All My Tiaras: The Duchess of Cambridge
Happy birthday to the Duchess of Cambridge! The former Kate Middleton has been royal for almost five years now, and she’s starting to wear pieces of important family jewelry. Here’s a look at the tiaras she’s donned during her royal tenure so far…
Kate officially began her royal life wearing this tiara, which was a wedding anniversary gift from King George VI to the Queen Mother. Made by Cartier in 1936, the tiara made of platinum and set with diamonds. In 1953, it attended another important event at Westminster Abbey, when Princess Margaret wore it to her sister’s coronation. Kate has only worn the tiara once so far, on her wedding day, but the fact that her new wedding earrings were made to coordinate with the tiara suggests that it may be a long-term loan.
Kate wore another of the Queen Mum’s tiaras for her first diplomatic reception at Buckingham Palace in 2013. The Lotus Flower (or Papyrus) Tiara was made by Garrard for the then-Duchess of York in 1923; the diamonds and pearls were harvested from a necklace given to Elizabeth by her husband as a wedding gift a few months earlier. This one was also a favorite of Princess Margaret; her daughter-in-law, Serena, even wore it as a wedding tiara. This one does appear to be a longer-term loan to Kate, who wore it again at the Chinese state banquet in 2015.
This diamond and pearl tiara was made in 1913 for Queen Mary, who wanted a tiara just like the lover’s knot diadem owned by her cousins, the Cambridge family. The Queen inherited it in 1953, but it became more famous as one of Princess Diana’s tiaras in the 1980s and early 1990s. The piece gathered dust in the vaults for more than two decades, but Kate unearthed it for 2015’s diplomatic reception at the palace, surprising many who had thought its connections with Diana had made it tiara non grata.
New Year’s Courts Continue in Denmark
Photo: Christian Meyer, kongehuset.de |
Following the tiara-heavy New Year’s Levee on January 1 in Copenhagen, two more levees have been attended by the Danish royal family.
Flying Solo Queen Margrethe on her first engagement without The Prince Consort who retired on New Years Day #Royals pic.twitter.com/d2LyecwtHK
— Rookie (@royalfocus1) January 5, 2016
At the January 5th reception, Queen Margrethe pinned a diamond brooch among her order insignia and badges.
Princess Mary of Denmark opts for wintry white at New Year’s reception: https://t.co/h6eyV6zJsi pic.twitter.com/AJzcnhEcfV
— HELLO! (@hellomag) January 5, 2016
Crown Princess Mary opted for pearls, with a pale pink pendant suspended from her necklace.
Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary attended the last of the New Years receptions today hosted by Queen M. pic.twitter.com/Q3KPO5MUdd
— Gert’s Royals (@Gertsroyals) January 6, 2016
For Wednesday’s reception, Mary wore an intriguing necklace of multicolored beads — perhaps different colors of pearls and/or other gemstones? (ETA: thanks to Ayvee, we can ID the piece as a Marianne Dulong necklace.)