Queen Mary's Lover's Knot Tiara

As you've probably all heard by now, last night, on 8 December 2015, the Duchess of Cambridge attended the annual Diplomatic Reception at Buckingham Palace in a new tiara for her: Queen Mary's Lover's Knot tiara, made iconic by her mother-in-law Diana, Princess of Wales.

 

I think I can safely say this was a lovely, unexpected surprise for all of us royal watchers and certainly one that brought back a lot of memories!

 

This is only the third tiara for the Duchess, after the Cartier Halo tiara she wore on her wedding day and the Papyrus tiara (the only one she has worn twice so for: at the 2013 Diplomatic Reception and in October this year at the State banquet in honour of Chinese President Xi Jinping):

 

 

Last night's tiara was a choice laden with historical and family significance, given the close association the Lover's Knot tiara has with the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

Queen Mary commissioned it in 1913, as she wanted something in a similar design to an early nineteenth-century head ornament that belonged to her grandmother, Augusta, Duchess of Cambridge, and had subsequently been inherited by the Duchess's elder daughter (Queen Mary's aunt and godmother), Augusta, Grand-Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

 

 

Queen Mary's grandmother, Augusta, Duchess of Cambridge, wearing the original Lover's Knot tiara which she had received as a wedding gift in 1818.

 

 

The Duchess's daughter, Augusta, Grand-Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, who inherited the tiara.

 

The original Lover's Knot tiara, as seen above, was sold at Christie's, Geneva, on 14 May 1981.

Queen Mary was fond of the design and commissioned Garrard & Co. to make a similar piece for her. Her tiara was made using diamonds and 12 pearls drops taken from a necklace/tiara given to her on her marriage by '650 Ladies of England'.

 

 

Queen Mary, photographed in 1896 when Duchess of York, wearing (below two others) the Ladies of England necklace, broken up in 1913 to make the Lover's Knot tiara, and the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara in the original setting with pearls.

 

These 12 pearls were supplemented by 13 others originally on the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara (as shown above), 11 taken from various pieces of her mother's jewellery, and a pearl each from the brooches given on her marriage by the town of Richmond and the Women of Hampshire, bringing the total of pearls supplied by the Queen to 38.

 

 

The Richmond brooch: the pearl was used on the Lover's Knot tiara and presumably replaced when the tiara was altered in 1932.

 

 The Women of Hampshire brooch: again, the pearl was used on the Lover's Knot tiara and presumably replaced when the tiara was altered in 1932.

 

 



Nineteen of the pearls were originally mounted upright on the cresting, while the remaining 19 as pendants on the band. The tiara was altered in 1932, to be worn with and without upright pearls. These have now been permanently removed.

 

Queen Mary wearing the tiara in its original setting with upright pearls.

 

The tiara was inherited by Queen Elizabeth on her grandmother's death in 1953. The Queen wore it as a young woman, but stopped in later years.

 

 

Attending a film premiere with the Duke of Edinburgh in 1958.

 

She presented it to Diana, Princess of Wales, upon her wedding to Prince Charles in 1981. Princess Diana wore it often, alternating it with the more lightweight Spencer Family tiara, and it became closely associated with her. She was also famously photographed by Mario Testino wearing it.

 

Thanks to its very close, almost iconic, association to the late Princess of Wales, there were many - myself included - who doubted we'd see the Lover's Knot again for many years, if ever. So it was the loveliest of surprises to see it once again out of the Palace vaults last night!

 

I'm sure I'm not the only one who's looking forward to seeing this beauty in use for many more years to come, as the Duchess of Cambridge undertakes more white-tie engagements!

 

The Greville Honeycomb Tiara

While we wait for Baby Cambridge to make its much longed-for appearance (and it's been a long wait so far, poised to get even longer if the baby turns out to indeed be a Leo, as rumored, as we won't enter that astrological sign until 23rd July...agh!), let's try to distract ourselves with a look at the Greville Honeycomb tiara, one of those most frequently worn by the Duchess of Cornwall, who turned 66 yesterday.

