British Royal Wedding Tiaras

This week, I chatted with Town and Country Magazine about possible wedding tiaras for Meghan Markle, and in the interview, I mentioned that almost every British royal bride since the ’30s has worn a wedding tiara. Here’s a look at the bridal diadems of the Windsors!

Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, 1934

The Greek princess borrowed a Russian imperial fringe tiara from her mother, Princess Nicholas, for her wedding to the Duke of Kent in November 1934

Lady Alice Montagu-Douglas-Scott, 1935

Alice wore a floral head ornament, not a tiara, for her wedding to the Duke of Gloucester in 1935. The ceremony was a somber occasion, because of the recent death of Alice’s father, but she did receive a boatload of bejeweled wedding presents

Wallis Warfield Simpson, 1937

No tiara for Wallis, who married the Duke of Windsor, formerly King Edward VIII at a French chateau in June 1937, less than a year after his abdication

Princess Elizabeth, 1947

For her wedding in November 1947, Elizabeth borrowed Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara from her mother — and then the frame snapped just before she left for the Abbey. Thankfully, the tiara was hastily repaired in time for the ceremony!

Princess Margaret, 1960

Margaret purchased her own wedding tiara, the Poltimore, at an auction before her wedding day in May 1960; almost half a century later, it fetched an astonishing price when it was sold again

Katharine Worsley, 1961

To marry the Duke of Kent in June 1961, Katharine wore a diamond bandeau that had once belonged to Queen Mary; many believe that the tiara was later remodeled, becoming a diamond and pearl fringe tiara

Princess Alexandra of Kent, 1963

Alexandra borrowed her mother’s diamond fringe tiara to wear for her wedding to the Hon. Angus Ogilvy in April 1963 at Westminster Abbey

Birgitte van Deurs, 1972

Birgitte, who never expected that she’d one day become Duchess of Gloucester, chose flowers rather than a tiara at her small, countryside wedding to Prince Richard of Gloucester in July 1972

Princess Anne, 1973

For her wedding to Mark Phillips in November 1973, Anne borrowed Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara from her grandmother; it’s the same tiara worn by her mother on her wedding day in 1947

Marie Christine von Reibnitz, 1978

Marie Christine did not wear a tiara for her wedding to Prince Michael of Kent, which was a civil ceremony in Vienna in June 1978, but she did wear her late mother-in-law’s diamond fringe tiara for the ball held afterward

Lady Diana Spencer, 1981

One of the most famous royal wedding tiaras of all time is undoubtedly the Spencer Tiara, borrowed by Diana from her father for her wedding to the Prince of Wales in July 1981

Sarah Ferguson, 1986

Sarah hid her diamond wedding tiara, a gift from her parents-in-law, under a wreath of flowers until after she was officially married to the Duke of York in July 1986

Princess Anne, 1992

For Anne’s second wedding to Tim Laurence in December 1992, she kept things very simple, choosing to wear flowers instead of a tiara

The Hon. Serena Stanhope, 1993

Serena, who married Viscount Linley (now the Earl of Snowdon) in October 1993, wore the Lotus Flower Tiara with her bridal ensemble

Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones, 1994

For her wedding to Daniel Chatto in July 1994, Sarah wore a floral tiara made of diamond brooches that her father gave to her mother, Princess Margaret

Sophie Rhys-Jones, 1999

Sophie received a new tiara from her parents-in-law when she married the Earl of Wessex in June 1999; many believe the tiara is composed of elements that were once part of Queen Victoria’s Regal Circlet

Camilla Parker-Bowles, 2005

Camilla chose a dramatic feathered headpiece rather than a tiara for the blessing of her second marriage, to the Prince of Wales, in April 2005

Autumn Kelly, 2008

For her wedding to Peter Phillips in May 2008, Autumn borrowed her mother-in-law’s diamond festoon tiara

Catherine Middleton, 2011

The Queen loaned the Cartier Halo Tiara, an heirloom from the Queen Mother, to Kate for her wedding to the Duke of Cambridge in April 2011

Zara Phillips, 2011

Zara borrowed Princess Andrew’s Meander Tiara from her mother for her wedding to Mike Tindall in Edinburgh in July 2011