Diana, Princess of Wales, owned a collection of jewels both as a member of the British royal family and as a private individual. These were separate from the coronation and state regalia of the crown jewels. Most of her jewels were either presents from foreign royalty, on loan from Queen Elizabeth II, wedding presents, purchased by Diana herself, or heirlooms belonging to the Spencer family.
Her jewellery was a mix of precious stones and costume pieces, which she sourced from London's Butler & Wilson, often reported by the media as being "priceless" jewels, which the Princess found amusing. Most of the jewellery dates from the 19th and 20th centuries. She also had a vast collection of gold accessories which often went unnoticed and became understated by the media.
At formal occasions, such as banquets, the Princess normally wore jewellery lent to her by the Queen, who owned more than 300 items of jewellery. Diana's daughters-in-law Catherine, Princess of Wales, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, have worn various pieces from her collection.
Early jewellery
Born into an affluent aristocratic family, Lady Diana Spencer owned some high quality jewellery. Prior to her marriage to Prince Charles, she often wore a gold Cartier Russian wedding ring of three yellow gold bands on the little finger of her right hand and a diamond and white gold eternity ring from the family collection on her third finger.
The rings remained in the Princess's collection but were rarely seen in public during her marriage. Occasionally she was photographed wearing both rings on her left hand. She also wore her family's signet ring which she would wear in combination with her other rings.
As a teenager, Diana wore a gold choker with a 'D' pendant. In 2017, a sterling silver 'D' necklace owned by the princess as a teenager sold at auction for around US$8,000. Diana was photographed wearing her initial necklace as a nursery assistant while still dating Charles. For her 16th birthday her friends gifted her a gold initial necklace. She was also photographed wearing sterling silver earrings with five diamonds. After marrying Charles, she continued to wear the necklace on occasion.
The future Princess had a collection of enameled bangles and bracelets which she wore frequently as a teenager.
At the age of 16, Diana was a bridesmaid at her sister Jane's wedding to Robert Fellowes on 20 April 1978. She wore a pair of pearl studs and a pearl necklace. The pearl studs were worn by Diana as early as 1975 and were last seen on the Princess in 1990 while opening a police station at 462 Fore Street, Edmonton, London.
On her 18th birthday, Diana was given a triple-strand pearl choker by the Spencer family. Both of Diana's older sisters had also received matching chokers on their 18th birthdays. It consisted of three rows of pearls with a turquoise and pearl cluster clasp; the clasp was only visible when it matched the colour of her outfit, otherwise hidden at the back. The Princess later altered the clasp to be all pearls.
One of the first gifts Diana received from Prince Charles was an eternity ring which she wore regularly.
At the age of 18, while living in her flat 60 Coleherne Court, London, her apartment was burgled and she had most of her jewellery stolen.
Wedding jewels
The wedding of Charles and Diana took place on 29 July 1981 at St Paul's Cathedral, London. The Princess wore very little jewellery at her wedding. She wore diamond earrings that belonged to her mother, Frances Shand Kydd. She also wore her Spencer family tiara, her engagement ring, and a wedding band placed on her finger by Charles at the ceremony. Her wedding dress designers, the Emanuels, also attached an 18-carat gold horseshoe trinket studded with white diamonds to the label of the dress.
Frances Shand Kydd diamond earrings
On her wedding day, Diana borrowed her mother's diamond earrings, which consist of a central pear-shaped diamond surrounded by around 50 smaller diamonds. The Princess never wore them in public again, but Frances wore them at a number of important occasions, including Prince Harry's christening in 1984, her son's wedding in 1989, and the funeral of her daughter in 1997. After Frances' death in 2004, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, her eldest daughter, inherited them.
For many years, the earrings were a part of the travelling Diana exhibition. In 2011, Lady Sarah withdrew them from the display to wear them at the wedding ball for her nephew, Prince William.