Kate Middleton and Prince William took part in an annual tradition to mark Remembrance Day.
The Prince and Princess of Wales, 41, joined King Charles, Queen Camilla and other members of the royal family on Saturday at the Royal British Legion’s annual Festival of Remembrance at Royal Albert Hall. The event honoring fallen soldiers from the U.K. and the Commonwealth is a staple on William and Kate’s calendar each year.
Following tradition, they wore dark ensembles adorned with red poppy pins. The symbol, believed to stem from the John McCrae poem “In Flanders Fields,” has been used since 1921 to commemorate military members who have died in war.
Princess Kate also wore the late Queen Elizabeth’s three-strand diamond necklace and diamond and pearl earrings.
This year, the Festival of Remembrance was also attended by Prince Edward and Sophie, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh; Princess Anne and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence; The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent.
Last year at the Festival of Remembrance, Princess Kate wore jewelry that previously belonged to her grandmother-in-law Queen Elizabeth, a poignant reminder just months after the monarch’s death. She wore the Bahrain pearl drop earrings and a four-strand pearl choker necklace with a diamond piece in the center — the same pieces she chose to wear for Queen Elizabeth’s state funeral and committal service.
The Princess of Wales previously wore the choker as well as the earrings for the funeral of Prince Philip in 2021. She was also recently seen in the pearl drop earrings at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June.
“Pearls are one of the very few jewelry items you can wear in mourning and are inextricably linked with Queen Elizabeth and her personal jewelry legacy,” Bethan Holt, author of The Queen: 70 Years of Majestic Style, previously told PEOPLE. “It’s a symbol of mourning a monarch but also a grandmother or great-grandmother.”
Wearing pearls in mourning is a tradition set by Queen Victoria following the death of her husband Prince Albert in 1861, after which she wore black until the day she died. Queen Victoria accessorized with colorless jewelry, often pearls, which she loved and thought more appropriately discreet and respectful than sapphires, rubies or other colored gemstones.
The Princess of Wales is also wearing a new brooch tonight at the Festival Of Remembrance.
The Princess of Wales is wearing The Queen’s Dragoon Guard’s brooch that she received earlier this week when she visited QDG. The last recipient was Late Queen Mother.
Before HRH Princess Of Wales left the Norfolk regiment, Princess Catherine was presented with the Queen’s Dragoon Guards brooch, which was made in 1959 for the Queen Mother, who also served as Colonel-in-Chief of the regiment, during her visit.”
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