Subtle Style Nods The Royals Have Made To Queen Elizabeth After Her Death

Queen Elizabeth II's impact on the world cannot be overstated. She assumed the throne at an unexpectedly young age and immediately worked to earn the respect of her fellow world leaders. She reigned as the queen of England for 70 years — longer than any other monarch in the country's history. She was a shining example of the type of leadership a woman is capable of. She managed to balance the duties of a literal queen with the titles of wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend. She also became a style icon. 

The late monarch's sartorial preferences were apparent: She loved, and thought it dutiful, to wear bright colors; she was drawn to particular gemstones, namely pearls; she kept to her same accessories; and she was always dressed appropriately. Being in power for so long leaves an indelible impact on others, and those who were closest to Queen Elizabeth certainly learned lessons in dressing from the late monarch. Her teachings were so poignant, they're apparent today in how the royal family still dresses. Here are some subtle style nods the royal family has made to Queen Elizabeth since her death. 

If all goes according to plan, when Prince William becomes king, Princess Catherine will become queen consort. It's a big role, and Catherine's reportedly taken on a more no-nonsense demeanor in preparation for the part. On a sartorial level, she appears to be taking notes from the woman who reigned as monarch longer than anyone else in the country's history: Queen Elizabeth II. One of Elizabeth's most notable fashion habits was color blocking. As Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, has explained, this choice was very deliberate. "She needs to stand out for people to be able to say, 'I saw the queen,'" she once said in a documentary, as reported by the Mirror. "Don't forget that when she turns up somewhere, the crowds are two, three, four, 10, 15 deep, and someone wants to be able to say they saw a bit of the queen's hat as she went past."

Princess Catherine has always been a fan of color blocking, but she's seemingly been ramping it up since Queen Elizabeth's death. For example, on Easter in 2023, Catherine wore a bright blue coat with a matching hat. At Trooping the Colour in 2024, the princess donned a white dress with black accents, furthering the blocking with a white hat and white shoes, as well as a black clutch.

Unsurprisingly, Queen Elizabeth II's funeral was a parade of homages to the late monarch. Whether by making a subtle nod to Queen Elizabeth or outright wearing one of her pieces, the Windsor women were honoring her. Princess Catherine opted for the latter, wearing the queen's Bahrain pearl drop earrings, as well as one of her pearl chokers, in tandem with her all-black dress. "I think they all honored her in their own personal way. Kate already had some of the Queen's jewels on loan, so she was able to wear them in that way," royal style expert Bethan Holt told People at the time.

Prior to Queen Elizabeth's death, Prince William's other half donned her jewelry on numerous occasions. Catherine seemed to be particularly fond of the Bahrain baubles — she sported them quite often — which likely factored into her decision to wear them to the funeral. "Since I first met Kate, she has worn pearls beautifully, and seems to have an ongoing love of pearls which has developed as her own style has too," British jewelry Claudia Bradby told People. "It's a very low-key luxury look and it tells a story — that's the beautiful thing about jewelry."

Princess Catherine's style tributes to Queen Elizabeth II didn't end after the funeral. On the first anniversary of Elizabeth's death, Catherine honored her in dress and accessory when she and Prince William visited St Davids Cathedral. Catherine tipped her cap to Elizabeth's love of color blocking with a burgundy coat dress and matching hat, and she accessorized with a pair of pearl earrings. This particular jewelry set holds a great deal of symbolic weight.

The pearl earrings that Princess Catherine wore on the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's death once belonged to the late monarch. The princess had worn them before the queen's death from time to time on loan. Additionally, royal protocol says that women in the family should wear pearls while in mourning, a tradition that has been in place since Queen Victoria was on the throne. Finally, pearls were a favorite of Queen Elizabeth's, making Princess Catherine's choice to wear them that much more sentimental. "Pearls are one of the very few jewelry items you can wear in mourning and are inextricably linked with Queen Elizabeth and her personal jewelry legacy. It's a symbol of mourning a monarch but also a grandmother or great-grandmother," royal style expert Bethan Holt told People.

