Today we’ll wrap up our All That Glitters series examining the borrowed jewelry the Duchess of Cambridge has worn. Our final topic: tiaras. (If some of this sounds familiar, it was covered in a March publish when I was desperately casting about for a topic to distract us from the early days of the pandemic, as well as I put together a tiara poll.)
We begin with the extremely very first tiara we saw the Duchess wear, the Cartier Halo.
Worn on her wedding event day, the tiara went well with the Alexander McQueen wedding event gown designed by Sarah Burton. Below, Kate is seen arriving at the west door of Westminster Abbey.
Her Majesty’s Jewel Vault has more:
Another tiara known by a number of names (mainly as the Scroll Tiara, prior to 2011; the Halo Tiara, Cartier Halo Tiara, or Queen Elizabeth’s Halo Tiara since then; I have likewise written about it as the Halo Scroll Tiara), this was made by Cartier in 1936 from diamonds as well as platinum. It was provided by The Duke of York to The Duchess of York soon before they became King George VI as well as Queen Elizabeth. It doesn’t seem to have been worn extremely commonly by her; she favored larger pieces as queen.
The Cartier tiara was provided to Princess Elizabeth as an 18th birthday gift in 1944, one more wartime birthday “re-gift”. I suspect this may have been The Queen’s very first tiara, however (to my knowledge) she has never been pictured wearing it. By the time she started wearing tiaras in public, she was married as well as had more options at her disposal. She loaned it to Princess Margaret as well as Princess Anne, who both utilized it as young women. They both stopped borrowing the tiara as their own collections grew.
Below, Princess Anne wearing the tiara at a March 1970 function in new Zealand.
And the Duchess on her wedding event day.
And from The Court Jeweller.
The tiara truly is the perfect size for a younger princess, as well as Margaret wore it commonly in the years before she married Antony Armstrong-Jones (when she graduated to something a touch bigger — the mighty Poltimore), as well as afterward. The next borrower of the tiara was the queen’s daughter, Princess Anne, who likewise wore the tiara often before her marriage. however then the tiara went into the vault, unseen for years up until Kate Middleton arrived at Westminster Abbey for her royal wedding event in 2011.
A better look.
A few more views of the Duchess in the piece.
Next on our list, the Lotus flower Tiara, likewise called the Papyrus Tiara.
We only had a glimpse of it when worn to the 2013 diplomatic reception (above right). We had much better pictures when it was worn almost two years later for the China state dinner (above left). more about the piece from The Court Jeweller:
The very first royal wearer of this tiara, which takes its name from the lotus flower (or papyrus leaf) elements that dominate the piece, was the Queen Mum. She took a page out of her mother-in-law’s book when creating the sparkler: it was made from a necklace that she received as a wedding event gift in 1923. The necklace, which was made of diamonds as well as pearls as well as featured meander as well as festoon designs, was provided to her by her husband, the future George VI, who had purchased it from Garrard.
Even so, Elizabeth decided she’d rather dismantle it as well as reuse the gems elsewhere. only six months after she received it, Garrard broke up the necklace as well as utilized the diamonds as well as pearls to produce this tiara.
Here you see the piece in necklace type as well as then as a tiara.
Below, the Queen mom wearing the piece. The Royal Order of Splendor notes “The then-Duchess of York wore it in the fashionable bandeau style across her forehead, however it is equipped to be worn in traditional style at the crown of the head as well.”
The Court Jeweller reports “Margaret received the tiara from her mom in 1959, just before she married Antony Armstrong-Jones. Along with the Poltimore, it became one of her most often worn tiaras.” Below, Princess Margaret wearing the piece.
This gorgeous picture of the piece comes from the book Tiaras: A history of Splendour, by Geoffrey C. Munn, via the Royal Post.
As mentioned, we next saw the Duchess wearing the piece almost two years later, in October 2015, when taking part in her very first state banquet at Buckingham Palace. That evening she wore a Jenny Packham evening gown.
One reason it was an suitable option for the China state dinner is the importance of the Lotus flower in Chinese culture as well as history. more from China Culture: “Untouched by any type of impurities, the lotus symbolizes purity of the heart as well as mind as well as represents long life, humility, honor as well as tranquility.”
