Can’t Meghan Markle Wear Princess Diana’s Jewelry?

Is Queen Elizabeth II giving preferential treatment to Kate Middleton over her other granddaughter-in-law, Meghan Markle, when it comes to access to Princess Diana’s jewelry? That seems to be the case based on a recent story from a British publication.

In fact, The Sun’s headline is a bit blunt and stated that “The Queen Bans Meghan Markle From Wearing Jewellery Made Famous By Diana — But Kate Middleton IS Allowed.” However, the source of the paper’s shocking story, which was published on April 3, was not revealed and was merely stated as an “impeccably placed royal insider.” Here’s a warning to royal family fans, though — better take this story with a grain of salt, especially since it’s hard to get confirmation as Buckingham Palace usually keeps mum about these minor issues.

Some of the pieces of jewelry popularized by the late Princess Diana were actually loaned by Queen Elizabeth from the Royal Collection. As such, Her Majesty is the ultimate authority when it comes to who gets to use them. “It is at the discretion of the Queen and trusted advisers which items in the Royal Collection she chooses to loan out and to whom,” confirmed the publication’s palace insider.

“To be perfectly honest, the Queen herself was not impressed with some of Meghan’s demands, especially as a new member of the family,” the insider added. “As a result, Buckingham Palace has decided that not all items from the Queen’s royal collection will be opened up to Meghan.”

However, it seems that the Queen’s decision not to loan the pieces of jewelry has nothing to do with how she feels about her newest granddaughter-in-law. “The Queen likes Meghan personally but this is about the hierarchy,” the unnamed source explained. “She is showing that maintaining the correct order and precedence within the family is important. Even if Meghan is the most popular woman in the world, she is of a lower rank than Kate.”

Whether this story is true or not is still difficult to judge, especially since Meghan was previously seen wearing a few pieces of the late Princess Diana’s jewelry. For instance, the Duchess of Sussex was previously seen wearing Princess Di’s butterfly earrings while touring Australia with Prince Harry last year. She was also seen wearing Diana’s gold and sapphire bangle and aquamarine ring on separate occasions.