The Duchess of Cornwall’s Most Dazzling Diamond Tiara

The Duchess of Cornwall has worn several tiaras since her royal marriage in 2005, but the Greville Tiara has proved to be her very favorite of the bunch. On the occasion we’re spotlighting today, she wore the tiara for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Dinner in November 2013. The event was held a very warm location that year: Sri Lanka. For the dinner, Camilla wore an elegant gown in a pale shade of aquamarine. The dress had a bodice with a lace overlay and an empire waist and a light, floaty skirt, perfect for the weather.

With the dress, Camilla wore the diamond and platinum honeycomb tiara, which was made by Boucheron for Dame Margaret Greville in 1921. The tiara was then a kokoshnik shape. Along with the lion’s share of the rest of her jewels, Mrs. Greville bequeathed the tiara to the Queen Mother in 1942. She had the piece altered slightly by Cartier, adding the top-most sections to complete the current piece.

The Queen Mother wore the tiara faithfully throughout her life. After her death, it passed to the Queen, who has since loaned it to the Duchess of Cornwall. It has clearly become Camilla’s favorite tiara, worn on almost every gala occasion since.

On this occasion, we were treated to several excellent close-ups of the tiara, where you can really appreciate the detailed craftsmanship of the jewel. The tiara is large, but Camilla manages to carry it off effortlessly, just as the Queen Mother did before her. Both royal women wear the tiara, rather than it wearing them, as they say.

On this occasion, Camilla wore the earrings from her demi-parure of pear-shaped diamond jewels with the tiara. She wisely decided not to wear a necklace, which would have competed with the neckline of her gown.

She finished off the look with even more diamonds, including a diamond bracelet on her left wrist and her diamond engagement ring, which also once belonged to the Queen Mum.