Meghan Markle wears Queen Elizabeth’s gifted earrings at funeral

Meghan Markle may have skipped the traditional mourning veil for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral Monday, but she still included a touching tribute to the late monarch in her look.

Along with her black cape dress and matching wide-brimmed hat, the Duchess of Sussex, 41, wore a pair of pearl-and-diamond drop earrings gifted to her by the Queen in honor of their first solo outing together in 2018.

A smaller version of the Queen Mary’s Button Earrings the royal worn nearly almost every day, the pair reportedly came straight from Her Majesty’s personal jewelry collection.

Markle also wore the special set on Wednesday, as the Queen’s casket was transported from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, pairing the pearls with a black Givenchy coat and Stephen Jones hat fitted with a birdcage veil.

Meghan Markle at the Queen's funeral
The Duchess of Sussex chose Stella McCartney for the somber occasion.
Samir Hussein/WireImage
The Queen presented Markle with the pearls ahead of the pair’s first solo outing in Cheshire in 2018.
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In addition to being sentimental, the earrings were a fitting choice for the week’s source activities, as pearls were traditionally worn by royals during times of mourning; Markle’s sister-in-law, Kate Middleton, has sported several pearl pieces from the Queen’s collection in recent days.

“The royal tradition of wearing pearls for mourning dates back to Queen Victoria, who was so overwhelmed with grief when Prince Albert died that she wore nothing but black for the rest of her life,” Maxwell Stone of UK jeweler Steven Stone previously told Page Six styles.

Markle pulled her hair back into a bun to show off the earrings, and also wore a wide-brimmed black hat.


Meghan Markle at Queen's funeral

Markle pulled her hair back into a bun to show off the earrings, and also wore a wide-brimmed black hat.


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“Occasionally, her black ensembles were broken up with jewelry — even though it was always black, colorless or pearl,” he continued. “The pearls were thought to represent tears — establishing a tradition that has lasted until the present day.”


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The duchess arrived solo at Monday’s funeral as her husband, Prince Harry, participated in the procession of the Queen’s casket from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey, later rejoining the other royals before the service began.

Queen Elizabeth II's coffin is carried into Westminster Abbey during the funeral.
Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin is carried into Westminster Abbey during the funeral.
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