Princess of Wales’s jewellery designer reveals how Kate’s support has helped transform her brand into a global business

Jewellery designer Kiki McDonough has revealed how the Princess of Wales’s support has helped transform her business.

The fifth-generation British jeweller, who operates from her eponymous London-based store off Sloane Square in Chelsea, told how ‘charming’ Kate Middleton is ‘massively helpful’.

‘The Princess of Wales has changed so many brands and taken them to the next level and every brand would say how grateful they are to her and I’m very grateful to her,’ Kiki told Hello.

‘Like Diana, she understands how she can help British brands by wearing them and it’s massively helpful.’

The royal mother-of-two has sported Kiki’s pieces at a string of high-profile events, such as Wimbledon, with Kate’s range including a £3,500 pair of diamond earrings and a striking amethyst pair.

Kiki has enjoyed the royal family’s support since 1986, the year when the Sarah, the Duchess of York, wandered into the store for a necklace and a pair of earrings.

One thing led to another, and then Diana, the Princess of Wales was knocking on the store’s door soon after.

Kiki recalled: ‘One morning I was in the kitchen making a cup of coffee and the builder who was working there said, ‘The Princess of Wales [Diana] is knocking at the door’, and I said: ‘Yeah, right – it’s too early for jokes.’

The royal family’s support has allowed Kiki, who is a business mentor for the King’s Trust, to grow her 40-year-old label from a small one-room shop to a business with a global customer base. 

It comes after the  Princess of Wales made a triumphant return to the annual Commonwealth Day Service of celebration for the first time in two years today as she joined the King and members of the Royal Family at Westminster Abbey.

Kate, 43, dressed to impress in her red Catherine Walker Beau Tie coat dress, which she’s worn twice before in December 2022 and November 2023, as well as a matching £450 red hat from Gina Foster. 

Walking alongside Prince William, the mother-of-three teamed her vibrant ensemble with her beloved Collingwood pearl and diamond earrings, which once belonged to Princess Diana, and the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Japanese four-strand pearl choker.

Sporting a stylish curly half-up half-down hairdo and a smattering of glamorous makeup, Kate couldn’t keep the smile from her face as she stepped out for the prestigious occasion.

Both the Princess and King Charles were reluctantly forced to miss last year’s key royal event as they were undergoing treatment for their respective cancers.  

This year, however, the monarch led a large showing of senior royals which also included Queen Camilla, Princess Anne and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.

Kate showed she was just as thrifty as ever today as she donned her red coat dress, which featured statement bow detailing at the neckline, for the third time.

She first wore the elegant number for the Together At Christmas Carol Service at Westminster Abbey in December 2022 and again in November 2023, for the South Korean President’s State Visit. The Princess also has a black version of the dress. 

For Kate’s necklace, the pearls were gifted to the late Queen during her first state visit to Japan in 1975, which was then constructed into the piece of jewellery by court jeweller Garrard. 

Meanwhile, the pearl earrings worn by the Princess today were gifted to Diana before her wedding to Charles in 1981. 

The earrings, made by Collingwood, mark a touching handover from one Princess of Wales to the other. 

They became firm favourites of Diana and were sported on royal tours of Australia, Canada and Italy.

The earrings feature a round diamond stud, from which is suspended an additional round diamond and a bell cap set with three more rows of small diamonds. The bell caps each contain a pearl drop. 

Diana began wearing the earrings before she was Princess of Wales. They were a gift from Collingwood, a jewellery firm that was a favourite of the Spencer family.

She wore them on several occasions throughout her marriage. They made her gala outfits sparkle during her tour of the US in 1985, where she wore them with a lacy white gown and the Lover’s Knot tiara for a gala dinner at the British Embassy.

She also wore them with the form-fitting black dress she sported as she attended the Vanity Fair party at the Serpentine Gallery in November 1994 in London, which then later become known as the Revenge Dress. Kate has worn the earrings several times. 

William and Kate were welcomed by Dr David Hoyle, Dean of Westminster, ahead of the arrival of the King and Queen.

The monarch and his wife then arrived, with Camilla wearing a pink wool crepe and satin coat dress by Fiona Clare and pink beret hat by Philip Treacy.

Among the stars joining them today were former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, cycling legend Sir Chris Hoy with his wife Sarra Kemp and actress Baroness Floella Benjamin.

Also in attendance were Prime Minister Keir Starmer, his deputy Angela Rayner, the Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, Prime Minister of Samoa Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa and the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Baroness Scotland.

The royal party were greeted by the Dean and Westminster before meeting members of the Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa Pipe Band, a community band from the world’s first Hindu eco-temple in Kingsbury, north London.

Following their performance at the Great West Door, the King – who is head of the Commonwealth – and his family formed a procession behind the Commonwealth Mace Bearer, three-time Paralympic champion and two-time world champion track cyclist Kadeena Cox.

Heritage Sanmi Lawal, a Commonwealth Youth Gender and Equality Network member from Nigeria, carried the Commonwealth flag.