Kate Middleton and Queen Camilla reach for the royal family’s most sentimental jewels to attend Buckingham Palace reception – hours after Meghan stepped out in a £5,000 bracelet gifted by King Charles

The Queen and Princess of Wales pulled out all the stops at last night’s diplomatic reception at Buckingham Palace, with a dazzling display of some of the royal family’s most treasured jewels.

But were Kate, 41, and Camilla, 75, stones that once belonged to the Queen Mother and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, sending a not-so-subtle message to a certain member of the family across the pond in Montecito?

Hours earlier on Tuesday, Meghan Markle, 42, stepped out in Santa Barbara wearing a diamond tennis bracelet from Bentley & Skinner that cost around £4,900 – a gift given to her by King Charles and which she first wore on the eve of her wedding with Prince. Harry. She also wore a watch previously owned by Princess Diana.

Meghan’s appearance in the bracelet came amid the fallout from a royal racing row reignited by Omid Scobie’s book Endgame; which had to be taken off shelves in the Netherlands and pulverized when it was found to contain the name of the royal family who allegedly made comments about Prince Archie’s skin color before he was born.

But now that the Duchess is rumored to have extended an ‘olive branch’ with her 92-diamond bracelet as old wounds reopened, has The Firm hit back with an even more dazzling display?

The fallout from Scobie’s Endgame and the alleged royal “racists” mentioned in the Dutch version of the book have reopened painful wounds for the royal family after Harry and Meghan first made the allegations in March 2021.

Speaking to veteran interviewer Oprah Winfrey while the Duchess was pregnant with Princess Lilibet, Meghan claimed that someone (or some people) in the royal family had expressed “concerns” to Prince Harry about the color of Prince Archie’s skin at his birth .

Neither Harry nor Meghan would be interested in who made such comments, but they did confirm it was not the late Queen or Prince Philip.

However, following the mix-up with last week’s translation in Mr Scobie’s Endgame, the royals who allegedly made the comments appeared to have been named.

Media organizations around the world named the members of the family who allegedly made the comments as King Charles and the Princess of Wales.

Earlier in the day, Meghan stepped out in Santa Barbara, California, wearing a £4,900 tennis bracelet from Bentley & Skinner, gifted by King Charles.

Standing for a portrait within the walls of Buckingham Palace, the new ‘Fab Four’, as they were dubbed last night, shook off the queue and looked regal in all their finery.

The Princess of Wales opted for a glittering Jenny Packham ‘Georgia’ dress, which cost around £5,000 and was embellished with sequins. She previously wore the shimmering gold dress to the wedding reception of Crown Prince Hussein and Princess Rajwa of Jordan this summer.

Adorned with diamonds galore, she opted for her favorite tiara, the Cambridge Lover’s Knot, which was given to Princess Diana on her wedding day in 1981 and undoubtedly has sentimental value to the royal family.

The tiara was made in 1914 by royal jeweler Garrard to Queen Mary’s personal design, from pearls and diamonds already in her family’s possession.

It was a copy of one owned by her grandmother, Princess Augusta of Hesse, who in 1818 married the first Duke of Cambridge, the seventh son of King George III.

In her will, Queen Mary left the tiara to the Queen, who wore it often, including at an evening event in 1955.

On her ears, the royal mother of three wore the Greville Chandelier Earrings, which were often worn by the late Queen and had originally entered the Royal Family after being bequeathed to the Queen Mother by Dame Margaret Greville.

The diamond earrings, set in platinum, were made in London by Cartier over a number of years as more diamonds were added over time. They were completed in February 1929.

In addition to these dazzling accessories, Kate also wore a sparkler with a little more mystery surrounding it.

Worn on her sash, the Art Deco brooch has made a few appearances in Kate’s outfits since she debuted the stunning gem at the 2022 Remembrance Sunday service.

The brooch is worth around £14,500 and was made by Bentley & Skinner – the same jeweler who designed Meghan’s tennis bracelet.

It has previously been reported that Kate likely received the brooch from a family member as a gift for her 40th birthday on January 9, 2022. The person who gave her the beautiful accessory has never been revealed – but since he gifted one daughter -law a gem of Bentley & Skinner on a special occasion, could King Charles have given a similar presentation to his other daughter-in-law?

Queen Camilla, on the other side of the royal portrait as the two women flanked King Charles and Prince William, looked equally dazzling in a cream embroidered evening dress by Fiona Clare.

To add to the glamour, Her Majesty wore the Tiara of the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland, as well as the Garter Sash and the Star in Family Order over the dress.

The appearance was Camilla’s second in the tiara, which she first wore to a business reception at the Mansion House in the City of London in November.

The beautiful diadem was first presented to Princess Victoria Mary of Teck on the occasion of her wedding to George V in 1893. Her Majesty was known to be very fond of the headpiece and affectionately referred to it as ‘Granny’s Tiara’.

Camilla added a touch of sentiment with the Queen Mother’s diamond brooch and the late Queen’s diamond bracelet.

In a first for the Queen, she also wore a fanny pack, or devant de corsage, which is believed to have come from Dame Margaret Greville’s collection and was given to the Queen Mother; and later passed on to the late Queen.