Empress Diamonds for the Princess of Wales in Windsor

Princess Catherine visited the Windsor Family Hub on June 6. The Hub is run by Achieving for Children, a non-profit community interest company providing children’s services for the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.

Kate met with staff working at the organization as well as families using the hub’s services.

The visit was part of Kate’s continuing work on ensuring that Britain’s kids are given necessary support during the crucial early years of childhood.

For the visit, Kate wore a blue and white houndstooth blazer and navy trousers and flats, an ensemble that made it easy for her to get on the floor to chat with parents and children.

With the outfit, she wore a set of diamond and white gold jewelry that has been in her collection for nearly a decade. The necklace and earrings come from Mappin & Webb’s Empress range.

Kate first wore the necklace from the set in August 2014, during a visit to the World War I centenary poppy installation in the moat at the Tower of London. She paired the necklace on that occasion with her diamond and sapphire cluster drop earrings.

She wore the earrings for the first time nearly a year later, on July 5, 2015, wearing them with the coordinating necklace for the christening of Princess Charlotte in Norfolk.

Since then, Kate has often worn the earrings and necklace, both together and separately, for daytime engagements. Here, she wears the earrings at RAF Valley in Angelsey in February 2016.

And here, she wears the earrings and necklace together for the opening of the Magic Garden at Hampton Court Palace in May 2016.

We saw the Empress jewels often in the summer of 2016. Kate wore the necklace with her Balenciaga Eugenie Earrings for Trooping the Colour that June.

That year, Trooping the Colour was an official celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s milestone 90th birthday. The following day, Kate wore the Empress necklace and earrings for another birthday lunch event on the Mall.

And a day after that, for the Garter Day service in Windsor, Kate wore the necklace again, this time with her diamond wedding earrings.

In September 2016, Kate echoed the round shape and design of the earrings and necklace with a polka dot dress during a school visit in Harlow.

In the spring of 2017, Kate brought the necklace along for her first official foreign trip: a visit to Luxembourg to mark the anniversary of the Treaty of London. She paired the necklace with blue topaz and diamond earrings from Kiki McDonough.

She also packed the earrings for the royal visit to Scandinavia in 2018, wearing them for a visit to a school in Oslo.

More recently, we’ve continued to see Kate wear the Empress jewels for high profile events, especially casual engagements related to the world of sports. Here, she wears the earrings at Wimbledon in July 2021.

She wore the complete set in August 2022 to attend the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

And in February, we saw her wear the earrings in Cardiff for the Wales vs. England Six Nations Match.

Here’s another look at Kate wearing the earrings and necklace today.

I know many are forever hoping to see Kate break out more royal bling for both daytime and evening visits. But it’s clear that she sees these pieces as suitable for daytime princess-ing. They’re sparkly enough to be noticed but not so bright and loud that they grab attention from the cause at hand.