The Duchess of Cambridge might’ve had to put a pin in her 40th celebration plans thanks to the UK’s recent surge in COVID cases, but members of her family banded together to ensure it was still an unforgettable birthday.
Watch: Tender moment caught between Prince William and Kate Middleton
New Idea understands that Kate’s grandmother-in-law, the Queen, made “a particular fuss” over the royal family’s star player, furnishing her with jewellery from her private collection.
“Her Majesty was extremely generous on Kate’s birthday, and gifted her with some jewels from her private collection, which we’ll no doubt see her wearing at special occasions in the near future,” says a source. “But there was one very special diamond set that brought tears to Kate’s eyes – the Coronation Necklace and Earrings.”
The insider tells New Idea exclusively that the Queen,95, requested to speak to Kate privately, and personally requested that the Duchess of Cambridge would promise to wear the Coronation Set when her husband, Prince William, “is crowned”.
Technically, the necklace and pear-shaped earrings are owned by the Crown, explains our royal insider, so they aren’t any one monarch’s personal possession, per se, put rather passed down through the generations.
“It is very dear to the Queen, who wore it at her own coronation, as did her mum, the Queen Mother, and her grandmother, Queen Mary, when their husbands became king,” shares the source. “The Queen told Kate it’s only right that she is the next queen to wear them.”
Royal author Philip Dampier confirms to New Idea that “the Queen would have given her a special present for her 40th, possibly something from her vast collection”.
The Coronation Set was commissioned by Queen Victoria in the 1850s, 20 years after her own crowning.
Friends say it’s a beautiful touch given Kate is a “huge fan” of Victoria. The Victorian era was the inspiration for her birthday photo shoot, and Kate’s undergraduate thesis while studying at the University of St Andrews was focused on 19th-century photography.
The portraits, which were taken in London’s Kew Gardens, will become part of the permanent collection at the National Portrait Gallery, of which Kate is patron.
The man behind the lens, photographer Paolo Roversi, revealed he encouraged a nervous Kate to dance an “accelerated waltz mixed with a pinch of rock ’n’ roll” during the shoot. Kate’s three kids and husband, Wills, helped select the final three images.
Dampier also tells New Idea: “These pictures show that Kate has an independence of thought and style and that she has come of age. The message of these … is to project her as a future Princess of Wales and eventually Queen.”
Read more in this week’s New Idea, on sale now.
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