the theory that the Queen’s jewels could fetch at least 10 times their basic value, making up the £533million estimated worth.
Diana wore the choker on many occasions, including her 36th birthday in 1997.
The jaw-dropping choker was designed to be solely worn as a necklace, but Princess Diana often stepped out in the sensational choker as a headband too.
The trend-setting Princess also famously wore the choker as a bandeau across her forehead during a 1985 tour of Australia.
The Earthshot Prize was the first time the choker had been seen since Diana herself wore it.
It is just one of many items Kate has worn to honour the late Princess, including the dazzling Cambridge Lover’s Knot Tiara she wore in 2018.