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| TIM IRELAND/AFP/Getty Images |
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge gussied up on Sunday and headed to the BAFTAs — and Kate brought a couple of very royal pieces of jewelry along with her.
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| TIM IRELAND/AFP/Getty Images |
The Duke of Cambridge has been the President of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts since 2010, and the couple have attended BAFTA events throughout their marriage.
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Kate accessorized her white gown with diamonds and pearls with royal heritage.
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| Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images |
These diamond and pearl statement earrings may look familiar.
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| Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images |
The stud portion of the earring is intricate, featuring a horseshoe set with baguette diamonds, with a leafy portion wrapping over and around it. A pearl drop is suspended from the diamond portion.
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The earrings belonged to Kate’s mother-in-law, the late Diana, Princess of Wales. You’ll note, however, that the pearl drop that Diana wore with the earrings is different from the one Kate wore to the BAFTAs. Diana’s pearl is rounder and is set differently.
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I think the pearl drop Kate wears may come from another pair of Diana’s earrings: her ruby and diamond earrings, which she wore with a pearl drop and with a ruby and diamond tassel pendant. (Without a good hi-res version of photos where Diana wears the earrings, it’s difficult to say for certain — Kate’s could be another drop altogether.)
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The all-diamond and pearl drop earrings were one of Diana’s favorite pairs of earrings in the 1990s. Above, she wears the earrings for a charity gala at the Departmental Auditorium in Washington in October 1990. (She’s also wearing the diamond and pearl bracelet that is now worn by Kate.)
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One extremely memorable appearance in the earrings came in December 1995, when she accepted the United Cerebral Palsy Humanitarian Award in New York.
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She also famously wore the earrings with a blue one-shoulder gown in Sydney for a fundraising dinner for the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute in October 1996. You’ll note that she’s also wearing pieces from her aquamarine collection, including the aquamarine ring now worn by the Duchess of Sussex.
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| JAMAL WILSON/AFP/Getty Images |
And here, Diana wears the earrings in June 1997 for an American Red Cross gala at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington in honor of victims of landmines.
Diana also wore the stud portion of the earrings without the pearl drop. She chose that configuration to see Swan Lake at the Royal Albert Hall in June 1997.
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| TIM IRELAND/AFP/Getty Images |
Along with Diana’s earrings, Kate wore the Diamond Quatrefoil Bracelet on loan to her from the Queen. We first saw Kate wear the bracelet in November 2017.
