If tradition prevails, most of the Queen's personal jewels will be passed on to King Charles III and Queen Camilla. It is speculated that Catherine, Princess of Wales will also receive some of the jewels as she will eventually be Queen.
Royal expert Katie Nicholl explained that, again, in typical royal fashion, “there is a hierarchy in all of this,” she says. “The Queen Consort, really, gets first choice of the Queen's jewelry. And after that is Princess of Wales, of course, Kate.
So what did Kate Middleton inherit from Queen Elizabeth? Radar Online reported in September 2022 that Kate was expected to inherit $110 million in jewelry from the Queen's personal jewelry collection, which includes 300 pieces that belonged specifically to the Queen and not the Crown.
Queen Alexandra's Wedding Necklace
The necklace was part of a set which included a tiara, brooch and earrings. The stunning piece was passed down to the Queen Mother, who wore it often until her 2002 death. It was later lent to Princess Kate from Queen Elizabeth.
Meghan is still Duchess of Sussex, but has no right to borrow the royal tiaras and gems the way her rivals do. All Meghan has is a pair of modest pearl and diamond earrings that Queen Elizabeth gave her.
If tradition prevails, most of the Queen's personal jewels will be passed on to King Charles III and Queen Camilla. It is speculated that Catherine, Princess of Wales will also receive some of the jewels as she will eventually be Queen.
Only Kate Middleton Can Wear Queen Elizabeth's Jewels
This has caught the attention of critics in the royal family because the Duchess of Cambridge is said to be the only one with access to the Queen's jewelry, meaning the Sovereign favors Kate.
After the princess' death, most of her personal jewelry was inherited by her two sons Princes William and Harry, with pieces loaned to her during her lifetime being returned to Queen Elizabeth II, where they are most likely to have been inherited by King Charles in 2022.
Perhaps the most famous piece of jewelry Kate inherited from Princess Diana is this sapphire engagement ring. The ring was created by British jeweler Garrard and chosen by Prince Charles for his proposal to Diana in 1981.
As the Princess of Wales, Diana had access to luxurious jewels, including borrowing pieces from Her Majesty The Queen. However, she had her own wealth too, enough of it to buy her own dazzling jewellery collection. Kate and Meghan are set to inherit all her private jewels.
A spokesperson for Charles confirmed in June 2021 that while the sovereign set aside “a substantial sum” for his youngest son and his wife at the start of their royal step back, the “funding ceased in the summer of [2020].” The rep told Variety at the time that Harry and Meghan “are now financially independent.”
Following his father's ascension to the throne, much of William's wealth will come from The Duchy of Cornwall. The Duchy is a private fund founded by Edward III in 1337, designed to provide a sort of financial independence to his heir. It has since been passed down through the family.
According to reports, the late Queen Elizabeth II's son, Prince Andrew, has been left feeling miffed at the news that he has not received a single penny of his mother's fortune. Queen Elizabeth is believed to have left an estate worth approximately 782 million dollars solely to her son, King Charles.
Representatives told Forbes in 2021 that Harry was not a beneficiary of any of the $100 million left to the royal family by his great-grandmother, the Queen Mother. It's unclear if Harry was left any money from his grandmother the late Queen Elizabeth II, whose will is expected to stay sealed for at least 90 years.
Following the death of Her Majesty on Sept. 8, the King is now in charge of the Crown Jewels, which have been handed down from British monarchs since the 17th century. The Queen also leaves a vast personal collection of jewelry, which members of the royal family, including Kate Middleton, have borrowed on occasion.
What happens to the pieces after the funeral? They won't stay with Queen Elizabeth II after the funeral or her burial. According to The Telegraph, they will be removed “in the final moments before the public sees its last images of the monarch's coffin” during her service in St. George's Chapel.
I leave the exact division of the jewellery to your discretion." Over the course of their relationship, Prince Harry's wife Meghan Markle has been seen sporting a number of items that once belonged to his mother, from butterfly earrings to a vibrant cocktail ring.
It is said Meghan Markle now owns the impressive aquamarine ring, which adds to her collection of other jewellery gifted to her by Harry from Princess Diana's royal jewellery collection.
According to Burrell, Harry chose to keep Diana's highly treasured engagement ring as a keepsake and William opted for her Cartier watch. This he repeated in interviews after the ring appeared on the finger of Kate Middleton in 2010, alleging that Harry must have given it to his brother.
After Diana's tragic death at the age of 36 in a 1997 Paris car crash, her jewelry was inherited by her two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. The glittering pieces collected by Diana throughout her married life held enormous sentimental value to both the princess and the princes.
Attending the emotional event with Prince Harry, Meghan opted for a glittering pair of pearl-and-diamond drop earrings gifted to her by the Queen in honour of her first royal engagement.
The ring reportedly was found in the wreckage of the Mercedes and given to Diana's sisters when they came to Paris to accompany her body back to England.
Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales wears pearl necklace that belonged to Queen Elizabeth. Catherine, Princess of Wales, made a touching tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II at her funeral proceedings with two pieces of jewellery that once belonged to the late monarch.
According to royal expert Lisa Levinson, the only jewelry Queen Elizabeth II will be buried with will be the Welsh gold wedding ring she received at her wedding to Prince Philip in 1947 and a pair of pearl earrings.
Places like Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle are owned by the monarch of the moment because of their position as king or queen, while other properties, like Balmoral and Sandringham House, are personally owned and not publicly funded.