Kate Middleton Wears Oversized Stud Earrings Trend: Best Photos

Feb 25, 2025

The Princess of Wales wears everything from hoops to dainty dangles, but another bold style keeps popping up

Stephanie Petit is a Royals Editor, Writer and Reporter at PEOPLE.

Phil Noble-WPA Pool/Getty

Kate Middleton's taste in earrings runs the gamut, but one particular style keeps popping up in her jewelry rotation.

The Princess of Wales, 43, has worn almost every type of earring, from dainty dangles and hoops to historic pieces from the royal family's collection. But during her Feb. 11 visit to a women's prison to learn about how they are supporting mothers and babies, she reached for an increasingly familiar look: oversized studs.

According to Kate Middleton Style Blog, the royal wore a vintage pair of gold and pearl earrings by Katherine James. The bold choice of jewelry complemented her bespoke tartan Blaze Milano coat, a subdued choice due her to wearing the same ensemble just weeks earlier at the Royal Marsden Hospital on Jan. 14.

Simon Bruty/Anychance/Getty

Princess Kate has reached for statement studs with an old-school feel on several occasions over the past few years, including a pair of pearl cluster earrings that she wore to several significant events since 2018. She debuted the "Cavolfiore" pearl earrings by Cassandra Goad at son Prince Louis' christening then recycled them for the women's finals of Wimbledon in July 2023 and Trooping the Colour in June 2024.

The product description says the yellow gold earrings with pearls and diamonds "are inspired by the Sicilian markets, which are full of the most beautifully ripe fruit and vegetables that overflow copiously from their baskets."

JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty

Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!

Kate's history with the trend even goes back further, as she sported large square-cut emeralds to the 2018 BAFTA Film Awards with a coordinating necklace.

According to Hello! magazine, the earrings are actually convertible and were worn as pendant earrings at the St. Andrews 600th anniversary dinner at the Metropolitan Museum of Art during the royal's 2014 visit to New York City.

Samir Hussein/WireImage

The Princess of Wales recently wore a trio of similar ensembles following a report by the Sunday Times, which claimed that there was concern about Kate’s style overshadowing her charity work and that there was a possibility of changing the policy surrounding sharing her fashion details.

On Feb. 11, a Kensington Palace spokesperson responded with a statement to PEOPLE: “Over the last week, I have received numerous questions about a story regarding The Princess of Wales’s clothing and how Kensington Palace shares information about her outfits."

“To clarify, the comments that appeared in the article were from me, not The Princess of Wales," the statement continued. "The comments that were reported should not be directly attributed to The Princess of Wales. To be clear, there has been no change in our approach to sharing information about Her Royal Highness’s clothing."

Tim Rooke/Pool/Samir Hussein/WireImage

Susan Kelley, the founder of the first-ever style blog dedicated to Kate’s clothing choices, told PEOPLE that while it was "understandable that the Princess would like the emphasis to be on her work and not her fashion," it was unlikely that the interest in her style would wane anytime soon.

"The reality is that people have an interest in the Princess' style, and that is not something Kensington Palace or anyone else can control," she said. "People are going to seek out the information by various means."