If the ladies of the royal family are known for anything (aside from having perpetually glossy blow-outs and a seemingly endless rotation of nice coats), it’s tiaras.
A remnant of a more formal, glitzier time, where royals donned jewels for everything from parties to concerts, nowadays only state occasions, royal weddings and coronations call for tiaras to be wrenched from the vaults.
Which is a shame, because the British royal family owns so many.
From towering creations of platinum, sapphires and rubies, to dainty diamond circlets, the Queen’s jewel vaults run deep. And although the politics of said jewels are complicated (there are tiaras owned by the family but not worn, and tiaras worn by the royal family but not owned…), it’s impossible to deny their beauty.
And due to previously aforementioned restrictions on the occasions and places you can wear them to, we see the royal ladies in their tiaras much less than we’d like.
The only remedy for this, of course, is to bring them into the light by discussing them, in-depth, right here.
The tiara: The Girls of Great Britain & Ireland Tiara.
The history: Easily Queen Elizabeth II’s favourite and most-worn tiara, it was originally created for Queen Mary of Teck. The tiara was commissioned as a gift by a committee of aristocratic women who called themselves the ‘Girls of Great Britian and Ireland,’ hence the name.
The former wearer: Queen Elizabeth II.
The tiara: The Cambridge Lover’s Knot Tiara.
The history: Commissioned by Queen Mary of Teck, this tiara has gotten a bit of action over the years. It has been worn by Queen Mary; the Queen Mother; Queen Elizabeth II; Diana, Princess of Wales; and currently, Kate Middleton, Princess Of Wales.
The current wearer: Kate Middleton, Princess Of Wales. Kate can be seen here wearing this tiara for a Royal gala celebrating King Charles III.
The tiara: The Cartier Halo Tiara.
The history: Made famous when it was worn by Catherine “Kate” Middleton on her wedding day to Prince William, this Cartier piece was originally created in 1936. It is made of diamond scrolls, hence why it’s sometimes called the ‘Cartier Scroll Tiara.’ It was also the chosen tiara for Princess Margaret to wear to her sister, Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, making it extra-special.
The current wearer: Kate Middleton, Princess Of Wales.
The tiara: Queen Mary’s Diamond Bandeau Tiara.
The history: Queen Mary of Teck was rumoured to have had this tiara created to house a brooch she was given (the centre diamond). The tiara is broken up into 11 sections, which make it flexible, and is set in platinum. Meghan Markle brought it out of the vaults after 65 years to wear it on her wedding day.
The former wearer: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.
The tiara: Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara.
The history: Another kokoshnik-style tiara, this fringe piece (named because of its spires) was made for Queen Mary of Teck. The then-Princess Elizabeth wore it on her wedding day. It was also worn by Princess Anne for her wedding in 1973 and by Princess Beatrice for her wedding in 2020.
The former wearer: Queen Elizabeth II.
The tiara: The Lotus Flower Tiara.
The history: Made from a necklace given to the future Queen Mother, this tiara has a distinct ‘lotus’ motif. Both Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret wore it regularly. It is now worn by Kate Middleton, Princess Of Wales.
The current wearer: Kate Middleton, Princess Of Wales.
The tiara: The Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara.
The history: Made for the Hon. Mrs. Ronald Greville in 1919, she then passed it on to Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, sometime in the 40s. It went unseen for decades until Princess Eugenie of York wore it on her wedding day. It incorporates rose-cut diamonds in a kokoshnik-style arc with six emeralds. The centre emerald is rumoured to weigh 93 carats.
The current wearer: Princess Eugenie of York.
The tiara: The York Diamond Tiara.
The history: In a surprise move, the royal family had a brand new tiara made for royal bride Sarah Ferguson when she married into the family. It was made by Garrard.
The former wearer: Sarah, Duchess of York.
The tiara: The Grand Duchess Vladimir Tiara.
The history: Created for Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia, this tiara is made up of 15 diamond circles interlinked. The hanging pearls can be swapped out for diamonds or emeralds.
The former wearer: Queen Elizabeth II.
The tiara: The Burmese Ruby Tiara.
The history: This tiara was commissioned by Queen Elizabeth II in 1973 using rubies and diamonds taken from dismantled tiaras and necklaces. It has a distinctive floral pattern.
The former wearer: Queen Elizabeth II.
The tiara: The Gloucester Honeysuckle Tiara.
The history: Created for Queen Mary of Teck, this massive tiara is made to have an interchangeable centre, where a brooch or jewel can be placed.
The current wearer: Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester.
The tiara: The Delhi Durbar Tiara.
The history: One of the biggest tiaras in the collection, this platinum and gold piece features lyres, scrolls and festoons.
The current wearer: Camilla, Queen Consort
The tiara: The Cartier Indian Tiara.
The history: Another huge piece, this sapphire, diamond and pearl number was originally owned by Princess Marie Louise.
The current wearer: Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester.
The tiara: The Modern Sapphire Tiara.
The history: Originally belonging to Princess Louise of Belgium in 1858, the Queen bought this tiara to add to her collection.
The former wearer: Queen Elizabeth II.
The tiara: The Cambridge Sapphire Parure.
The history: Originating in the early 1800s, this tiara is made form sapphires and diamonds and was worn by Queen Mary of Teck regularly.
The current wearer: Unworn.
The tiara: The Festoon Tiara.
The history: A privately-owned tiara, this piece was given to Princess Anne by a shipping company in 1973. Her daughter-in-law, Autumn Phillips, wore it on her wedding day.
The current wearer: Anne, Princess Royal.
The tiara: The Aquamarine Pineflower Tiara.
The history: One of the lesser-worn tiaras, this aquamarine piece was given to the Queen Mother by her husband, King George VI. She then passed it onto Princess Anne.
