This is what happened to Diana's jewellery after she died
A few pieces of Diana's jewellery have been worn by Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton recently. Meghan wore Diana's aquamarine ring on her wedding day, while Kate's sapphire engagement ring was of course Diana's. But what happened to the rest of her jewellery?
Who inherited Diana's jewellery?
After Diana passed away, William and Harry did inherit some of Diana's jewellery, according to her wishes. She wrote in a special letter: 'I would like you to allocate all my jewellery to the share to be held by my sons, so that their wives may, in due course, have it or use it. I leave the exact division of the jewellery to your discretion.'
That included the Duchess of Cambridge's sapphire engagement ring, and two diamonds which created the Duchess of Sussex's engagement ring. Harry also gifted the aforementioned aquamarine ring to his new wife as a wedding present.
But not all her jewellery belonged to Diana, as a few pieces, like the Royal family tiaras, were on loan from the Queen. These went back to the Queen's estate after her death, to be loaned to other members of the family.
What jewellery has Kate gotten that was Diana's?
As well as the engagement ring, Kate has also worn other pieces of Diana's jewellery, including sapphire earrings which were part of the Saudi suite, a wedding gift to Diana from the Crown Prince Fahd (seen below).
She has also worn the Cambridge Lover's Knot tiara which was one of Diana's favourites. She was actually given it by the Queen to wear it on her wedding day, but instead opted to wear her family's Spencer tiara. However, she wore it to loads of events afterwards.
Diana used to team the gorgeous tiara with a pair of pearl and diamond earrings by Collingswood, which Kate wore at a state banquet in Spain in 2017.
What happened to Diana's sapphire choker?
Diana's sapphire choker is perhaps one of her most famous necklaces, and she wore it long after her divorce, notably on the day of the 'revenge' dress (the same night Prince Charles appeared to confirm his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles). It was originally a brooch given to her by the Queen Mother, which she later turned into a choker by mounting it on a string of pearls.
The last time it appeared in public was in 1996, when Diana wore it to the Met Gala. It has been rumoured that the two diamonds on either side of Meghan's engagement ring are from the choker, though this hasn't been confirmed.
Princess Diana's wedding jewellery
Diana wore her family's Spencer tiara on her wedding day, and it presumably went back to her family after her death, though it hasn't been seen in public since. She also wore a pair of diamond earrings, which were a gift from her parents, and which she left to William and Harry, so we can perhaps expect Meghan or Kate to wear them.
Princess Diana aquamarine ring
As you know, Meghan was given the stunning emerald cut aquamarine ring on her wedding day by Prince Harry. It was the perfect something blue. It was actually part of an Asprey set, which also included a bracelet with the same stone, connected to five strands of pearls. Diana famously wore the ring to auction of her own clothes at Christie’s in 1997, and wore the set to a gala dinner in Australia in 1996.
Princess Diana Swan Lake set
Princess Diana's iconic pearl and diamond necklace and earrings set was famously dubbed the Swan Lake set as she wore it during one of her last public appearances, at a performance of Swan Lake at the Royal Albert Hall. She actually only wore the necklace at the event, as the earrings were still being created, and she sadly never saw the finished product as she died shortly after.
This set didn't belong to the Royal family, and actually went up for auction last year for a cool £12m.
