Duchess Meghan Honored Diana by Wearing the Late Royal’s Butterfly Earrings After Her Pregnancy News

Princess Diana's Butterfly Earrings

On her first royal trip since her pregnancy was confirmed, Meghan chose to honor her mother-in-law by wearing the late princess' gold butterfly earrings. The Princess of Wales first wore the jewels in May 1986 during a visit to Canada. She had given birth to Prince Harry a year and a half before that.

Trooping the Colour 

At the 2018 Trooping the Colour, Meghan Markle channeled her mother-in-law in a dusty-pink Carolina Herrera dress. The royal-protocol-breaking off-the-shoulder gown looked similar to a frock Diana wore to the Berlin Opera House in 1987. The dresses' fabrics may be different, but there's no denying how similar the necklines and button placement are.

Diana wore her stunning Catherine Walker creation more than three decades ago while on a trip with Prince Charles. Around this time, the rumors were that the royal couple's relationship was rocky. It was the hope that in addition to completing their royal duties, Diana and Charles would quell the press' speculation that their marriage was in trouble. The British and West German medias called this trip the "reconciliation on the Rhine." Sadlly, we know how that story ended.

Princess Diana's Aquamarine Ring

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding featured plenty of subtle tributes to Princess Diana, but one of the more obvious ones was when Meghan donned Diana's stunning aquamarine ring. It was expected that Prince Harry would follow royal tradition and gift his wife something from his mother's jewelry collection — and he certainly chose well. (On her big day, Queen Elizabeth received a diamond bracelet made with gems from a tiara belonging to Prince Philip's mother.)

The aquamarine ring is actually part of a set that includes a five-strand pearl bracelet with an aquamarine stone embedded in the middle, but it's unclear whether Meghan received that piece as well. Diana famously wore the ring in 1997 while attending an auction of her own clothes at Christie's.

Meghan Markle's Quote About Princess Diana's Ring

Any woman would be excited about her engagement ring, but it was especially moving how Meghan Markle talked about hers shortly after the announcement of the upcoming wedding — especially if you bear in mind that stones in the piece of jewelry once belonged to Princess Diana. In an interview with the BBC, a reporter asked Meghan: "What does it mean to you, Meghan, to have those stones on your finger that once belonged to Princess Diana?" She responded, "I think everything about Harry's thoughtfulness is — and the inclusion of that and obviously not being able to meet his mom it's so important to me to — to know that she's a part of this with us. And I think in being able to meet his aunts and — and also like Julia and just different people who were so important to his mom, I'm able to, in some way, know a part of her through them and of course through him. And it's — it's incredibly special. And you know to be able to have this which sort of links where you come from and Botswana which is important to us and it's — it's perfect."

Tuxedo Dress Similarities

As you may recall, Princess Diana turned heads when she donned a navy pinestriped tuxedo dress by Catherine Walker back in 1996. Just this year, royal-watchers were practically seeing double after Meghan Markle wore a strikingly similar dress design while attending a performance of Hamilton at London's Victoria Palace Theatre. According to Hello! magazine, Meghan opted for an outfit by Canadian fashion designer Judith & Charles — and it was a different color than Diana's eye-popping print. That said, it's easy to see how Prince Harry's beloved late mom might have inspired an outfit like this for Meghan to wear on a night out on the town. And of course, both ladies looked absolutely stunning in their similar-yet-distinctive styles.

Meghan Markle Wearing a Special Beret

At first glance, these two hats don't look like they have a whole lot in common — other than both being berets and both looking absolutely beautiful. But as Time reported, Meghan wearing this particular beret may have been a subtle form of homage to Princess Diana's fashion sense. Eagle-eyed fashion watchers observed that Meghan Markle's beret was by designer Stephen Jones, who was a favorite of the late princess. It's really no wonder that they're both such striking hats, despite their most noticable differences. We're sure that Princess Diana would've given a very enthusiastic nod of approval for this fashion choice!

Meghan Markle's "Something Blue"

Meghan Markle's wedding dress was reportedly hiding a big blue secret. The Duchess of Sussex followed in her sister-in-law Kate Middleton's footsteps by having a small blue ribbon once owned by Princess Diana sewn into her white gown. This sweet detail warms our hearts, as it was a conscious and deliberate choice that Meghan made to have Diana included in the day's festivities.

"[Diana and Meghan] would have been thick as thieves without question," Harry said in a BBC interview after he and Meghan announced their engagement back in 2017. "I think she would have been over the moon, so excited for me, [and] best friends with Meghan." We couldn't agree more!

Meghan Markle's Wedding Veil

It's nearly impossible to imagine Meghan Markle not having her late mother-in-law in mind while picking out her wedding dress. Although her dress was quite different in style from Princess Diana's wedding dress, one major similarity could simply not be missed: the impressive length of the wedding veil. Both Meghan Markle and Princess Diana donned wedding veils for their big day that had to be carried for them — sometimes by multiple people. As you can imagine, this is not an item of clothing for the faint of heart, and we're not surprised at all that both of these stylish women were able to pull it off.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Wedding Flowers

The heavenly scent of white roses was hard to miss as thousands of blossoms adorned St. George's Chapel. While it certainly made sense to match the flowers to Meghan's dress, the real reason white roses were used is super sweet: Princess Diana adored them, and their presence was a constant reminder that Diana was there in spirit. Even sweeter was that Meghan's flowers of choice, peonies, were also included in the royal wedding floral arrangements.

This isn't the first time Diana's sons have honored her with her favorite white flowers. Back in 2017, William and Harry had a temporary garden erected at Kensington Palace to honor the 30th anniversary of Diana's death. Called the "White Garden," the project was deeply meaningful to her boys.

Lady Jane Fellowes' Reading at Meghan Markle's Wedding

We don't hear a whole lot about Princess Diana's older sister too often, but Lady Jane Fellowes has done quite a bit to keep the late royal's memory in all of our hearts. Her reading from the Song of Solomon at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding is just one example.

In a statement ahead of the ceremony, Kensington Palace said: “Prince Harry and Ms. Markle both feel honoured that Lady Jane will be representing her family and helping to celebrate the memory of the late Princess on the wedding day." We're sure Lady Jane was so honored, too — and that she feels strongly that Harry made a choice his mom would be proud of in picking Meghan Markle to be his bride.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Wedding Choir Song

Although the choir at the royal wedding played quite a few songs throughout the happy day, one in particular stood out to many royal fans: "Guide Me, O Thy Great Redeemer." You might recall that the same exact hymn was actually played during Princess Diana's funeral as well. Viewers watching closely said that they could see Prince Harry being overcome with emotion when the song honoring his late mother played at his wedding. We can't think of a lovelier subtle way to pay tribute to such an amazing woman's memory on a beautiful day — and we know Meghan gave the moment her most faithful blessing.