Saturday Sparkler: The Iveagh Tiara
When tiara lovers today hear the phrase “wedding gift to Queen Mary,” you can almost bet that their thoughts turn quickly to one of her most famous sparklers, the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara. But that wasn’t the only tiara that Mary was given to celebrate her marriage to the future King George V — today’s sparkler, the Iveagh Tiara, was also included in her nuptial jewelry haul.
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The tiara takes its name from the couple who gave it to Mary: Lord and Lady Iveagh, Irish aristocrats who would eventually become an earl and a countess. The Iveaghs were members of the famed Guinness family, and the tiara’s name is pronounced like their Irish title: either as “eye-vee,” like the plant, or “eye-vah.” The Iveaghs’ gift was well-used by the new princess. Unusually, Mary wore this tiara throughout her lifetime without making any radical changes to its form — a rarity for a piece owned by a queen who loved to experiment with her jewels.
When Mary died in 1953, the tiara was inherited by her daughter-in-law, the Duchess of Gloucester. Princess Alice wore it during her tenure as duchess, eventually passing it along to her own daughter-in-law, Birgitte, who is the wife of the current duke. The tiara’s home with the Gloucesters and its delicate floral design has earned it another name; you’ll sometimes see the piece called the “Gloucester Leafage” tiara.
In 2008, the tiara adorned the head of another Gloucester woman: Lady Rose Windsor, the daughter of the current duke and duchess. She wore it at her wedding to George Gilman, which took place in the Queen’s Chapel at St. James’s Palace. Since then, the tiara has remained out of sight, as Birgitte tends to wear other pieces to events like state banquets. I’m hopeful that she’ll return this piece to the rotation, as its balanced, kokoshnik-style design and delicate-yet-solid diamonds make it one of the loveliest in the Gloucester collection.
This Week in Royal Jewels: February 27-March 5
10. Nestled among the buttons on her dress, Queen Elizabeth II debuted the diamond horseshoe brooch given to her by the International Equestrian Foundation with their lifetime achievement award.
9. Queen Letizia donned her diamond Links of London earrings while recognizing Rare Diseases World Day at the Spanish Senate on Thursday.
8. Queen Mathilde of the Belgians selected unusually petite earrings for Tuesday’s conference on relief for nations dealing with Ebola.
7. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands chose pearls for her visit to her namesake waterway, the Maxima Channel, on Thursday.
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6. We didn’t get a great look at the Duchess of Cornwall’s glitter during the state banquet for the president of Mexico, but it was yet another outing for her favorite tiara: the Boucheron-made tiara from the Greville legacy, with its distinctive honeycomb design.
5. In Spain, Queen Letizia brought out a familiar but lovely sparkler for the Colombian state banquet: the diamond floral tiara, created in the late nineteenth century, that belongs to her mother-in-law, Queen Sofia.
4. For the Guildhall banquet during the Mexican state visit, the Duchess of Gloucester brought out the Teck turquoise parure, one of Queen Mary’s legacy sets.
King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia shone during dinner on the 2nd day of their state visit to Finland: http://t.co/uCIPZce9Az
— Swedish Royal Family (@Kungafamiljen) March 5, 2015
3. For one of two tiara events during the Swedish state visit to Finland, Queen Silvia brought out Queen Sofia’s diamond tiara — also known as the “Nine Prong” because of its unusual shape.
2. In Finland, Queen Silvia also wore one of my favorite sets of her jewelry: the amazing Leuchtenberg sapphire parure, which you can learn all about here!
1. For me, the winner this week among the incredible tiaras on show has to be Queen Alexandra’s diamond kokoshnik, worn by Queen Elizabeth II at the Mexican state banquet. I mean, just look at how this thing glitters in motion. Just incredible!