Made in 1921 by French jewellery house Boucheron for the Hon. Mrs. Ronald Greville, one of the great society hostesses of her day and the flamboyant mistress of Polesden Lacey in Surrey, it was part of a larger suite of magnificent jewels that Mrs. Greville, being childless, choose to bequeath upon her death in 1942 (rather generously, if I may say so!), to Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother).

A Young Margaret Greville.

Mrs. Greville did like her diamonds, apparently, as the bequeath, apart from the tiara, comprises the extravagantly large Greville bow brooch, the Greville chandelier earrings (among the wedding presents that Princess Elizabeth received from the King and Queen), a scroll brooch with pearls, the magnificent Greville festoon necklace (currently on loan to the Duchess of Cornwall together with the tiara), a pair of ivy-leaf diamond clips and the Greville peardrop earrings.

But back to the tiara now - it is a very modern piece for its time, with a strong geometrical honeycomb design. In its original, 1921-form, the tiara lacked the diamond accents on top, so the design looked much more like that of a basketweave.
Below you can see the Queen Mother wearing the tiara in its original form in the late 1940s:

In 1953, she sent the tiara to Cartier, to increase its height by rearranging the clusters of brilliants at the top into triangles, adding a marquise-cut diamond as a centrepiece.

The tiara was one of the most frequently worn by the Queen Mother; upon her death in 2002, it was inherited by the Queen, who has since loaned it to her daughter-in-law the Duchess of Cornwall.

 

 



Not diamond shy herself, the Duchess has sometimes worn the tiara along with the magnificent Greville festoon necklace in its complete, five-row version:

 



The Greville honeycomb tiara is probably the piece worn most often by the Duchess of Cornwall, who seems to prefer it to the, apparently heavier, Delhi Durbar tiara.

 

At the 2013 State Opening of Parliament, the Duchess' first.

All jewellery information is from the book "The Queen's Jewels" by Hugh Roberts, published by The Royal Collection.



Bridal Tiaras in the British Royal Family, Part III

Today brings us to the last instalment in our recent post series about tiaras worn by British royal brides in the past century or so.

So, after finishing last Monday with a look at the Countess of Wessex's wedding tiara, let's pick up where we left, with a closer look at the next royal bride, Autumn Phillips née Kelly.

The blonde Canadian married the Queen's eldest grandchild, Peter Phillips, in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle on 17 May 2008. The bride chose a relatively simple gown (at least by royal standards. The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendour tells us that the dress reportedly costed about £ 2,500) and borrowed the Festoon tiara from her mother-in-law, the Princess Royal.

It is quite a dainty and delicate piece, and I was somewhat surprised to learn it's relatively modern, having been a gift to Princess Anne from the World Wide Shipping Company when she christened one of their ships in 1973 (more on the tiara itself can be found here).

Alas, it is not a particular favourite of mine, too spiky for my taste!

 

Next, of course, are the big guns, the tiara (and indeed the wedding!) that absolutely everyone will remember: that of Catherine Middleton to Prince William, on (do I even need to remind you of the date?) 29 April 2011.

 



As is widely known by now, the Duchess wore Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother's Halo tiara.

The marvellous "The Queen's Diamonds" book by Hugh Roberts has some background information on it: it's a piece by Cartier, which was purchesed by the Duke of York on 18 November 1936 as a present for the Duchess of York, who was to become Queen just a few weeks later. In fact, she first wore it in public while still Duchess of York.

It is made up of 16 graduated scrolls with a large brilliant cut diamond at the centre.

The tiara was then given to Princess Elizabeth on her 18th birthday in 1944. The Queen has since loaned it to Princess Margaret and Princess Anne.

At the time of Catherine Middleton's wedding, it was reported in the press that the Queen had offered her a choice of tiaras to choose from; the Duchess' choice, reportedly the most simple among those on offer, is of course now widely recognized (and replicated!) the world over.



