Now that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tied the knot and the highest-profile wedding of the year has finally materialized, it’s time to talk about what really matters: The jewels worn by the bride, the Queen, and some of their intimate celebrity friends.
The Glittering Bride
As widely reported before, Prince Harry presented his bride with a special engagement ring: It features three diamonds: a central stone from Botswana and two others from the collection of the prince’s mother, Princess Diana. The ring was made by Cleave and Company, official jewelers to Queen Elizabeth II. The ring is yellow gold, which is Markle’s favorite, according to Prince Harry. The ring took six months to design.
The Bride’s tiara, which she wore for the big event, belongs to Queen Elizabeth’s personal collection. The Tiara, passed on from Queen Mary’s Diamond collection, dates back to 1893 and according to the Kensington Palace, “formed as a flexible band of eleven sections, pierced with interlaced ovals and pavé set with large and small brilliant diamonds”.
To compliment her look, Markle wore Cartier white gold and diamond earrings and a Cartier white gold diamond bracelet on her right wrist.
The Queen and Family
Queen Elizabeth II dug deep into her personal jewelry collection, and wore a diamond-and-pearl brooch, pearl stud earrings and a multi-strand pearl necklace.
Lady Kitty Spencer, Princess Diana’s niece, wore a diamond ring and diamond studs by Bulgari, in addition to a platinum-and-yellow gold Bulgari necklace featuring 126 diamonds – 14 of them yellow diamonds.
Markle’s famous sister-in-law, Kate Middleton, wore drop earrings with large pear and oval shaped Lemon Quartz stones surrounded by diamonds. The piece was designed by Kiki McDonough, a jewelry designer Middleton favors.
Shining Friends
Tennis superstar Serena Williams wore a selection of jewelry from the Bulgari Heritage collection, including a 1975 vintage necklace with Roman Imperial silver, gold and bronze coins as well as pavé diamonds; and a 1952 Art Deco Dolce Vita Ribbon brooch featuring gold and diamonds.
Markle’s close friend, Priyanka Chopra, opted for Lorraine Schwartz, and wore 18-karat gold-and-diamond lightning bolt earrings and diamond rings by the designer.
