Last week, the Princess of Wales paid a visit to Leicester to celebrate the city’s Indian community, where she was presented with a rose garland—a symbol of respect and honour in Indian culture—that was also strung with pearls.
Pearls are, of course, a constant in Kate Middleton’s wardrobe. For the 2026 Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey on 9 March, the princess wore a royal-blue coat dress by her perennial favourite, Catherine Walker, accessorized with a necklace formed from five strands of pearls, designed by Susan Caplan. Polished, poised, and smiling alongside her husband, Prince William, Kate finished her look with the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Bahrain Pearl drop earrings, crafted from a cache of seven rare pearls that the then Princess Elizabeth was given by the Hakim of Bahrain as a gift on her wedding day in 1947.
Kate has been reaching for her pearl necklace more frequently for public occasions. She wore them with a cream bouclé Self-Portrait blazer and a velvet bow in her hair to the VE Day 80th anniversary concert at Horse Guards Parade in May 2025, and in London to honour Holocaust Memorial Day the January before.
Traditionally, royals wore pared-back pearls when in mourning. Most notably, Kate wore a four-strand pearl and diamond choker by Garrard, which the late Queen had commissioned using pearls gifted to her by the Japanese government in the ’70s, to Her Majesty’s state funeral in September 2022.
In recent months, interest in pearl jewelry has gained momentum due to the Georgian and Victorian pieces worn in Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights, as well as the ostentatious designs that are so central to Netflix’s popular Regency romp, Bridgerton. The Princess of Wales is proving that in 2026, pearls remain a timeless choice.