Diana, Princess of Wales, owned a collection of jewels both as a member of the British royal family and as a private individual. These were separate from the coronation and state regalia of the crown jewels. Most of her jewels were either presents from foreign royalty, on loan from Queen Elizabeth II, wedding presents, purchased by Diana herself, or heirlooms belonging to the Spencer family.
Her jewellery was a mix of precious stones and costume pieces, which she sourced from London's Butler & Wilson, often reported by the media as "priceless" jewels, which the princess found amusing. Most jewellery dates from the 19th and 20th centuries. She also had a vast collection of gold accessories, which often went unnoticed and became understated by the media.
At formal occasions, such as banquets, the princess normally wore jewellery lent to her by the Queen, who owned more than 300 items of jewellery. Diana's daughters-in-law, Catherine, Princess of Wales, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, have worn various pieces from her collection.
Early jewellery Born into an affluent aristocratic family, Lady Diana Spencer owned some high quality jewellery. Prior to her marriage to Prince Charles, she often wore a gold Cartier Russian wedding ring of three yellow gold bands on the little finger of her right hand and a diamond and white gold eternity ring from the family collection on her third finger.
The rings remained in the princess's collection but were rarely seen in public during her marriage. Occasionally she was photographed wearing both rings on her left hand. She also wore her family's signet ring which she would wear in combination with her other rings.
As a teenager, Diana wore a gold choker with a 'D' pendant. In 2017, a sterling silver 'D' necklace owned by the princess as a teenager sold at auction for around US$8,000. Diana was photographed wearing her initial necklace as a nursery assistant while still dating Charles. For her 16th birthday her friends gifted her a gold initial necklace. She was also photographed wearing sterling silver earrings with five diamonds. After marrying Charles, she continued to wear the necklace on occasion.
The future Princess had a collection of enamelled bangles and bracelets which she wore frequently as a teenager.
At the age of 16, Diana was a bridesmaid at her sister Jane's wedding to Robert Fellowes on 20 April 1978. She wore a pair of pearl studs and a pearl necklace. The pearl studs were worn by Diana as early as 1975 and were last seen on the princess in 1990 while opening a police station at 462 Fore Street, Edmonton, London.
On her 18th birthday, Diana was given a triple-strand pearl choker by the Spencer family. Both of Diana's older sisters had also received matching chokers on their 18th birthdays. It consisted of three rows of pearls with a turquoise and pearl cluster clasp; the clasp was only visible when it matched the colour of her outfit, otherwise hidden at the back. The princess later altered the clasp to be all pearls.
One of the first gifts Diana received from Prince Charles was an eternity ring which she wore regularly.
At the age of 18, while living in her flat 60 Coleherne Court, London, her apartment was burgled, and she had most of her jewellery stolen.
Wedding jewels
The wedding of Charles and Diana took place on 29 July 1981 at St Paul's Cathedral, London. The princess wore very little jewellery at her wedding. She wore diamond earrings that belonged to her mother, Frances Shand Kydd. She also wore the Spencer family tiara, her engagement ring, and a wedding band placed on her finger by Charles at the ceremony. Her wedding dress designers, the Emanuels, also attached an 18-carat gold horseshoe trinket studded with white diamonds to the label of the dress.
Frances Shand Kydd diamond earrings On her wedding day, Diana borrowed her mother's diamond earrings, which consist of a central pear-shaped diamond surrounded by around 50 smaller diamonds. The princess never wore them in public again, but Frances wore them at a number of important occasions, including Prince Harry's christening in 1984, her son's wedding in 1989, and the funeral of her daughter in 1997. After Frances' death in 2004, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, her eldest daughter, inherited them.
For many years, the earrings were a part of the travelling Diana exhibition. In 2011, Lady Sarah withdrew them from the display to wear them at the wedding ball for her nephew, Prince William.
The Spencer family tiara Though the piece was once said to date from the 18th century, the Spencer tiara is actually made up of other pieces of jewellery of varying ages and from different jewellers that has gone through several changes over time. The oldest parts of the tiara are the ends. They are said to have come from a tiara that once belonged to Frances Manby, the last Viscountess Montagu, and left to Lady Sarah Spencer in 1875. The centre element was a wedding present from Lady Sarah Isabella Spencer to Lady Cynthia Hamilton (Diana's grandmother), when she married Albert, Viscount Althorp, the future 7th Earl Spencer, in 1919. This piece was remounted by the Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Company at some point, and Garrard was asked to create four matching pieces in 1937 to add on. The full current appearance apparently dates from around 1935. The tiara includes diamonds in silver settings mounted in gold in various floral shapes: stylized tulips, star-shaped flowers, and scrolling foliage. Both of Lady Diana's older sisters, Jane and Sarah, wore the piece at their weddings. However, Diana's mother, Frances, did not wear it when she married into the Spencer family in 1954. While Diana's mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth II, loaned her the Queen Mary's Lover's Knot Tiara for the wedding, the princess-to-be decided to stick to her family roots and wore the Spencer tiara. Diana frequently wore the piece as it was supposedly lighter and easier to wear than other tiaras at her disposal. Even so, it gave Diana a "cracking headache" according to her brother, Charles Spencer, as she was not used to wearing a tiara for such a long time.
