Kate Middleton turned to jewelry with a personal connection as she welcomed England’s women’s rugby team to Windsor Castle on Thursday.
Alongside a pair of vintage pearl-cluster earrings, the mother-of-three donned a gold necklace with a simple garnet stone. The gem is Kate’s birthstone, and is said to symbolize inner strength and healing—a fitting reflection of the Princess’s past few years. She turned 44 on January 9.
It appears as though the necklace has been part of the royal’s jewelry box since June 2022, when she wore it in a video for the Platinum Jubilee, which saw her baking cakes with Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
Birthstones have long been integral to Kate’s wardrobe. Known for her intentional choices of jewelry, the Princess has worn garnets on a number of occasions, including a romantic trip to Pontypridd with Prince William in February 2025. Long before the couple got engaged, William offered Kate a promise ring that featured garnets intertwined with his own birthstone, pearls.
On this occasion, Kate Middleton chose the delicate garnet piece as a perfect accessory for a bold red Alexander McQueen suit, which nodded both to the color of her birthstone and to the name of the English team: the Red Roses.
The Princess of Wales has worn the power suit on a number of previous occasions, including to a concert celebrating King Charles III’s coronation and to an event launching her “Shaping Us” early childhood campaign in 2023. Kate Middleton also rewore the favorite blazer and matching trousers as she welcomed the Red Roses to the royal residence following their victory over Canada at Twickenham in September 2025.
It was a day of celebration as players and staff were given a tour of the royal residence before joining Kate Middleton for a personal audience. The Princess shared a light-hearted moment with the players as she was shown the trophy and was presented with a signed England rugby jersey.
It comes after a royal expert suggested the Princess of Wales will continue to adopt a slower paced approach to her royal duties as she continues to make her return to public life after undergoing treatment for cancer.
“Last year was survival then recovery mode, picking her moments and pacing herself,” wrote royal expert Robert Jobson in Hello!. “This year, I expect Catherine to carry out more engagements but be selective. Her diary is already filling up, I am told. But she won’t go back to the old pace; she’s learnt that lesson. It will be meaningful, with gaps in between for her family.”
Any engagements will be carefully considered and will only reflect those causes closest to her heart. The first on the list this year was the visit to Charing Cross Hospital, where she joined Prince William to say thank you to the NHS health heroes whose workload has been on the up over the winter period. Dressed in a sharp burgundy suit—a sign of the wardrobe evolution that the Princess of Wales has been showcasing over the past year—Kate joined staff at the Hospital on their tea break, and in one particularly poignant moment, she referenced the grueling treatment she underwent following her cancer diagnosis.
The Princess of Wales was speaking with one volunteer, who said how chemotherapy patients and their families can be at the Hospital “for hours” while they receive treatment. Kate, who announced that her cancer was in remission this time last year, responded with a simple statement that encapsulates the difficult year she went through in 2024: “I know.”
Today, however, the Princess of Wales championed another cause close to her heart, women’s sports, and did so in serious style.
