Kate Middleton dug deep into the royal jewelry vault for a glamorous night out in London — wearing a spectacular necklace that has been part of the royal family for more than a century.
The Princess of Wales stepped onto the red carpet Tuesday, Sept. 22, alongside Prince William for the world premiere of Tom Cruise’s new movie Digger at London’s Leicester Square.
But it was the enormous heart-shaped amethyst hanging from Kate’s neck that quickly stole the show.
The historic diamond, pearl and amethyst sautoir dates back to 1923 and originally belonged to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.
Jewelry historian The Court Jeweller reports that Queen Alexandra gave the necklace to Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon shortly before Elizabeth married Alexandra’s grandson, Prince Albert, Duke of York — the future King George VI — on April 26, 1923.
The necklace was even displayed at Buckingham Palace with the other wedding gifts ahead of the ceremony.
More than 100 years later, Kate brought the rarely seen piece back into the spotlight.
The elaborate necklace features multiple strands of pearls accented by diamonds and purple amethysts, with a massive heart-shaped amethyst pendant hanging at the center.
Kate paired it with a sweeping custom Jenny Packham gown in a rich shade of purple, allowing the necklace’s amethyst stones to match almost perfectly with her dress.
She also added another deeply personal royal connection by wearing the Collingwood pearl-and-diamond drop earrings once worn by her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana.
The necklace itself has an unusually mysterious history.
Although records indicate the Queen Mother wore it after Queen Alexandra’s death in 1925, there are few known photographs of her actually wearing the piece, according to The Court Jeweller. It subsequently spent decades largely out of public view.
One of its most memorable modern appearances came in 2012, when Camilla — then the Duchess of Cornwall and now Queen — wore the necklace to the London premiere of the James Bond movie Skyfall. That means Kate’s appearance Tuesday marked its first major public outing in roughly 14 years.
There was also an appropriate bit of movie history attached to the night.
Tuesday’s Digger premiere was not simply another Hollywood red carpet. It served as the 73rd Royal Film Performance, a fundraising tradition dating back to 1946 that benefits the Film and TV Charity. The organization provides mental health, financial and other support to people working behind the scenes in Britain’s film, television and cinema industries.
Kate and William joined Cruise along with director Alejandro G. Iñárritu and cast members including Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg and Jesse Plemons. Reuters photographs from the premiere showed the royal couple greeting Cruise and Iñárritu on the carpet.
The appearance was also something of a return engagement for William, Kate and Cruise.
The Prince and Princess of Wales attended the London premiere of Top Gun: Maverick with Cruise in May 2022, while the Royal Film Performance itself has previously showcased major movies including Titanic, Spectre, Gladiator II and Top Gun: Maverick.
This time, however, one of the night’s biggest attractions was not on the movie screen.
Kate’s century-old necklace had spent much of its life hidden from public view — and its dramatic return gave the royal family’s history its own starring role on the red carpet.
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