The Tamesis
The Princess of Wales visited Leicester last week to celebrate the city’s Indian community, where she received a wreath of roses – a symbol of respect and honor in Indian culture – strung with pearls.
Of course, pearls are a regular fixture in Kate Middleton’s wardrobe. The princess wore her favorite royal blue coat dress by Catherine Walker paired with a five-strand pearl necklace by Susan Caplan at the 2026 Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey on March 9. Elegant and poised, Kate smiled alongside her husband Prince William as she wore the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Bahrain pearl drop earrings, which were made from seven rare pearls that were a gift to Princess Elizabeth on her wedding day in 1947 by the Hakim of Bahrain.
Kate is reaching for her pearl necklace more often in public. She performed the 80th anniversary concert of VE Day at Horse Guards Parade in May 2025, and commemorated Holocaust Remembrance Day in London in January, wearing the dress with a cream tweed Self-Portrait blazer and a velvet bow in her hair.
Traditionally, members of the royal family wore simple pearls during times of mourning. Most notably, Kate wore a Garrard-designed four-strand pearl and diamond choker at Her Majesty’s State Funeral in September 2022, which was commissioned by the late Queen using pearls given to her by the Japanese government in the 1970s.