This is the best closeup I have of the item, which isn’t terrific.
And two more views of the Duchess wearing it in 2015.
Our final tiara is the Lover’s Knot, very first worn for the 2015 diplomatic reception, accessorizing the lacy Alexander McQueen evening gown seen with the cars and truck window at the 2013 reception.
The tiara was commissioned by Queen Mary as well as made by Garrard. The piece is likewise referred to as Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara. more from this Court Jeweller post:
While the piece is definitely the most famous lover’s knot tiara today, it was originally a copy of one more almost-identical sparkler that when belonged to the Cambridge family. The lover’s knot motif was extremely prominent in the nineteenth century; the knots are the pretzel-like elements at the top of the tiara — the part from which the pendant pearls are suspended.
Originally it was topped with a row of upright pearls, making it even taller as well as grander than the present version; these are the exact same pearls that when sat atop the Girls of excellent Britain as well as Ireland Tiara. The upright pearls were later removed from the tiara, as well as now a row of diamond brilliants sit along the top of the piece.
Below, HM wearing the piece during a 1960 trip to India.
And from The Royal Order of Splendor:
The Cambridge Lover’s Knot Tiara was commissioned from E. Wolff & Co. for Garrard in 1913 by our preferred magpie, Queen Mary.
After Mary died in 1953, the tiara passed to Queen Elizabeth II. She wore it with some regularity in the early years of her reign, especially the 1950s, however it ultimately went back to storage as she began to favor the group of tiaras we still see her wear today.
Next came the best known part of our tale: the Queen loaned the Cambridge Lover’s Knot tiara to Diana, Princess of Wales, as well as it soon became one of her signature pieces. many have called this her “favorite” tiara, as well as while I’m not sure that is strictly correct (she was said to grumble it was as well heavy, as well headache-inducing, as well as even as well noisy due to the swinging pearls), there’s no question that she made it an iconic piece
A piece by Patricia Treble for Maclean’s Canada notes one more element of Kate wearing this specific tiara.
Its emotional effect is not to be underestimated, for Kate—like Diana—is wearing it in her function as future queen consort. as well as as somebody extremely much loved by a son as well as a husband: Prince William.
The Duke as well as Duchess as they left the 2015 diplomatic reception.
Our next chance to see the Duchess wearing a tiara was a year later at the December 2016 diplomatic reception. Kate brought back the red Jenny Packham evening gown very first seen at the China state dinner, as well as wore diamond decrease earrings loaned to her by the Queen.
Another view of the couple as they headed house after the function.
It was July 2017 when we saw the Duchess wearing the tiara once again for a state dinner honoring Spain’s King Felipe as well as Queen Letizia.
Kate accessorized a Marchesa evening gown with the tiara, as well as The Queen’s Ruby as well as Diamond Floral Bandeau Necklace as well as the Collingwood Pearl as well as Diamond Earrings, a gift from Collingwood Jewelers to Diana, Princess of Wales.
At the December 2017 diplomatic reception, the Duchess was in a white Jenny Packham evening gown, the Lover’s Knot tiara, as well as the Collingwood earrings. She likewise wore a necklace on lending from HM.
We had a lovely look at the tiara as the Duchess was seen heading to the October 2018 state dinner in honor of King Willem-Alexander as well as his other half Queen Máxima of the Netherlands.
The Duchess was in a ruched as well as pleated Alexander McQueen gown for the function. The huge jewelry news that evening: Queen Alexandra’s wedding event Necklace, loaned to her by The Queen for the gala (more info here). We likewise saw the tiara as well as Diana’s Collingwood earrings.
Kate brought back the Lover’s Knot as well as Collingwood earrings for 2018’s diplomatic reception. She wore an evening gown by Jenny Packham, as well as her Royal household Order.
A much better view.
This picture of the Duchess is not terrific since of the raindrops, however it is one of my preferred “through the cars and truck window” photos.
June 2019 brought one more state banquet, this one in honor of president Trump as well as Mrs. Trump.
