The Duchess of Cambridge wore a stunning pearl choker with a diamond studded clasp for a black tie dinner at Windsor Castle to mark the Queen and Prince Philip's 70th wedding anniversary
The Duchess of Cambridge last night sparkled in jewellery loaned by the Queen as the royal family celebrated the monarch's 70th wedding anniversary.
And Kate had an added family connection, wearing a dazzling pearl choker with a diamond studded clasp which had previously been borrowed by Princess Diana.
The four-strand necklace was created from cultured pearls given to the Queen by the Japanese government. She wore the necklace herself on various occasions in the 1980s and 1990s, including on a visit to Bangladesh in 1983.
Diana, Kate's late mother-in-law, borrowed the piece for a state banquet in 1982 held at Hampton Court Palace in honour of the Netherlands.
Kate, who is expecting her third child in April also wore the dress for a charity gala earlier this month, having
first been pictured in it in November 2014 when pregnant with Princess Charlotte
. Prince Harry's girlfriend Meghan Markle has worn a variation on it previously , too.
The Duchess's earrings also have royal history, as she chose the Collingwood Pearl and Diamond Earrings which belonged to Princess Diana. She also wore them for July's state banquet with Spain.
Kate has often been loaned the Queen's jewellery when on royal tours and for grand official engagements. And she wears items which previously belonged to Princess Diana even more frequently - with the sapphire and diamond engagement ring an ever-present.
It is rarer to see Kate wearing a tiara from the royal collection, although she has already worn the Queen's Cartier Halo tiara on her wedding day, the Queen Mother's lotus flower tiara, and the Cambridge Lover's Knot given to Diana as a wedding present from the Queen.
William and Kate travelled to the do at Windsor Castle with Prince Harry in the back of a black chauffeur-driven car.
The anniversary do was a sit-down dinner for 150 people, with European royalty among the guests.
Prince Charles had flown back from Antigua in time for the do, and all of the Queen's close family were present. The bash was organised by party planner Lady Elizabeth Anson, the Queen's cousin.
With the Queen now 91 and her husband 96, the do did not run long into the night. A friend told the Daily Mail: "Neither the duke nor the Queen like late nights any more. They still like parties, however."
