Princess Margaret’s Romantic Royal Wedding Jewels

 

Sixty-one years ago today, Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom married photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones in a glittering ceremony at Westminster Abbey in London. The Queen’s sister’s romances had been major media fodder during the 1950s, and the public final got to see her in a wedding dress on May 6, 1960. Today, we’ve got a closer look at her wedding jewels, including that iconic diamond tiara.

 

 

 

Princess Margaret, daughter of one monarch and sister of another, was fourth in line to the throne at the time of her marriage. After a year-long romance, she had accepted a proposal from Armstrong-Jones in the autumn of 1959. The couple officially announced their engagement in February 1960, and their wedding took place a little over two months later.

 

 

 

In early 1959, before she was engaged, Princess Margaret purchased the diadem that would eventually become her famous wedding tiara. The Poltimore Tiara, which had been made in the 1870s by Garrard for the wife of the 2nd Baron Poltimore, was bought by the princess at auction. She wore it for the first time in public during a state visit from the Shah of Iran in May 1959, and a year later, she wore it for her royal wedding ceremony. The imposing diamond tiara was also highly convertible, able to be worn as a necklace and broken apart into a series of eleven brooches.

 

 

 

Princess Margaret’s other major accessory on her wedding day was the Lady Mount Stephen Necklace. This diamond riviere, featuring large collet-set diamonds, was given to Margaret by her grandmother, Queen Mary. Mary had inherited the necklace from one of her closest friends, Georgina “Gian” Tufnell, who was the second wife of Lord Mount Stephen.

 

 

 

The tiara and the necklace were accessories to Princess Margaret’s sophisticated wedding gown. The silk organza dress was made for the princess by royal couturier Norman Hartnell, who used simple lines and sharp tailoring in the construction of the gown.