Why is this? Well, it’s a tradition that began back when Queen Victoria reigned. When her beloved husband Prince Albert died in 1861, the monarch went into a period of mourning that would last for the next forty years, up until the day she herself died. This four-decade period of mourning entailed black attire and subdued, colorless jewelry to symbolize Victoria’s deep grief, and the tradition of wearing pearls and diamonds to funerals has persisted in royal tradition ever since. (Pearls have an additional symbolic resonance because they resemble teardrops.) Thus Queen Elizabeth—who has worn pearls to the funerals ofPrincess Diana, Princess Margaret, and the Queen Mother in the past—was seen on Saturday in a pair of pearl earrings and a three-strand pearl necklace that’s also known as her “signature” necklace (People writes that the queen’s father, King George VI, started his daughter’s pearl collection and added two new saltwater gems to the platinum chain on each of her birthdays.) The queen also wore the magnificent pearl and diamond Richmond brooch to her husband’s funeral, which she inherited from her grandmother Queen Mary. More pearls were on show courtesy of the Duchess of Cambridge, who for the occasion borrowed the queen’s four-strand pearl choker as her late mother-in-law Diana did before her. Featuring a diamond clasp in the center, the choker was a gift to the queen from the Japanese government. As Duchess Kate previously wore it to the queen and Philip’s 70th wedding anniversary party in 2017, she seems to have selected it for Saturday’s service with sentimental reasons in mind. Meanwhile, Kate’s pearl earrings were a wedding gift to the queen from the Hakim of Bahrain when she married the Duke of Edinburgh in 1947. Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, also wore pearl earrings and the silver Bugle brooch that paid tribute to Philip’s former role as Colonel-in-Chief of The Rifles, a position that he handed over to Camilla only last year. Finally,Princess Anne’s daughter Zara Tindall was among the wearers of pearls on the day of the funeral. Next up, the ‘Seawater Gem’: see the Countess of Wessex’s favorite aquamarine tiaras.
