Princess Margaret’s Lavish Lotus Flower Tiara

In the spring of 1965, Princess Margaret and her husband, Lord Snowdon, made an official visit to the Netherlands. In May, they traveled to Amsterdam aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia to represent the Queen at the opening of British Week, an exposition showcasing British goods and innovations. On the first night of the visit, they were the guests of honor at a civic reception held at Amsterdam’s famed Rijksmuseum.

The couple was escorted at the reception by Gijs van Hall, the Dutch statesman and resistance fighter who served as Mayor of Amsterdam from 1957 until 1967. Princess Margaret wore the insignia of the Order of the Netherlands Lion, which she received during her official 1948 visit for the inauguration of Queen Juliana, and Queen Elizabeth II’s Royal Family Order.

Margaret accessorized further with dazzling royal diamonds and pearls. She wore the Lotus Flower Tiara, made in 1923 for her mother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, using diamonds and pearls taken from one of her wedding presents. The Queen Mother wore the tiara low across her forehead in the fashionable ’20s style, but when Margaret adopted the piece years later, she wore it more traditionally atop her head. The tiara looked lovely against the background of her dark ’60s beehive hairstyle. In recent years, the tiara has been worn by the Duchess of Cambridge.

Princess Margaret paired other diamond pieces with the tiara, including an elaborate pair of diamond drop earrings. These antique earrings were added to Margaret’s collection in the late 1950s, and they were auctioned with her estate at Christie’s after her death. She also wore a pair of necklaces—one of her diamond rivière necklaces and a diamond and pearl necklace, perhaps the one that belonged to Queen Mary—and a sparkling bracelet. Finally, she secured her Dutch order sash with a pair of brooches: a round diamond brooch worn at her shoulder, and her large fleur-de-lis brooch worn on her bodice.