It seems fair to assume Princess Catherine will only continue to honor Queen Elizabeth II with her style choices. Many of her tributes have been through jewels that the late monarch either received as a gift or inherited. At a state banquet in 2022, Catherine honored Elizabeth by wearing an heirloom piece that she inherited from the Queen Mother after her death, the Strathmore Rose Tiara. "The piece is an antique that wasn't fashionable for many decades, but many jewels once considered fussy or unstylish have now been embraced again," royal jewelry expert Lauren Kiehna told People of the tiara.

One of the neat things about the royal family wearing heirloom pieces is that they can honor more than one ancestor with their choices. By donning the Strathmore Rose Tiara, Princess Catherine was paying tribute to Queen Elizabeth, a longtime custodian of the piece, as well as the Queen Mother, its original owner. "It has been said that Kate has looked for inspiration to the Queen Mother in terms of how she conducted herself and so to have that tiara symbolizing that, in such a public moment, I think it is really significant. I think if there was anyone to wear that tiara, it was Kate; she was the woman to wear it and carry it forward," royal jewelry expert Bethan Holt said.

Queen Elizabeth II loved pearls, but she might have loved brooches even more. The late monarch had a massive collection, with estimates putting the grand total at 98. They were expensive, too — one of her most famous was assumed to be worth over £9 million. Queen Elizabeth wore a piece of her collection almost every time she was in public, making brooches a signature element of her style. "Each brooch is selected carefully so that the piece's history or meaning ties in with the event being attended," British jeweler Charlotte Leigh told Express. "So, whilst it seems that her brooches are selected to compliment what she is wearing, which may sometimes be the case, often the brooch worn will represent something more symbolic."

Upon Queen Elizabeth's death, her jewelry was disseminated among her progeny, with most of it presumably being passed down to King Charles and Camilla, Queen Consort. Since inheriting a new crop of pieces, Camilla has worn jewels of Queen Elizabeth's that the public hasn't seen much. For example, on Easter Sunday in 2024, Camilla was spotted wearing a brooch that reportedly first belonged to Queen Mary. In May of that same year, the queen consort pinned the Williamson diamond brooch to her lapel. This piece, which was worn by Elizabeth on her wedding day, was designed by Cartier.

In addition to the late monarch's brooches, Camilla, Queen Consort, inherited quite a few tiaras from Queen Elizabeth II. And yes, she's donned a few of them since Elizabeth's death. While brooches can be worn whenever, tiaras can only be worn at formal events after 5 p.m., or on wedding days. Because of these restrictions, it's pretty impressive that Camilla has had a chance to wear so many of them so far. (Then again, she is a royal with a pretty packed schedule, so maybe it's not all that impressive.) At a state dinner in November 2022, shortly after Queen Elizabeth's death, Camilla wore the impeccable Belgian Sapphire Tiara, a piece that her late mother-in-law had only worn a couple of times.

In 2024, to another state dinner, Camilla wore another significant tiara once owned by Queen Elizabeth, the Burmese Ruby Tiara. This particular diadem is steeped in history. Elizabeth commissioned the House of Garrard to make the piece in 1973 using rubies she was given by Burmese people after getting married. "The 96 rubies are a symbolic gesture, as rubies in Burmese culture protect from illness and evil, in this case to protect the wearer from the 96 diseases that can afflict humans. The rubies and diamonds are set in a series of rose motifs inspired by the Tudor Rose, the heraldic symbol of Britain," the jeweler said of the tiara in a press release, as reported by Town & Country.

Handbags were a signature part of Queen Elizabeth II's look. "She once told me that she doesn't feel dressed without a bag," Launer CEO Gerald Bodmer told Vogue of the late monarch. And there was one particular brand of bag that Queen Elizabeth was known for carrying: Launer. Elizabeth had a number of bags from the brand, and she reportedly carried them with her around her palace. There were also stories about her supposedly using her handbag to let members of her team know she was done with a conversation. As historian Hugo Vickers once told People, "It would be very worrying if you were talking to the Queen and saw the handbag move from one hand to the other." However, in the aforementioned Vogue piece, Bodmer insisted this rumor didn't hold water. "The Queen had a charisma, a very good sense of humor. You don't need to when you're like that," he said. 

Since Queen Elizabeth's death, Camilla, Queen Consort, has been seen sporting Launer bags a number of times. Camilla carried a black one to her mother-in-law's funeral, and she toted what appeared to be the same one on Commonwealth Day in 2023. Camilla was a fan of the bags before Queen Elizabeth's death, though. In fact, in early 2020, Camilla met with Bodmer for a tour of the brand's factory.

