There's been nobody quite like Queen Elizabeth II. While she may have been small in stature, she had a mighty influence across the globe throughout her impressive 70 year reign. Today (21 April) marks 100 years since her birth, and the Royal Family have been celebrating the occasion with a number of tributes. This includes gathering together at Buckingham Palace for a special reception in her honour. In attendance was The Princess of Wales and, while there, she revealed a subtle but intriguing clue about the true strength of her relationship with the late Queen Elizabeth II.

For the occasion, The Princess of Wales wore a lilac, long sleeve midi dress with a set of pearls - more specifically, a triple strand pearl necklace. Queen Elizabeth II was synonymous with the precious stone and, for the vast majority of her public engagements, wore two key pieces; the Queen Mary Button Earrings, and the Triple Strand Pearl Necklace.

london, england april 21: catherine, princess of wales talks with guests as she attends a reception at buckingham palace, on the 100th anniversary of the birth of queen elizabeth ii on april 21, 2026 in london, england. (photo by aaron chown pool/getty images)
Pool
london, england april 21: catherine, princess of wales speaks with guests as she attends a reception at buckingham palace, on the 100th anniversary of the birth of queen elizabeth ii on april 21, 2026 in london, england. (photo by jordan pettitt pool/getty images)
Pool
britains catherine, princess of wales and britains prince william, prince of wales attend a reception to celebrate the life of the late queen elizabeth ii at buckingham palace in central london on april 21, 2026, on the day marking what would have been the late monarchs 100th birthday. (photo by aaron chown / pool / afp via getty images)
AARON CHOWN

To date, these pieces have been largely kept locked away in the Royal Family's extensive vault. Being so deeply special to Her Majesty and strongly assocatied with her, it's rare that they're seen out in public on other members. Princess Anne, the Queen's only daughter, is usually the most likely to be afforded the honour of wearing Her Majesty's most special pieces.

montego bay, jamaica february 20: queen elizabeth ll laughing whilst attending the governor generals garden fair at the half moon hotel to see jamaican produce and listen to jamaican music. the queen is wearing a lime green dress with blue polka dots and a geen hat trimmed with material to match the dress. she has chosen to wear a pearl necklace, pearl earrings and a diamond brooch with this outfit. she is wearing a hat by philip somerville. (photo by tim graham photo library via getty images)
Tim Graham
Queen Elizabeth II wearing the triple pearl necklace and Queen Mary Button Earrings while on a visit to Jamaica.

Today, however, the honour was afforded to The Princess of Wales. To wear the late Queen's pearl necklace on an occasion as personal as the centenary of her birth is a significant indicator that Queen Elizabeth II thought extremely highly of Kate and that the pair had a close relationship. The necklace also carries the poignant notion of 'passing on the baton' between a much-loved Queen of the past, and our next Queen of the future.

Also attending the special event at Buckingham Palace were King Charles and Queen Camilla, Princess Anne, the Duchess of Edinburgh and Prince William. To mark the day, The King released a special video message reflecting on the reign and legacy of his 'darling mama', saying she was 'forever in our hearts and prayers'. You can watch the full speech above.