Tiaras and headbands
Queen Mary's Lover's Knot tiara In 1913, Garrard & Co (the first official Crown Jewellers) were asked by Queen Mary to make a replica of a tiara owned by her grandmother, Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel, using the Queen Mary's own diamonds and pearls. The tiara, in its French neo-classical design, has 19 oriental pearls suspended from lover's knot bows each centred with a large, brilliant diamond. Mary left the tiara to Elizabeth II, who later loaned it to Diana during her marriage to The Prince of Wales. Diana was to wear the tiara during her wedding, but she instead opted for her Spencer family tiara. The princess wore this piece very often as it was given to her on loan. Diana complained about the 'swinging pearls', but she wore it at most of her tiara events. She most notably wore it with her 'Elvis's dress' on a visit to Hong Kong in 1989, but on her divorce from Prince Charles it was returned to the Queen.Field, pp. 113–115.
The tiara has since been loaned to Catherine, the wife of Prince William. She first wore it to a diplomatic reception at Buckingham Palace in 2015, and has continued to wear it during state occasions.
Queen Mary's diamond and emerald choker Made from a present of emeralds and diamonds from the Ladies of India in 1911, this Art Deco choker was created by Garrards in 1921 for Queen Mary and was originally a part of the Delhi Durbar Parure. Given as a wedding gift to Diana from the Queen, who inherited the piece from her grandmother in 1953, it was worn as a bandeau during a dance in Melbourne. It was worn as a choker to other events. The Prince of Wales also presented his wife with a diamond and emerald Art Deco bracelet as a wedding present and matching emerald earrings as a gift for her 22nd birthday. The choker was later worn by Catherine, Princess of Wales.
Necklaces and pendants
The Spencer family diamond and pearl drop necklace This necklace can be worn in many different ways. The diamond drops are removable which allows the owner to wear them as earrings. Any number of the pearl drops can be removed which as well can allow the necklace to be worn as a diamond riviere. The princess wore this necklace with a single pearl drop while at the Red Dragon Ball at the Grosvenor House Hotel. This necklace is composed of diamonds and pearls from various periods; it was common among aristocratic families to create new jewels with pieces already in their collection.
The three pearl drop pendants were given as a wedding present from the City of London to Elizabeth Stuart in 1613, which were later inherited by her son, the famous Cavalier Prince Rupert and later sold by his daughter, Ruperta Howe. Ruperta sold the royal pearls to the formidable Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough. In 1726, Sarah purchased two diamond pendants from the Duchess of Shrewsbury's collection. Together with the Pearls, she merged them with a diamond necklace given to her by Queen Anne. After her death in 1744, the necklace was inherited by her grandson, John, 1st Earl Spencer. At some point, the Diamond Pendants were converted into earrings and were worn by Diana's stepmother, Raine Spencer along with the original diamond riviere.
The necklace has been passed down through the Earls Spencer over the centuries and was first photographed on Charlotte, Countess Spencer in the late 1800s.
It is still very much in use today and the current Countess Spencer, Karen frequently wears several elements from the original necklace.
Seven-strand pearl and sapphire choker As a wedding present, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother gave a large oval sapphire and diamond brooch to her new granddaughter-in-law. In the early years of her marriage, Diana wore the piece as a brooch, including the famous appearance during the Dutch state visit to the Netherlands in 1982, when the princess had to find a new gown and jewels after Queen Beatrix gave her the Order of the Crown which is worn on an orange sash.
However, soon after the wedding, the princess had the sapphire brooch converted into the clasp for a magnificent seven-strand pearl choker. One of the earliest famous appearances was in 1985, when she wore the choker to dance with John Travolta at the White House. A favourite piece of jewellery, the princess wore this seven-strand pearl and sapphire choker for occasions at home and abroad. Another famous appearance of the sapphire choker was in 1994, when the princess wore the piece (with the daring 'revenge' dress) on the night the Prince of Wales confessed to adultery with Camilla Parker Bowles.
The seven-strand pearl and sapphire choker was one of the rare 'big' jewels from her marriage that Diana continued to wear after her divorce. The last time the choker was publicly seen was when the princess attended the Met Gala in New York in December 1996. It has not been seen or exhibited since, and now belongs to Prince William and Prince Harry.
Though unconfirmed, many speculate Meghan Markle's engagement ring, which she first wore in November 2017 at her engagement announcement with Prince Harry, includes two diamonds from Diana's famous sapphire and pearl choker. The engagement ring consists of three large diamonds, with one stone in the centre flanked by two smaller stones. According to Harry, the side stones are from his mother's jewellery collection (though it is unclear which piece of jewellery they are from).
Four-row Japanese pearl choker This piece was given to Diana as a loan from the queen. The princess first wore the choker during a state visit to the Netherlands in November 1982. The choker contains four rows of Japanese cultured pearls with a central diamond clasp. The piece is now being worn by the Princess of Wales who uses it as a loan from the King.
Grey pearl necklace