The gift-giving habits of Queen Elizabeth II were not well documented. In fact, there's far more information about the presents she received than the ones she gave. But the late monarch was known to give the people in her family, particularly the women, sentimental gifts... especially ones featuring jewels. A month into her marriage to Prince Harry, Meghan Markle received a set of pearl earrings from Queen Elizabeth. The duchess was reportedly presented with them while visiting Cheshire with the late monarch. To pay homage to Queen Elizabeth at her funeral, Meghan wore the special earrings, joining many other mourners in donning the queen's most beloved gem.

"I loved seeing so many pearls at the queen's funeral; a nod of respect to a gemstone so beloved of the Queen, a connection which jewelry uniquely makes," British jewelry Claudia Bradby told People. As previously stated, Princess Catherine also wore pearls to Queen Elizabeth's funeral. "Their power lies in the fact that they aren't overwhelming. It's a subtle and slightly restrained look and of course the connection to the Queen is incredibly strong," Bradby said.

While many of Queen Elizabeth II's jewels were passed down to King Charles and Camilla, Queen Consort, that's not to say other members of the royal family didn't also receive pieces from her collection. Prince Edward and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, got in on the inheritance, too. What's more, the pieces can always be loaned to members of the royal family for an evening. Sophie has dipped into the Windsor family jewelry box multiple times since the queen's passing. In November of 2022, shortly after Elizabeth died, Sophie arrived at Buckingham Palace for a state dinner wearing two pieces that belonged to her late mother-in-law. The duchess had on a pair of earrings from the pear-shaped diamond demi-parure, a set that experts believe was given to the queen by Saudi royals, as well as the Modern Fringe Necklace.

Sophie might not have received a large jewelry haul from her mother-in-law, but Queen Elizabeth's death had a large impact on the duchess as the two were reportedly very close. "They genuinely liked one another, and they spent a lot of time together. They seemed to very much enjoy one another's company. I think it was very much a two-way relationship. It wasn't just about an adoration of the queen by Sophie; it was a mutual friendship," royal expert Jennie Bond told Good Housekeeping.

Sarah Ferguson was close with Queen Elizabeth II, too. Even after divorcing Prince Andrew in 1996, Sarah and her former mother-in-law maintained a great relationship, and the Duchess of York still spent time with the queen. "She was so brilliant at putting you at ease. She had the most incredible faith of any single person I've ever met. She just knew what to do. She knew how to make people feel good. She never took it onboard as about her. It's about the monarchy, about making someone feel good. She was my total idol," Sarah said of Queen Elizabeth on an episode of "Tea Talks with the Duchess and Sarah."

Given their bond, it was unsurprising that Sarah arrived at Queen Elizabeth's funeral wearing a piece of jewelry that paid special tribute. Along with her all-black outfit, the duchess wore a silver swallow brooch. As noted, Queen Elizabeth loved brooches, but the swallow made the piece even more meaningful. According to Elmwood's, a U.K.-based jewelry store, during the Victorian era, swallows symbolized safety. "Swallow brooches were often given to loved ones when they set out on a journey to keep them safe so they returned home safely," the jeweler said, as reported by Express. The bird pin may have been Sarah's way of wishing her friend safety on her new journey.

In recent years, Princess Beatrice has made some major style moves, and some of her best looks yet seem to have been inspired by her late grandmother. For example, at an event in April 2024, Beatrice attended wearing a floral dress with a hem that hit her knees. The was pattern certainly in keeping with Beatrice's personal style — she has been seen in many a floral print over the years. The cut and the color, though, were seen by royal experts as indirect nods to Queen Elizabeth II. Beatrice's dress for the event was very bright, with shades of red, pink, blue, and green making up the busy pattern. As noted, the queen was known for wearing bright colors, wanting to make sure she could stand out in a crowd. The cut was also a tip of the hat to Queen Elizabeth as the late monarch always wore a modest hem.

Beatrice has been taking sartorial notes from her grandmother since before her death. In 2020, Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi got married in secret at the Chapel Royal in London. The princess wore the gown that Queen Elizabeth wore to the London premiere of "Lawrence of Arabia" as her wedding dress, and she donned the Queen Mary tiara that Elizabeth wore for her own wedding.