During an event last week, Kate Middleton celebrated her role as patron of a new naval ship, the HMS Glasgow, by smashing a bottle of whisky on its hull. Though the Princess of Wales didn’t get to partake in the single-malt whisky from Clydeside Distillery that wound up on the side of the ship, she went home with a much nicer souvenir. The princess wore an intricate new sterling silver brooch on the lapel of her navy and white dress by Suzannah London.
The brooch was designed for the occasion by the team at James Porter & Son, one of Scotland’s oldest jewelers. Simon Porter, the company’s fifth-generation managing director, joined the princess during Thursday’s ceremony, along with his wife, Rachel.
“It was an absolute honor to see HRH The Princess of Wales wearing the brooch we designed for this historic occasion,” Porter told Vanity Fair. “The bespoke piece was inspired by the crest of HMS Glasgow and aimed to capture the ship’s strength, Glasgow’s rich heritage, and the beauty of Scotland’s natural landscape. Set against the navy backdrop of her dress, it truly stood out—an incredibly proud moment for our entire team.”
Though Kate wasn’t involved in the design process for the piece, the brand added that it looked to the princess’s own love of nature as a part of its creation. Commissioned by Commander Philip Burgess of HMS Glasgow and given as a gift from the Worshipful Companies of Taylors and Fan Makers, it reflects Scotland’s natural landscape by prominently featuring a thistle. Inside a medallion at the brooch’s center sits a figure in priestly robes with a mitre and staff, in reference to St. Kentigern, Glasgow’s patron saint.
The princess has long made the connection between outdoor activity and improved mental health a part of her charitable program, but it took on a personal dimension when she announced her diagnosis with an unspecified form of cancer in March 2024. In an early public comment following the diagnosis, she mentioned the “power of nature” to keep us “physically, mentally and spiritually healthy.” In September 2024, she announced that her chemotherapy had come to an end with a video that showed her playing outside with her family in Norfolk, and when she returned to her royal work with a holiday concert last December, the Westminster Abbey decorations were inspired by nature due to its impact on her recovery.
Earlier this year, a friend of Kate and Prince William told Vanity Fair their marriage thrives on spending time outdoors. “They love being in nature, switching off and just being together,” the friend said in April, on the occasion of their 14th wedding anniversary. “I think they both have a renewed sense of purpose and perspective after this past year.”
The princess’s jewelry collection contains some spectacular and historic hand-me-downs from the late Queen Elizabeth and Princess Diana, whose sapphire-and-diamond earrings she wore alongside the brooch on Thursday. Still, she has a love for incorporating new pieces into her wardrobe and wearing old acquisitions with a specific symbolism. At a Buckingham Palace garden party last week, Kate wore the earrings from London-based jeweler Robinson Pelham that she wore at her wedding in April 2011. The earrings feature acorns at their center, a reference to the Middleton family crest that was created for the occasion.