Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle honor Queen Elizabeth with symbolic jewelry at funeral

Sept. 19 (UPI) -- Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle wore symbolic jewelry while attending the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

Middleton, or Catherine, Princess of Wales, and Markle, or Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attended the funeral Monday at Westminster Abbey in London, along with their respective husbands, Prince William and Prince Harry, and other British royals.

Middleton paid homage to the queen by wearing Bahrain pearl drop earrings and a four-strand Japanese pearl choker necklace.

Both the earrings and necklace once belonged to Elizabeth, who died at age 96 this month. The queen previously wore the necklace for a state banquet in Bangladesh in 1983, while the earrings were a gift for her wedding to Prince Philip in 1947.

Middleton previously wore the earrings and necklace at Philip's funeral in 2021, and the earrings at the queen's platinum jubilee celebrations in June.

Markle also honored the queen with her choice of jewelry. The duchess wore a pair of pearl earrings that were reportedly a gift from the queen for their first joint engagement together following Markle's wedding to Harry in 2018.

Wearing pearls to symbolize mourning is a custom in the British royal family first introduced by Queen Victoria, who wore them with her all-black outfits following the death of her husband, Prince Albert.