The seventh spot in our countdown of the best royal jewels of 2024 shines a sparkling light on a pair of royal tiaras shared by the ladies of the British royal family this year, sparking hopes that we may see more tiara-sharing in the years to come!
Queen Camilla shocked many royal jewelry lovers when she arrived at the annual Diplomatic Reception, held in November this year, wearing a royal tiara that had previously been used by her sister-in-law, the Duchess of Edinburgh.
The Aquamarine Ribbon Tiara, like so many jewels from the British royal vaults, originally belonged to Queen Elizabeth II, who memorably wore it during a royal tour of Canada in the 1970s. The exact provenance of the piece isn’t entirely clear.
Queen Camilla’s first appearance in the aquamarine tiara makes her the third member of the royal family to wear the jewel in public. She paired it with a suite of aquamarine jewels from her own personal collection.
The aquamarine tiara’s appearance on Camilla is particularly surprising because it signals a shift in the way that royal jewelry is loaned within the family. During Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, individual pieces were generally loaned out to one member of the family at a time, for an extended period of time, with little sharing of jewels between royal ladies. The Aquamarine Ribbon Tiara has been worn in previous years exclusively by the then-Countess of Wessex.
This year, though, the way the tiaras are assigned seems to have changed. During the Japanese state visit in June, the Duchess of Edinburgh was seen in another royal tiara, the Lotus Flower Tiara, that was previously loaned (exclusively, it seemed) to the Princess of Wales. Now, though, it’s looking like the ladies may be pooling their tiaras and extending their availability, more in the style of the way that the ladies of the Swedish royal family handles their tiaras. If you ask me, just about anything that means more tiaras on more members of the royal family is a very good thing indeed.
Our countdown of the best royal jewelry moments of the year rolls on tomorrow morning with the sixth spot on the list! Don’t forget to stop by for a little Sunday sparkle!
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