The Best Royal Jewels of 2016: #6 (Kate’s Royal Loans)

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For years, many of us had been hoping that the Duchess of Cambridge would begin wearing more pieces from the royal vaults. In 2016, we got our wish, thanks to a whole lot of jewelry loans from the Queen to Kate. Above, she wears the diamond chandelier earrings that the Queen loaned to her shortly after her marriage for an EACH gala at Houghton Hall in June.

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At the Houghton Hall event, she also wore the diamond Art Deco bracelet that was made from one of Queen Mary’s choker necklaces. (More images from this event here!)

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For her second trip to Canada, Kate borrowed the Queen’s Diamond Maple Leaf Brooch for a second time. She wore it multiple times during the trip; above, she paired it with her tanzanite earrings for her arrival in Victoria. (See more images of Kate wearing the brooch during the trip here!)

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In Canada, Kate also debuted a new pair of earrings borrowed from the Queen: the small diamond and pearl earrings that the Queen wore during her Silver Jubilee celebrations. The earrings really shone during Kate’s first foreign solo trip — a visit to the Netherlands in October. Photographers even captured her wearing the earrings while looking at another famous Girl with a Pearl Earring during the trip. (More images, including an earring close-up, over here!)

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On Remembrance Sunday, Kate wore the Queen’s Bahrain Pearl Earrings. The earrings were made using pearls given to the Queen by the nation of Bahrain as a wedding present in 1947. (More from Remembrance Sunday over here!)

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Kate debuted another pair of diamond earrings from the Queen’s jewelry box in November, when she attended a reception at Mansion House in London. (More images over here!)

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For the annual diplomatic reception in December, Kate wore a trio of jewels loaned by the Queen: the Lover’s Knot Tiara, diamond earrings, and the diamond bracelet that Prince Philip designed for the Queen as a wedding present in 1947. (More over here!)