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Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Theatrical Diamonds for Kate in London

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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were out at the theater on Tuesday evening, and Kate brought some serious royal sparkle along with her.

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William and Kate arrived at the Noel Coward Theater in London for a special charity performance of the musical Dear Evan Hansen. The musical features themes related to mental health and young people, two causes that are part of the Cambridges’ charitable focus. The event was a benefit for the Royal Foundation.

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For the performance, Kate wore a pair of diamond chandelier earrings on loan to her by the Queen.

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The earrings have been in Kate’s jewelry box since shortly after her marriage in 2011. You can see a close-up over here.

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Kate wore the earrings in public for the first time during a BAFTA event in Los Angeles in the summer of 2011.

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Since then, they’ve become a regular part of her gala jewelry rotation. Here, in June 2016, she wears them for an EACH gala in Norfolk.

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In March 2017, she wore them for a reception during the couple’s official visit to Paris.

EDDIE MULHOLLAND/AFP/Getty Images

And in November 2017, she chose them for the annual Royal Variety Performance.

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For Tuesday’s performance, she kept her jewelry fairly minimal, wearing just the earrings and her usual wedding, engagement, and eternity rings. She added a little extra sparkle with her clutch bag…

Chris Jackson/Getty Images

…as well as a pair of dazzling shoes. I think Cinderella would approve.

The Queen Sparkles for the Security Service

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On Tuesday, Queen Elizabeth II made a visit to Thames House, the London headquarters of Britain’s domestic security service, MI-5. Here’s a look at the brooch she chose for the occasion…

AARON CHOWN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

The Queen wore a burgandy outfit with floral touches as she toured the headquarters alongside Director General Andrew Parker.

VICTORIA JONES/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

She also delivered remarks during the visit, telling the service’s employees, “I am always struck by the remarkable resolve with which you carry out your vital role.”

Victoria Jones – WPA Pool/Getty Images

For the occasion, the Queen reached for a brooch that’s been in her jewelry box for more than half a century.

VICTORIA JONES/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

The piece is the Modern Ruby and Diamond Spray Brooch, which features a gold setting with diamonds and a slender row of rubies.

VICTORIA JONES/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Here’s a closer view of the brooch from Tuesday’s outing. We don’t know the specifics behind the brooch’s provenance, but its design clearly dates to the middle of the twentieth century.

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One of the earliest public appearances of the brooch came in May 1965. The Queen wore the jewel for a luncheon with Chancellor Ludwig Erhard during an official visit to West Berlin.

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In June 1969, she was pictured wearing the brooch during a visit by Sheikh Zayed, the Emir of Abu Dhabi, to Buckingham Palace.

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The Queen wore the brooch with a very ’70s beret and outfit during her May 1972 state visit to France.

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In November 1972, she repeated the brooch with the same hat and outfit, but this time she pinned the brooch to the collar of her coat.

ANDREW MURRAY and PATRICK RIVIERE/AFP via Getty Images

The brooch made an outing on a red and white floral dress during her 1988 tour of Australia…

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…and on a bright red coat during her March 1995 visit to Belfast.

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The brooch also got an outing during the Diamond Jubilee festivities. The Queen wore it in April 2012 for a walkabout in Windsor.

Adrian Dennis – WPA Pool/Getty Images

One of the brooch’s more recent appearances came during a royal visit to the Royal Insitute of Chartered Surveyors in November 2018. On that occasion, unusually, the Queen wore the brooch with the diamond spray facing downward.

VICTORIA JONES/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

For her visit to MI-5 on Tuesday, the Queen wore it as she usually does, with the spray facing upward.