All the Queen's Tiaras

My last blog post was about Queen Elizabeth's marvelous collection of hats, which she wore whenever she was outdoors. But what about all her marvelous indoor headgear - her collection of jeweled tiaras? Let's look at some of those, as well as their fascinating histories. 

The Grand Duchess Vladimir Tiara

The Grand Duchess Vladimir tiara (often referred to as simply the Vladimir tiara) is considered one of Elizabeth's favorites. When Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate in 1917, the Grand Duchess Vladimir had a friend smuggle many of her jewels, including the tiara (which was made for her in 1874), to safety in England. She escaped herself after Nicholas was assassinated, becoming the last Romanov to escape Russia, and later reclaimed her jewels. Following her death in 1920, Queen Mary (Elizabeth's grandmother) purchased the tiara. The tiara had been damaged, so Mary had her jeweler replace the original pearl drops with emeralds in such a way that the tiara could be worn with either set of gems. 

A young Elizabeth wearing the tiara with its original pearls

An older Elizabeth wearing the emerald version

The original owner, the Grand Duchess Vladimir

The Nizam of Hyderabad, the Burmese Ruby, and the Oriental Circlet Tiaras

As a wedding gift, the Nizam of Hyderabad (an Indian monarch) offered Elizabeth her choice of jewels from Cartier's collection. She chose a necklace and a diamond tiara in a design based on English roses. The tiara was unusual in that three of the diamond rosettes could be removed and worn as brooches. 

Then-Princess Elizabeth wearing the tiara, but with a different necklace.

The Nizam necklace, which Elizabeth frequently wore with different tiaras, including the Vladimir tiara mentioned above, at right.

One of the three Nizam brooches.

She wore the Nizam tiara frequently at first, but then less often, until in 1976 she had it disassembled and remade. The people of Myanmar (formerly Burma), had given Elizabeth 98 rubies, considered in their culture to protect against evil and illness, which she had incorporated with the diamonds from the Nizam tiara to form the new, Burmese Ruby tiara. 

The only other ruby tiara owned by the queen is the Oriental Circlet tiara, which was made for Queen Victoria in 1853 (based on a design by Prince Albert), with a gold frame and originally set with diamonds and opals. At Victoria's death, the tiara was passed down to her daughter-in-law, Queen Alexandra. Alexandra believed opals to be bad luck, so she had the tiara reset with rubies. At the death of her husband, King Edward VII, Alexandra passed the tiara down to her daughter-in-law, Queen Mary. At the death of Mary's husband, King George IV, Mary passed the tiara down to her daughter-in-law, Queen Consort Elizabeth, who wore the tiara quite frequently. At the death of her husband, King George VI, the tiara, along with other jewels also designated as "heirlooms of the crown," should have been passed to her daughter, the newly-crowned Queen Elizabeth, but the "Queen Mum" continued to wear them herself quite frequently until her death in 2002, when they finally passed to Queen Elizabeth II. 

Queen Victoria wearing the Oriental Circlet

Queen Consort Elizabeth (aka the Queen Mum) wearing the Oriental Circlet

Queen Elizabeth II wearing the Oriental Circlet along with its matching ruby earrings and necklace

George VI (Belgian) Sapphire Tiara

Elizabeth received a wedding gift from her father, King George VI, of a spectacular antique (100 years old at the time) sapphire necklace and earring set. She later decided to supplement them with a tiara, and purchased another diamond and sapphire necklace, originally owned by Queen Louise of Belgium, and had that necklace reset into a tiara to coordinate with the necklace and earrings from her father, hence the reference to the tiara as both the George VI and the Belgian tiara. She also commissioned a bracelet to complete the set. 

Queen Mary's, Queen Adelaide's, and Kokoshnik Fringe Tiaras

Queen Victoria gave her daughter, Queen Mary, a diamond necklace for her wedding. Mary later had a tiara made from the diamonds in that necklace. She gave it to her daughter-in-law, Queen Consort Elizabeth, when Elizabeth's husband ascended the throne, and Elizabeth wore it in her first official portrait as Queen Consort. She later loaned it to her daughter, then-Princess Elizabeth, for her wedding to Prince Philip. The frame snapped while the bride was getting ready and had to be hurriedly fixed by the court jeweler! She loaned it again to her granddaughter, Princess Anne, for her wedding to Captain Mark Phillips. It was rarely worn after the 1950s, even after it passed to Queen Elizabeth at her mother's death in 2002, although Elizabeth did wear it in a portrait for her New Zealand Diamond Jubilee. Elizabeth also loaned it to her granddaughter, Beatrice, for her wedding in 2020, at which Beatrice also wore a vintage gown worn by the queen in the 1960s and remodeled and fitted for her by Angela Kelly, the queen's personal dresser. 

Elizabeth, Queen Consort, wearing the Queen Mary's Fringe tiara in her first royal portrait

L to R: The tiara worn by its namesake, Queen Mary; Elizabeth the Queen Mum; and royal brides Princesses Elizabeth, Anne, and Beatrice  

The Queen Mary's Fringe tiara is often mistaken for the Queen Adelaide's Fringe tiara. The Queen Adelaide tiara was originally commissioned as a necklace for Queen Victoria's aunt, Queen Adelaide. Adelaide and her husband, King William IV, had no children, so when William died, Victoria became queen and inherited the necklace, and had it mounted on a tiara frame, although she still sometimes wore it as a necklace. It was passed down to her daughter-in-law, Alexandra, who also wore it in multiple ways; Alexandra's daughter-in-law, Mary, who went on to commission her own version, (see above); Mary's daughter-in-law, Elizabeth; and finally, Elizabeth's daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, who has never worn it publicly. 