Kate chose the Lover’s Knot tiara again, however mixed things up in terms of jewelry, wearing the Queen Mother’s sapphire as well as diamond fringe earrings as well as a 4-strand pearl bracelet that may have belonged to Diana, Princess of Wales with her Alexander McQueen ruffled lace gown.
The most recent engagement requiring a tiara was the 2019 diplomatic reception last December.
The Duchess was in a navy velvet evening gown by Alexander McQueen topped off by the Lover’s Knot tiara. We saw plenty of diamonds that evening, as she likewise wore the Nizam of Hyderabad necklace.
A much better view of the tiara.
The Lover’s Knot appears to have ended up being the Duchess’ favorite; my assumption is we will continue to see her wearing it for most state occasions in the near future.
Now for part one of our tiara evaluation (from left to right): the Cartier Halo worn on Kate’s wedding event day, the Lotus Flower/Papyrus at the 2013 diplomatic reception, that tiara once again at the China state dinner, the very first appearance of the Lover’s Knot for the December 2015 diplomatic reception, as well as the Lover’s Knot at the 2016 diplomatic reception.
And part two, all with the Lover’s Knot: the pink Marchesa in July 2017, the ivory Jenny Packham in December 2017, the ruched light blue McQueen in December 2018, the ivory tulle Jenny Packham in December 2018, the white ruffled lace McQueen in June 2019, as well as the navy velvet McQueen in December 2019.
That wraps up our look at the loaned jewelry pieces worn by the Duchess. In part One we did an overview of Kate’s borrowed brooches.
Part two covers the bracelets loaned to the Duchess by HM.
We look at the Duchess’ loaned earrings in part Three.
And part four is our evaluation of necklaces loaned to the Duchess by HM.
As ever, significant thanks to the lovely folks at The Royal Order of Splendor as well as sister-site Her Majesty’s Jewel Vault, along with Ella at The Court Jeweller. It is their understanding providing the backbone of these posts.
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Also today, a quick update on Hold Still merchandise being offered by the national portrait Gallery shop. There are now posters offered for preordering (£15 / $19.43) that function images from the Hold Still online exhibition.
The choice includes ten different photos; each measures 20″ x 30″. Royal Mail shipping in the UK starts at £2.95; worldwide shipping via DHL Courier starts at £20.
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Today’s fashion flashback dates back to five years back today when the Earl as well as Countess of Strathearn visited Dundee, Scotland.
The ensemble qualified as a one-hit-wonder in my mind; it was covered in this post.
The bespoke ensemble by Scottish-born designer Christopher Kane included a coat as well as skirt by the designer as well as a black turtleneck sweater. It remains a favorite.
Because we already reviewed this ensemble, let’s take a look at an outfit worn six years back Wednesday when Kate as well as William welcomed the president of Singapore as well as his wife, Mrs. Tony Tan Keng Yam, to the United Kingdom.
The Duke as well as Duchess officially greeted the couple on behalf of the Queen, costs time with them at a London hotel. The two couples then traveled by cars and truck to equine Guards Parade for ceremonies with the Queen, Prince Philip, as well as dignitaries.
The couple rode in the Scottish State coach with Singaporean government priest Grace Fu.
Some readers may keep in mind this was Kate’s very first official public appearance in more than two months. She was expecting Princess Charlotte as well as had been dealing with the effects of Hyperemesis Gravidarum.
The Duchess wore a coat by Alexander McQueen for the day’s engagement.
It was a version of the label’s Box Pleat A-Line coat from the spring 2015 collection. You can see some minor modifications were made to Kate’s coat, most notably at the lapels: Kate’s does not have the longer lapels the off-the-rack piece has, not does it have the extra layer of material underneath the lapels.
Kate carried a new handbag.
It was Jenny Packham’s Roxy style in black suede from the A/W 2014 collection.
Kate’s bespoke Jane Taylor hat, previously worn Easter Sunday in Australia as seen below right. The hat is the ‘Lupin’ style, described by the designer as a teardrop beret in grey velour felt.
Kate’s shoes were never formally IDed; they looked like a pair of Prada round-toe pumps previously seen at a 2013 film premiere.
But in looking at photos, the sole of the shoe didn’t have the raised, gold Prada logo.
She likewise wore her Mappin & Web
