Princess Catherine Returns to BAFTAs in Greville Earrings, Queen Mary Bracelet

Princess Catherine made a high-profile return to the 2026 EE BAFTA Film Awards arrivals at London’s Royal Festival Hall on February 24, 2026, wearing two headline jewels from the royal collection: the Greville Chandelier Earrings and a diamond bracelet associated with Queen Mary. It was her first BAFTAs red carpet appearance with Prince William since 2023, a moment that combined sartorial recycling and ceremonial symbolism.

She rewore a blush Gucci gown first seen in 2019, a dress Vanity Fair described as “an ethereal, off-the-shoulder chiffon gown” and which Town & Country noted was last worn to the 100 Women in Finance gala dinner in February 2019. Her hair returned to chestnut curls and loose waves as photographed on the Royal Festival Hall carpet. Prince William coordinated beside her in a velvet jacket, described by outlets as a velvet blazer and by Town & Country as a velvet burgundy tuxedo jacket.

The Greville Chandelier Earrings supplied the evening’s most conspicuous provenance. Vanity Fair reports they were crafted by Cartier between 1918 and 1929, fashioned in platinum with modern cut diamonds, and bequeathed by Dame Margaret Greville to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in 1942. Vanity Fair further records that the Queen Mother and King George VI presented the earrings to Princess Elizabeth at her wedding to Prince Philip in 1947, and that Queen Elizabeth II wore them frequently in the 1950s and 1960s, including at the Royal Command Variety Performance in 1952. Catherine previously wore the Greville earrings at Prince Hussein and Princess Rajwa’s wedding in 2023 and at the Royal Variety Performance, according to Town & Country and Vanity Fair. Nilesh Rakholia of Abelini called the earrings “unapologetically architectural,” adding that “the vertical drop and graduated diamond clusters create movement and light at every turn of the head.”

Alongside Cartier’s chandelier drops, Catherine wore a diamond bracelet identified in coverage variously as Queen Mary’s diamond bracelet and Queen Mary’s Diamond Choker Bracelet. Sources do not supply maker or crafting dates for the bracelet, but Rakholia described it to the People’s Channel as an Art Deco piece that “introduces structure at the wrist, balancing the fluidity of the blush pink gown,” and observed that “The Greville Chandelier Earrings and Queen Mary’s Diamond Choker Bracelet are among the most historically significant diamond pieces in the royal collection. They carry decades of visibility and association.” Marie Claire highlighted the familial resonance of Catherine’s choice; Grant Harrold, the former royal butler speaking on behalf of Slots Temple, noted, “It’s interesting that Kate chose to wear these earrings, because they originally belonged to Dame Margaret Greville, who was a close friend of the Queen Mother. That makes them extra special as there is that close link to Prince William’s great-grandmother, who he was very close to.”

The BAFTAs appearance closed a busy weekend of visibility. On Saturday Catherine attended the England versus Ireland Six Nations match at Twickenham in her capacity as Patron of the Rugby Football Union, wearing sapphire-and-diamond oval drop earrings and a bespoke royal-blue Alexander McQueen coat, a continuity Rakholia described as deliberate: “Catherine’s jewellery choices across the Six Nations and the Baftas this weekend revealed a clear through-line. At moments of national visibility, she gravitates towards pieces that carry history and meaning.” He added, “If the Six Nations' appearance expressed personal continuity, the Baftas articulated dynastic continuity.”

Her return to the BAFTAs carries further context. Hellomagazine stated it was the first time she had attended the ceremony in three years because of her cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment plan and coverage, and Vanity Fair noted that the 2025 Royal Variety Performance was her first red carpet appearance following diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. Town & Country also recorded that the BAFTAs came two days after the arrest of Prince Andrew on suspicion of misconduct in public office, a development the outlet said Andrew has denied.

In the polished grammar of red-carpet dressing the choices were strategic: Cartier’s Greville earrings provided vertical light for flash photography, while Queen Mary’s bracelet supplied wrist-bound architecture and dynastic reference. As Rakholia put it, the combination was “a study in proportion,” a measured blending of family history and photographic theatre.