The Princess of Wales pulled a sparkling surprise as she attended the Earthshot Awards in Boston. For the first time, Kate chose an emerald and diamond necklace famously worn by Diana, Princess of Wales.
The choker necklace has a long royal history and made its first appearance on a December day over a century ago. It was first worn by Queen Mary as, along with King George V, she visited India. George had taken the British throne the year before, on the death of his father, Edward VII. Now, eighteen months into his reign, he made a symbolic visit to India where he was Emperor.
King George V wore a crown specially created for the Delhi Durbar, the huge event that would see him and his wife acknowledged publicly as Emperor and Empress of India. Queen Mary wore a suite of diamonds and emeralds which became known as the Durbar Parure and which included the original setting of the necklace.
The neat line of large emeralds, surrounded by hundreds of smaller diamonds, was given to Mary by the Maharani of Patiala. In its original setting it was worn as part of a huge stack of necklaces by the Queen Empress, sandwiched between rows of diamonds and another emerald creation.
Queen Mary, who loved a bit of creativity when it came to jewels, later had it fashioned into an Art Deco style choker. However, this nod to the sparser lines of this style, she often wore it piled into a collection of gems. The necklace came to the Crown on Mary’s death in 1953.
Three decades on, it became one of the favourite gems of Diana, Princess of Wales who often wore it for State Banquets and gala events. The princess always wore it as a single setting and it became the most famous of her necklaces.
Perhaps its most memorable outing came in 1985 when Diana wore it as a bandeau during a visit to Australia. It was also worn by the late princess for an event on the eve of her 36th birthday in 1997.
Now, it has a new chapter in its royal history as the new Princess of Wales picked it for one of the most important events of her year, the Earthshot Awards, overseen by the Prince of Wales in Boston. The ceremony, recognising innovation in tackling environmental challenges, was attended by a stellar line up of guests. And at the heart of it was a sparkling reappearance for an historic royal gem.
