The Deeper Meaning Behind Kate Middleton’s Pearl Necklace.

Just over a week after Prince Philip’s passing on April 9, the Duke of Edinburgh and longest-serving royal consort was laid to rest earlier this afternoon within St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. Across today’s moving service, it was Prince Philip’s passion for music that stood out: from his request for Benjamin Britten’s “Jubilate” to feature prominently, to the setting of Psalm 104 by composer William Lovelady that was commissioned by the Duke to accompany his final goodbyes.

Yet it wasn’t just the carefully chosen readings or the soul-stirring hymns that defined today’s send-off, but also the sartorial choices made by the Duke’s family to pay tribute to his life and legacy. Nobody more so than Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, who wore a black coat with a bow detail across the neckline, topped with a netted fascinator that perfectly balanced the Duchess’s eye for sleek style with a more tasteful and occasion-appropriate restraint.

What shone brightest, though—quite literally—was the pearl choker Middleton wore to add a touch of something more elevated. Not just a style detail, the piece was a meticulously considered tribute to her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana, who wore it to a banquet at Hampton Court Palace in 1982. Gifted to the Queen by the nation of Japan in the 1970s, and part of the royal jewelry collection ever since, the layered strings of cultured pearls didn’t just dazzle for their iridescent shimmer, but also served as a subtle nod to Middleton’s predecessors within the family.

But most importantly, perhaps, on a day of deep mourning, her choice of jewelry offered a much-needed moment of uplift and beauty. Of that, Prince Philip would surely approve.