The current wearer: Anne, Princess Royal.
The tiara: The George IV State Diadem.
The history: This special piece, made in 1820, has been worn by four queens so far: Queen Victoria, Alexandra, Mary and Elizabeth II. It’s one of the more symbolic ones, as it’s only worn by queens.
The former wearer: Queen Elizabeth II.
The tiara: The Strathmore Rose Tiara.
The history: Sometimes called ‘Queen Elizabeth’s Strathmore Tiara,’ this was given to Lady Elizabeth by her father before her marriage to King George VI.
The current wearer: It is currently unworn, but belongs to Queen Elizabeth II.
The tiara: The Cubitt-Shand Tiara.
The history: One of the smaller tiaras Camilla, Queen Consort, wears, this piece has a strong nature theme and belonged to her grandmother, Sonia Keppel.
The current wearer: Camilla, Queen Consort.
The tiara: The Meander Tiara.
The history: As you can tell by the Greek design, this tiara was originally owned by Princess Andrew of Greece.
The current wearer: Anne, Princess Royal.
The tiara: The Five Aquamarine Tiara.
The history: Rumoured to be part of a bigger set, this aquamarine tiara is somewhat of a mystery because it’s not clear where it came from.
The current wearer: Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
The tiara: The Greville Tiara.
The history: This tiara was actually created from another which was dismantled in 1901. It features a distinctive ‘honeycomb’ structure and is made out of diamonds and platinum.
The current wearer: Camilla, Queen Consort.
The tiara: Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara.
The history: For Queen Alexandra’s silver wedding anniversary of 1888, a royal committee (made up of 364 aristocratic ladies named ‘The Ladies of Society’) raised money to have this kokoshnik-style tiara made. It is made up of 61 diamond bars.
The former wearer: Queen Elizabeth II.
The tiara: The Kent Diamond and Pearl Fringe Tiara.
The history: This ‘comb’-style tiara was originally owned by Queen Mary of Teck.
The current wearer: The Duchess of Kent.
The tiara: The Kent City of London Fringe Tiara.
The history: As the name suggests, the City of London gave this tiara to Princess Marina on her wedding day. It features diamond spires set in gold.
The current wearer: Princess Michael of Kent.
The tiara: The Teck Turquoise Tiara.
The history: Another tiara made for Queen Mary of Teck, this huge turquoise tiara comes as part of a set including earrings, a necklace, rings and brooches.
The current wearer: Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester.
The tiara: Lady Sarah’s floral tiara.
The history: Although this isn’t an official piece (it was made for Lady Sarah Chatto for her wedding), it is gorgeous. It’s made from floral diamond brooches mounted on a frame with green leaves.
The current wearer: Lady Sarah Chatto.
The tiara: The Iveagh Tiara.
The history: Lord and Lady Iveagh gave this tiara as a gift to Queen Mary of Teck on the occasion of her wedding. It’s made of diamond scrolls and leaves.
The current wearer: The Duchess of Gloucester.
The tiara: The Oriental Circlet.
The history: Prince Albert had this piece made for his wife, Queen Victoria, in 1853. It is made up of ‘Moghul arches and lotus flowers’ in diamonds and rubies. The late Queen Elizabeth II wore it only once, but it was a firm favourite of the Queen Mother.
The former wearer: Queen Elizabeth II.
The tiara: The Brazilian Aquamarine Parure Tiara.
The history: This tiara comes as part of a set gifted to Queen Elizabeth II for her coronation in 1953 by the President of Brazil. It is made up of emerald-cut aquamarines and diamonds.
The former wearer: Queen Elizabeth II.
The tiara: Sophie, Countess of Wessex’s, wedding tiara.
The history: Without an official name, this tiara was given to Sophie Rhys-Jones for her wedding. It’s rumoured to have been made from another dismantled necklace or tiara.
The current wearer: Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
The tiara: The Ogilvy Tiara.
The history: This floral bandeau can be made into a larger tiara. It was made for Princess Alexandra of Kent.
The current wearer: Princess Alexandra of Kent.
The tiara: Queen Mary’s Boucheron Loop Tiara.
The history: Using a collection of 675 diamonds given to her by de Beers, Queen Mary of Teck commissioned Boucheron to make this looped tiara.
The current wearer: It’s currently unworn.
The tiara: The Teck Crescent Tiara.
The history: Originally owned by Princess Mary Adelaide, the Duchess of Teck (Queen Mary of Teck’s mother), this tiara is made up of diamond crescent moons and has a stacked band.
The current wearer: It is currently unworn.
The tiara: The Surrey Fringe.
The history: This spire-based tiara was a gift to Queen Mary of Teck by the County of Surrey, but was later dismantled. Its diamonds were used to form part of the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara.
The tiara: The Nizam of Hyderabad Tiara.
The history: As its name suggests, this tiara was given to Princess Elizabeth on her wedding day by Nizam of Hyderabad. It was later dismantled to make another tiara.
The tiara: The Kent Festoon Tiara.
The history: This tiara was Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, in the early 1900s by her husband the Duke of Kent. It’s made of swirling diamond patterns and has a removable pearl band.
The current wearer: Princess Michael of Kent.
The tiara: The Persian Turquoise Tiara.
The history: Often referred to as the ‘Triumph of Love Tiara,’ this piece was made in 1900 by Garrard. Princess Margaret wore this tiara semi-regularly in her youth.
The current wearer: Although it hasn’t been worn since Princess Margaret’s death in 2002, it is rumoured to belong to her daughter Lady Sarah Chatto now.
The tiara: The Wessex Aquamarine Necklace Tiara.
The history: A relatively new tiara, this aquamarine is piece is rumoured to have been bought for Sophie, Countess of Wessex, by her husband’s family.
The current wearer: Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
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