Pearls and diamonds, the “white jewels” worn by Kate (and not only) at Philip’s funeral

Of all the photographs taken at the funeral of Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, one has already entered recent history, perhaps ousting that of the tiny isolated queen bent over her grief. With all due respect to Elizabeth, the Kate who looks at the lens of the royal photographer of the Getty agency Chris Jackson (husband, moreover, of Natasha Archer, the stylist of the Duchess) is an image of the future, rather than the present: even if in one day we hope Charles will rise to the throne, the whole UK knows that one day not too distant the scepter will pass to William and, in a certain sense, also to the granite, confident and very photogenic wife who for the sad occasion presented herself impeccable in the outfit and in the jewels borrowed from her husband’s grandmother.

After all, the godmother of the Royal Photographic Society (in 2017 she took over from the queen herself) she knows the importance of certain details and so, while redesigning her role within the family that was forever saying goodbye to her “rock”, she connected not only with a single jewel to Elisabetta but also to the never forgotten mother-in-law. The Japanese pearl choker four-strand with a diamond clasp belongs to the sovereign but it had its moment of notoriety, even if fleeting, thanks to Diana who wore it to a banquet honoring the Dutch royal family in 1982. Also, that necklace is surgically set on the neckline of the signature coat Catherine Walker, the favorite brand of the deceased princess, who with that bow recalls the dress worn by Elisabetta at her daughter-in-law’s funeral.

It was the queen herself who commissioned the choker a Garrard, the court jeweler, to enhance Japanese cultured pearls received as a gift from the Japanese government at the end of the 1970s. Elisabetta wore it sparingly and, in recent times, she was Kate to bring him back into the paparazzi spotlight on his way to the party in honor of the 70 years of marriage of the queen and Philip in 2017.

They hung on the lobes of the Duchess of Cambridge, earrings with Bahraini pearls. Also in this circumstance Kate drew from the casket of Elisabetta’s happiest memories. Those pearls were in fact a gift from the sovereign of Bahrain for the young princess who in 1947 married the beautiful Philip: of the seven pearls donated, two ended up in this masterpiece of jewelry made up of a large round diamond, four smaller in size. and three baguette-cut diamonds. The Queen frequently wore the earrings in the early years of her reign to show them back to the world at the Buckingham Palace exhibition organized for her 60th wedding anniversary. Again, for Kate it was not the first time: the earrings are already a consolidated loan, already spotted at Trooping the Colour del 2019 and al Remembrance Sunday del 2016.

As some commentators point out, the one we witnessed last Saturday it was the first funeral for royalty in the internet age. Precisely for this reason, even in the sobriety imposed on the one hand by Filippo and on the other by anti-Covid regulations, no detail was left to chance. The Spartan Anna illuminated her multi-medal demeanor with her favorite earrings, the ones she wears on every important occasion in her life, from the announcement of her engagement to her first husband Mark Phillips, to the marriage with the second, Sir Timothy Laurence, to move on to the wedding of his daughter Zara and those of Prince Harry. It seems that those jewels in gold, pearls and diamonds with an abstract shape, the work of Andrew Grima, are a gift from his parents. The designer was much loved by Filippo, so much so that he commissioned the brooch from him «Beetle»Of rubies so dear to Elizabeth worn in the portrait for her seventieth wedding anniversary in 2017.

Even more no frills Camilla. The Duchess of Cornwall he preferred a diamond brooch perhaps less precious but a witness of a real bond with Filippo. That jewel is a reference to the Rifles Regiment: it was the Duke of Edinburgh who appointed his daughter-in-law last July colonel of the major regiment of the British army. A role that, had it not been for the resignation from the family, would have fallen to Harry.

As we have learned in recent days, the “white jewelry»Are those that are suitable for situations related to mourning: diamonds are less noisy than other precious stones while pearls instead symbolize tears (for this reason, in popular tradition, when they are received as a gift, they should be repaid by “repaying” them with a small sum). Also Lady Penny Brabourne, as for pearls and diamonds, it was no less. As well as the other funeral attendees, she wore pearl pendant earrings of quite large size unlike the Countess of Wessex, Sophie, and Zara Tindall. The close friend of Filippo, as well as wife of Norton Knatchbull, nephew of Lord Louis Mountbatten, the famous uncle of the Duke of Edinburgh and mentor of Charles, paired those teardrop earrings with a necklace, also of pearls, and with a eye-catching fern-shaped diamond brooch.

Even the noblewoman then, as well as Queen Elizabeth who greeted her husband with a very precious piece from her collection, entrusted his message to the jewel pinned to the black coat. That friendship with Filippo was much discussed but in reality they were linked by a close confidence and a passion for carriage races. As a demonstration of the purity of the feelings of the only guest outside the close circle of thirty, Lady Penny chose the fern: the plant in fact for Queen Victoria was the symbol of sincerity. A tombstone therefore on any inappropriate gossip.