Catherine Wore Queen Mary's Emerald Choker Popularized by Princess Diana

Catherine wore Emerald Choker popularized by Diana

On the night of the Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony in Boston, Massachusetts, Catherine, the Princess of Wales wore a famous piece of jewelry from the royal collection.

This historic piece of jewelry is called Queen Mary's Art Deco Emerald Choker, originally owned by Queen Mary but was popularized by the most famous Princess of Wales in history, Diana. 

Ironically, this emerald choker's last appearance was in 1997, when Princess Diana wore it for the last time at her 36th birthday celebration, less than two months before she died in Paris, France.

Catherine wore Emerald Choker popularized by Diana
Catherine, the Princess of Wales, at the Earthshot Prize Awards

During the Earthshot Prize Awards, Catherine wore an emerald green gown rented from the British rental company, HURR, reportedly at a cost of £74 for one night. While the Prince of Wales looked dapper in a velvet suit.

Catherine wore Emerald Choker popularized by Diana
The Prince and Princess of Wales at the Earthshot Prize Awards

Catherine wore Emerald Choker popularized by Diana
The Prince and Princess of Wales at the Earthshot Prize Awards

Catherine wore Emerald Choker popularized by Diana
The Prince and Princess of Wales at the Earthshot Prize Awards

Queen Mary's Art Deco Emerald Choker

Provenance:

  • Queen Mary (1867-1953)
  • Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022)
  • Diana, the Princess of Wales (1961-1997)
  • Catherine, the Princess of Wales

This is one of the most popular pieces of jewelry in the British royal family collection. Originally made from the gift of emeralds given by the Ladies of India in 1911 to Queen Mary, the consort of King George V. 

Queen Mary wearing the emerald choker
Queen Mary, the original owner of this emerald choker

Queen Mary commissioned Garrard in 1921 to create a necklace out of those emeralds. Garrard then designed a unique piece in an art deco style, and the result was a magnificent choker!

Queen Mary frequently wore this precious choker, which she often paired with the larger royal heirloom, the Cambridge Emerald Parure. 

Catherine wore the emerald choker popularized by Diana
The Prince and Princess of Wales

Queen Mary was seen wearing the original emerald necklace at the Delhi Durbar in 1911. She later wore the Art Deco Emerald Choker at many events, including official portraits. 

When Queen Mary died in 1953, this piece of jewelry was inherited by her granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II, but the Queen was not a fan of wearing choker pieces so this Art Deco Emerald Choker was kept in the royal jewelry vault for a long time.

Catherine wore Emerald Choker popularized by Diana
Diana, the Princess of Wales in 1982

In 1981, when the Prince of Wales wed Lady Diana Spencer, the Queen gifted this emerald choker to the bride and the Queen Mary's Lover's Knot Tiara. 

However, it was not truly a set of wedding gifts that Princess Diana but was only a lifetime loan, meaning she cannot sell the pieces. 

Diana, the Princess of Wales wore the choker for the first time in 1982, a year after the royal wedding, at a charity concert, followed by an appearance at a film premiere in London. 

Catherine wore Emerald Choker popularized by Diana
Princess Diana restyled the choker into a bandeau during a dance with Prince Charles in Melbourne, Australia. Royal Tour 1985.

However, it was in 1985 that the emerald choker got its iconic identity when the Princess of Wales restyled it into a bandeau during a dance appearance with Prince Charles in Melbourne, Australia.

The story had it that when Princess Diana was preparing for the dance party, her lady-in-waiting had a hard time moving down the choker from her head to her neck, so the Princess of Wales decided to let it stay in her head. 

Catherine wore Emerald Choker popularized by Diana
Princess Diana in 1988

In 1988, the Princess of Wales wore it again paired with her emerald drop earrings, a gift from Prince Charles, and the Spencer diamond tiara, for the banquet at Claridge, London.

Princess Diana also wore the choker in 1993, when she was already separated from Prince Charles, at a reception hosted by the King of Malaysia at the Dorchester Hotels.

Catherine wore Emerald Choker popularized by Diana
The last time Diana wore the choker was in 1997 during her 36th birthday

Diana was able to keep the emerald choker after the divorce but she could not sell it since it was only a lifetime loan from the Queen. She wore it for the last time at the Tate Gallery in London on the occasion of her 36th birthday on July 1, 1997. Less than two months before she died.

Catherine wore Emerald Choker popularized by Diana
Catherine, the Princess of Wales, wearing the emerald choker for the first time

Following Diana's death in a car crash in Paris, the Queen Mary's Lover's Knot Tiara and the Art Deco Emerald Choker were returned to the Queen's jewelry collection. It was not seen in public for 25 years until last night.

Catherine wore Emerald Choker popularized by Diana
The Prince and Princess of Wales

Catherine wore Emerald Choker popularized by Diana
Catherine wearing the emerald choker, 25 years after Diana last wore it

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