Meghan Markle accidentally owns the same iconic piece as Diana

For their third wedding anniversary, Prince William bought Kate Middleton a Cartier watch, which was a special nod to Princess Diana.

How so? Because his late mother owned used to own a Cartier Tank Francaise watch, which was a present from her father, John Spencer, and she wore it a lot in the months leading up to her death (perhaps to replace the one she was wearing in that famous two watches picture).

This was also said to be Prince William's favourite piece from her collection, and he inherited it upon her passing, while Prince Harry got her engagement ring, which he later gave his brother to propose to Kate with.

And speaking of Harry, completely coincidentally, Meghan Markle owned exactly the same Cartier Tank Francaise watch as Diana, even before she met the Prince.

kate meghan inherited diana

In fact, her Cartier watch was one of the first designer presents she ever bought herself (it coset £5,000), to celebrate the fact her show Suits had been picked up for another season.

She told Hello Magazine in 2015, 'I’ve always coveted the Cartier French Tank watch. When I found out Suits had been picked up for our third season – which, at the time, felt like such a milestone – I totally splurged and bought the two tone version.'

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Meghan even had a special message added to it, 'I had it engraved on the back ‘To M.M. From M.M.’ and I plan to give it to my daughter one day. That’s what makes pieces special, the connection you have to them.'

Little did she know that the Cartier watch would have another special connection, to her late mother in law.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Contributing Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK. She writes about catwalk trends and the latest high street and Instagram sartorial must-haves. She also helms the Women Who Win franchise.

She has worked in fashion for over 10 years, contributing to publications such as Cosmopolitan, Red, Good Housekeeping, and Stylist.