The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (or, more properly, the Earl and Countess of Strathearn) were in Scotland for several days of engagements this week, and on Wednesday, Kate debuted another royal jewelry loan from the Queen.
On Wednesday evening, William and Kate hosted a special screening of the new Disney film Cruella at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. The drive-in movie night was attended by NHS staff members.
The Queen loaned William and Kate a special vehicle to drive to the screening: a Land Rover Defender that belonged to William’s late grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh.
The Land Rover wasn’t the only loan the Queen offered the couple for the evening. With a blue tartan trench coat from Holland and Cooper, Kate wore a pair of earrings specially loaned to her by HM for the event.
The stud earrings feature a large sapphire surrounded by a diamond loop cluster. They’re part of a suite of jewelry presented to the Queen by Sheikh Rashid of Dubai in February 1979.
The sapphire and diamond demi-parure was made by Asprey. The set originally included a necklace, a ring, and a pair of earrings. The Queen later had the suite reconfigured, shortening the necklace and using the leftover sections to make a new pair of earrings. (Those are the earrings worn by Kate for this event.)
The original earrings and the ring were then used to make a bracelet to coordinate with the necklace and new earrings. Above, the Queen wears the resulting three-piece demi-parure with Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik for a dinner in Edmonton during a royal visit to Canada in the spring of 2005.
The earrings are the third major piece of royal heirloom jewelry to be given or loaned to the Duchess, after her sapphire and diamond engagement ring and the Queen Mother’s Sapphire and Diamond Fringe Earrings.
On Thursday, during the closing ceremony of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh, we also got another jewelry treat from Kate: a brooch!
Kate wore a floral spray brooch with a design reminiscent of vintage pieces from the 1940s or 1950s, plus their coordinating earrings. She also wore a necklace from Kiki McDonough: the Apollo Blue Topaz Pendant, set in yellow gold. (Kate has a large and growing personal collection of jewelry from the designer.)
Thursday wasn’t Kate’s first appearance in the floral jewels. She has previously worn the set on other occasions, including the Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey in March 2018. You can see the brooch from that event in the photograph above.
The necklace Kate wore on Thursday is very similar to one worn by the Duchess of Cornwall. Camilla’s version is the Apollo Blue Topaz and Diamond Necklace, set in white gold.
Here’s one more look at Kate’s jewelry from Thursday’s closing ceremony.
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