A painting depicting Queen Victoria wearing the Queen Adelaide's Fringe tiara

Queen Alexandra wore the Queen Adelaide tiara at her waist for her 1902 coronation portrait

Queen Mary wearing the Queen Adelaide's Fringe at left, and the Queen Mary's Fringe at right

Another royal tiara made of similar diamond spikes is the Kokoshnik tiara. This tiara was a gift from a group of aristocratic ladies to the Princess of Wales (later Queen Alexandra) in honor of the Prince and Princess' silver wedding anniversary. The ladies raised funds to commission the tiara, which Alexandra requested be designed in the style of a Russian kokoshnik tiara worn by her sister, Empress Marie Feodorovna. ("Kokoshnik" literally means "cock's comb" and is a traditional style of Russian headdress which is taller at the center and angled downward.) Like the Queen Adelaide's Fringe, the Kokoshnik could be worn either as a tiara or as a necklace. After the death of Queen Victoria, when Alexandra became Queen Consort, she rarely wore the Kokoshnik, which was passed down to Queen Mary. It was not considered a royal heirloom, so Mary did not pass it down to her daughter-in-law Elizabeth, but bequeathed it to her granddaughter Elizabeth, who wore it frequently.

Empress Marie Feodorovna wearing the tiara that inspired Alexandra's tiara

A young Elizabeth II wearing the Kokoshnik tiara in an official portrait

Elizabeth wearing the Kokoshnik tiara in 2015 

The Diamond Diadem

One of the most iconic of the queen's tiaras, the Diamond Diadem is also the oldest in her collection, having first been worn at the coronation of King George IV in 1821. It features four crosses interspersed with bouquets of roses, thistles, and shamrocks, which represent different parts of the kingdom. It is the only tiara in the queen's collection designed for a man, making it heavier than most, despite being resized for Queen Alexandra and again for Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Traditionally worn to the State Opening of Parliament, Elizabeth also wore it at the procession to her coronation. 

Roses represent England, thistles represent Scotland, and shamrocks represent Ireland

The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara

Said to be another of Elizabeth's favorites, this tiara, like the Kokoshnik tiara, was a wedding gift from a group of aristocratic women, in this case to Princess (later Queen) Mary. The women raised more funds than were needed, so when the HMS Victoria sank shortly afterwards, killing more than 350 sailors, Mary requested that the excess be donated to a fund for the widows and orphans of those sailors. 

In addition to being worn as a tiara, it could be converted into a coronet or a necklace, and Mary wore it in all its forms. She wore the tiara in her first official portrait following her coronation. A few years later, she had the pearls removed and replaced with diamond brilliants, and had the pearls incorporated into a different tiara, and also had the base removed so it could be worn separately as a bandeau. She gave both pieces to her granddaughter Elizabeth as a wedding present. Elizabeth reportedly referred to it as "Granny's tiara."

Queen Mary wearing the tiara as originally topped with pearls

Elizabeth wore the tiara without the bandeau base for this official portrait

In 1969, Elizabeth had the bandeau reattached to the tiara

Wedding Tiaras

The queen owns any number of tiaras that she does not wear personally, but has lent to other members of the royal family, particularly women marrying into the family. Here are a few particularly lovely ones. 

The Cartier Halo/Cartier Scroll Tiara

Originally an anniversary gift from the Duke of York (later King George VI) to his wife Elizabeth, the Cartier Halo tiara is most recognizable for having been worn by Kate Middleton at her wedding to Prince William. The tiara has also been worn by Princess Margaret and Princess Anne.

Queen Mary's Bandeau

Queen Mary had this tiara designed around a central diamond brooch which she already owned. The brooch is detachable and can be worn alone. Meghan Markle wore this tiara at her wedding to Prince Harry, the first time it had been worn in 65 years.

A detailed view of the central brooch

The Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara

Created in 1919 and passed on to Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, sometime in the 1940s, the tiara had not been seen for decades when Princess Eugenie chose to wear it at her wedding. It consists of rose-cut diamonds and 6 emeralds, the largest of which weighs more than 90 carats. 

The Delhi Durbar Tiara

Another tiara originally owned by Queen Mary, it was created for her and husband King George V's coronation celebration ("durbar") in Delhi. It was passed down directly to Queen Elizabeth, who never wore it, but loaned it to her daughter-in-law Camilla. 

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, wearing the tiara

Queen Mary wearing the tiara as originally topped with emeralds, which she later had removed and used in the Vladimir tiara (see above)

The Crowns

In addition to the tiaras, there are two state crowns: The Imperial State Crown and the St. Edward's Crown.

The Imperial State Crown

This crown is only worn once a year, at the State Opening of Parliament. The current version was created in 1937 but modeled after the crown worn by Queen Victoria in 1838. As part of the Crown Jewels, it is kept on display at the Tower of London the rest of the year. Among the 3,000 precious stones covering the crown are the The Cullinan II diamond, St Edward's Sapphire, the Black Prince's Ruby, the Stuart Sapphire, and three pearls owned by Queen Elizabeth I. 

The St. Edward's Crown

This crown is worn by each monarch only once, at their coronation. First used as early as the ninth century, the current version was made in 1661 and until 1911, jewels were hired for the coronation and then removed. In 1911, the crown was permanently set with 444 precious stones, including aquamarines, rubies, amethysts, sapphires, and pearls. The current form has been worn by only three monarchs: George V, George VI, and Elizabeth II.  

References:

https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/life-style/queen-elizabeth-death-famous-tiaras-collection-princess-diana-kate-middleton-meghan-markle-8140096/

https://www.glamour.com/gallery/queen-elizabeth-tiaras

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https://royalwatcherblog.com/2020/07/18/queen-mary-fringe-tiara/

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https://the-crown.fandom.com/wiki/The_Queen%27s_Crowns_and_Tiaras#Crowns_and_Diadems