Kate Middleton's subtle tribute to Princess Diana in new portrait

24 June 2022, 17:30

By Alice Dear

The Duchess of Cambridge made sure she honoured her late mother-in-law in her first official portrait alongside Prince William.

Kate Middleton, 40, has paid a subtle but very touching tribute to Princess Diana in her and Prince William's first official portrait.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge made headlines this week as they visited the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge for the unveiling of the stunning painting.

The portrait of Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis' parents was painted by by British portrait artist Jamie Coreth, who was commissioned to create the piece of art by the Cambridgeshire Royal Portrait Fund as a gift to the nation.

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In the portrait, which Coreth created to display the couple as "relaxed, elegant and dignified", Kate and William stand with an arm around each other, looking off into the distance.

The figure of Kate shows the Duchess wearing one of her most famous gowns, a green midi dress by The Vampire's Wife, and a pair of matching Manolo Blahnik stilettos.

The tribute to Princess Diana is very subtle, but if you look closely at the Duchess of Cambridge's wrist you can see a pearl bracelet which once belonged to William's mother.

When Princess Diana tragically passed away, her sons inherited her jewellery, and have since gifted pieces of the collection to their spouses.

This is not the first time the Duchess of Cambridge has worn the bracelet, designed by Nigel Milne in 1988, having debuted the item on her wrist back in 2017.

The Duchess of Cambridge also wears the Collingwood Pearl Earrings in the portrait, another set from Diana's collection.

Collingwood Jewellers gifted the drop earrings to Diana before she married Prince Charles, and the Princess of Wales continued to wear them throughout her life.

Kate Middleton also wore an item belonging to the Queen in the portrait, the Duchess of Cambridge Brooch.

The item dates back to the nineteenth century and was created by London-based jeweller Garrard.

Originally, it was created to honour Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kessel who was born in 1797 and became Duchess of Cambridge after marrying Prince Adolphus in 1818.

It was passed through the family until, in 1953, it was gifted to the Queen by her grandmother Queen Mary.

The brooch is made up of a large pearl surrounded by diamonds, with another smaller pearl drop.

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