The story behind Meghan Markle's wedding day earrings

(Image credit: 2018 Pool/Max Mumby)
Penny Goldstone
By Penny Goldstone
published

Today marks the second wedding anniversary of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, so what better time to look back at the royal bride's wedding day jewellery?

We all know she borrowed her stunning art deco Cartier tiara from Queen Elizabeth, and that she wore Princess Diana's aquamarine cocktail ring for the evening reception.

On her ears, she chose to wear some understated diamond stud earrings, but what you might have missed is that she actually wore them before her wedding day.

The Duchess of Sussex wore the Cartier Galanterie earrings twice in April 2018, a month before the wedding, once to a memorial service for Stephen Lawrence, the other to a service in Westminster Abbey.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

This means it's unlikely they were a wedding gift from the groom or another member of the royal family.

The earrings could count as her something old on the big day, and they certainly add sentimental value, as Cartier is a brand that is closely linked to the royal family. Kate Middleton wore a Cartier tiara on her wedding day, and Princess Diana's favourite timepiece was the Cartier Tank watch, which Meghan Markle also owns.

Shop now: GALANTERIE DE CARTIER EARRINGS, POA from CARTIER

The Duchess had in fact purchased it as a gift to herself to celebrate her success as an actress on Suits.

Another reason her jewellery choice was poignant is that she is not the first royal to debut her wedding day jewellery before the big day.

Princess Margaret broke all the rules by not only buying her own wedding day tiara at an auction (instead of borrowing one from the royal family collection), but she also wore it before the big day.

Who doesn't love a royal maverick?

Penny Goldstone
Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.

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