Such was the case when the Princess of Wales and Prince William released a video message to mark St David’s Day on Sunday. Speaking entirely in Welsh for the first time, Catherine said that the nation was ‘very close to our hearts’, while her husband celebrated the ‘rich history and wonderful people’ of Wales.
The Princess of Wales’s jewellery box is a thing of legend, with royal watchers knowing the ins and outs of Catherine’s earrings, rings, tiaras and brooches like the back of their hands. It means that, whenever a piece cannot immediately be identified, there is a rush to figure out precisely what the future queen is wearing.
The video opened with Prince William wishing ‘everyone in Wales a very happy St David’s day,’ standing alongside Catherine in a corner of Frogmore House. ‘Wales is very close to our hearts, and we look forward to every visit,’ the Princess added.
The Prince of Wales then remarks: ‘It is a beautiful country, with a rich history and wonderful people.’ Catherine concludes the video message by saying: ‘Wishing you a day full of celebration with family and friends.’
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The Princess of Wales was dressed for the occasion, sporting a pleated houndstooth silk midi dress from Alessandra Rich in a Welsh red colour. Catherine, no stranger to diplomatic dressing, also pinned the national symbol of Wales, a daffodil, to the collar of the dress. For her earrings, she opted for the Cartier Trinity earrings, with their three interlocking loops thought to hold a special emotional significance as a nod to her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
When it comes to the future queen’s necklace, however, it seems as though the jury is still out. The piece appears to be a red stone necklace on a gold chain. It could be that Catherine has selected another piece of garnet jewellery – after all, the stone has become a favourite of the royals in recent months. Garnet is Catherine’s birthstone, and is said to symbolise inner strength and healing, two attributes that will feel especially fitting for the Princess of Wales following her experience of cancer treatment over the past few years.
One garnet piece in particular is seeing increasingly regular rotation in her jewellery box. The necklace, last seen when Catherine visited a school in New Adlington on 13 February, has been a part of her collection since June 2022, when the Princess of Wales wore it in a video baking with her children to mark the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The gem made another outing in 2025, on a visit to Colchester Hospital. Most recently, Catherine wore the necklace as part of an all-red ensemble to celebrate the World Cup victory of the England Women’s Rugby squad at Windsor Castle, with her monochrome dress code paying tribute to the Red Roses.
The necklace is not the only piece of garnet jewellery that the Princess of Wales owns. Earlier this month, on a visit to West Wales, Catherine opted for a pair of earrings set with her birthstone. The earrings appear to have originated around March 2023, when she wore them at a training session for the Irish Guards. There was speculation at the time that the heart-shaped earrings were a gift from Prince William, appearing so shortly after Catherine’s birthday and nodding to her birthstone. A number of other outings followed, including trips to Hereford in September and rural Scotland in November. Last year, the Princess wore them during a visit to Pontypridd in February.
English