As the wedding of Pippa Middleton edges closer, we all want to see what dress the bride has chosen for her big day, but all eyes will also be on her sister Kate's style choices. Royal women have jewel boxes filled with love tokens, family heirlooms, and blinging gifts from overseas dignitaries, but when it comes to attending the weddings of their nearest and dearest, which daytime diamonds do they go for — or do they forgo the carats and choose something a little more surprising?
Kate is known for keeping her jewelry choices simple, but at Zara's wedding, she offset her pared-down oatmeal outfit with the art deco diamond earrings that are thought to have been a wedding present from Prince Charles.
The duchess has worn her trusty Annoushka pearl drops suspended from discreet diamond hoops on many an occasion. She also wore them for the wedding of William Van Cutsem and Rosie Ruck Keene a few months later.
When Kate accompanied William to the wedding of his maternal cousin Emily, Kate kept it very simple and sidestepped royal diamonds when she wore her $62 zirconia earrings from Heavenly Necklaces.
Kate usually keeps jewelry to a minimum at weddings with a simple pair of earrings, but she has in the past opted for just her classic diamond pavé Asprey button pendant.
Her Majesty is a big fan of teaming her standard pearl necklace and earrings with a wow brooch for family weddings. When Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer and when her youngest child, Prince Edward, married Sophie Rhys-Jones, she chose the Williamson brooch, which stars a 23.6-carat pink diamond that was a wedding present, set in a diamond jonquil by Cartier.
For William and Kate's big day, the queen favored her usual pearls with one of Queen Victoria's diamond bow brooches — and Camilla followed suit in daytime pearls and a brooch of her own.
For her granddaughter's big day, the queen chose a brooch that had belonged to her mother featuring a diamond shell set with a pearl.
Tomboy Zara doesn't often wear jewelry. For William and Kate's big day, it was just a simple pair of pearl studs.
The younger women in the family don't do wedding bling at all . . . for William and Kate's big day, Eugenie wore blue costume jewelry earrings, and for her cousin Zara's, she opted for a delicate trinket necklace. To both weddings, sister Beatrice wore no jewelry at all.
For her daughter's wedding, Camilla teamed pearls with a very special brooch. The Fabergé lily of the valley pin with delicate diamond accents belonged to the queen mother, so it would have been a gift from Prince Charles.
Although Camilla usually follows in the queen's footsteps with her combo of pearls and statement brooch, she occasionally pulls out the big guns — most notably one of her favorite pieces of jewelry. This whopping pink topaz surrounded by diamonds set in a five-strand pearl choker is thought to have been her wedding present from Prince Charles. The duchess also wore it to Peter Phillips's wedding.
Sophie is usually pretty understated with her jewelry, and at the royal wedding in 2011, she kept it simple with diamond pavé drops, while Princess Anne opted for the family favorite: pearls.
For the Monaco royal wedding, Sophie wore diamond hoops and an aquamarine and diamond art deco brooch.