Later that same year, the tiara took centre stage at an exhibithion of the wedding dress and jewellery
at the Summer Opening of Buckingham Palace.


A few months later, on 30 July 2011, it was Zara Phillips' turn to wed Mike Tindall in Edinburgh, so another splendid opportunity for some tiara-watching!

Zara borrowed from her mother the Princess Royal a piece which had been in her great-grandmother possession, the Meander tiara.

It has a Greek key design, with diamonds in the shape of a laurel wreath as a centrepiece. I have to say I was not a fan of this style on Zara, maybe her hair should have been dressed differently, but as it was the tiara looked as though it were sitting on top of her head without particular purpose (it didn't even serve to keep her veil in place).

 

 

 

Much prettier when worn by Princess Anne, who has much bigger hair and so suits the tiara best, in my opinion!

So, now we've gone through all the most significant recent royal Weddings, if I were to rank my favourites, first would be Princess Diana's Spencer tiara, followed by Sarah Ferguson's tiara and Princess Margaret's Poltimore tiara! Special mention to the Strathmore tiara, which isn't tecnically a bridal tiara, as the Duchess of York didn't wear it on her wedding day, but made it on this list as it's a special favourite of mine!

Least favourites? The Meander tiara as worn by Zara Phillips, the Countess of Wessex's tiara and Autumn Phillips' Festoon tiara.

Have you got a special favourite yourself? Or a piece you utterly dislike and don't want to see out in public ever again? Be sure to leave a comment and let me know!

Bridal Tiaras in the British Royal Family, Part II

After taking a look last week at bridal tiaras of days gone by, let's start off today with something a little closer to us in time, and a piece most of you will warmly remember for the sense of momentous historic occasion associated to it: the Spencer family tiara, as worn by Lady Diana on her wedding day, 29 July 1981.

The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor has a lot of background information on this piece which, in its present form, dates back to circa 1935.

 

 

 

Princess Diana never owned the tiara, which was in fact her family's property: she borrowed it when needed first from her father, then from her brother. This, and the fact that the Princess wore the tiara quite often, sometimes preferring it to the other piece she had available, on loan from the Queen, the Cambridge Lovers Knot tiara, because it was somewhat lighter and less encumbrant to wear, was reportedly the source of some family tensions.

 

In fact, the Princess was seen many times during the years of her marriage wearing the tiara, sometimes on State occasions or other important official functions.

 

 

Nowadays, due to the Princess' unweavering popularity, the tiara is widely replicated, so that every bride can look the part on her own special day (or on an any ordinary day, really, as even sterling silver rings in the shape of Princess Diana's tiara are now available!).



Five years later, on 23 July 1986, it was Sarah Ferguson's turn to marry into the Royal family, when she wed Prince Andrew.


 
Her choice of headwear was extremely original, as she chose to wear a floral garland on top of her veil, which she removed after she had signed the wedding register to reveal a rather splendid diamond diadem, which had been bought especially for her by the Queen from Garrard & Co.

The Duchess wore her tiara at a number of State functions in later years.

Then it was quite a long time before we got to see any other new bridal tiaras, and that was at Prince Edward's wedding to Sophie Rhys-Jones thirteen years later, on 19 June 1999. The new Countess of Wessex wore a piece which had been remodeled for her using jewels from the Queen's private collection.

Well, I have to say I'm not a particularly huge fan of the Wessex wedding tiara...It really still looks like four separate pieces haphazardly thrown together, and it does look as though it's perched precariously on her head and probably fixed in place with kirby grips (agh!). And do I even mention the dreadful black-and-white pearl parure designed by Prince Edward as a wedding present? Thought not. I just hope we won't have the misfortune of seeing the necklace in public ever again!

The tiara has grown on me a bit over the years, though, as it's probably the piece the Countess wears more often among the tiaras in her possession, so we get to see it out a lot. It's not that bad, but it's definitely not my favourite either!

 

I'll see you on Wednesday with a look at the most recent royal weddings!

 To be continued...