Tiaras and Jewels for Prince Harry's Future Wife

[Prince of Chota]

I think it's important to remember that HM the Queen has quite a few tiaras up her sleeve--ones that have not been seen in public for close to a century. There is really no telling which tiara she might bestow upon a granddaughter-in-law...especially since she will be the wife of the heir.

 

[laduchesse]

I would really like to see William's wife receive the County of Surrey Diamond Tiara, which the County of Surrey gave to Queen Mary as a wedding present. Hopefully it's one of those tiaras hidden away in the vaults. Here's a link (you need to scroll down the page): http://www.mag-nolia.tmfweb.nl/United%20Kingdom/Queen%20Elizabeth/Tiara%20QEIIrest.htm#mary. If the Queen doesn't want to give it to William's wife, I'd be quite content if the Countess of Wessex were to receive this tiara...

 

[justi]

I think it's important to remember that HM the Queen has quite a few tiaras up her sleeve--ones that have not been seen in public for close to a century. There is really no telling which tiara she might bestow upon a granddaughter-in-law...especially since she will be the wife of the heir.

I completely agree, look at Sophie's wedding tiara, supposedly a piece from Queen Mary 's collection (Or am I mistaken? I can never quite keep up), I'm sure the Queen has something else in her vault, another tiara not seen, not seen for awhile, or a tiara converted from something else,... whatever it is I can't wait to see

 

[Prince of Chota]

Hmmm... I had actually heard conflicting stories about the Countess of Wessex's tiara--one that it was a family piece (or created from parts of a family piece), and another that it was purchased from Garrard's, and that the countess has received no pieces from the family collection.

 

[HRH Mims]

But I think, that future William's wife will get some of family jewels and she will get some modern pieces too.
Anyway, Sophies wedding tiara scares me- better new pieces of jewelry, than old family jewels which are just ugly.

 

[branchg]

Hmmm... I had actually heard conflicting stories about the Countess of Wessex's tiara--one that it was a family piece (or created from parts of a family piece), and another that it was purchased from Garrard's, and that the countess has received no pieces from the family collection.

It is not a family piece. It was designed by Prince Edward, created by Garrard's and purchased by The Queen for Sophie. Sarah's tiara was also purchased by The Queen from Garrard's.

Diana and Camilla are the only royal spouses to have received any pieces from the Sovereign's collection of jewels. The Duchess of Gloucester actually has many pieces belonging to Queen Mary, which she inherited from Princess Alice.

 

[branchg]

But I think, that future William's wife will get some of family jewels and she will get some modern pieces too.

William's wife will receive most, if not all, of Diana's jewels as the future Princess of Wales, so I think she will have plenty of things to wear!

 

[Lady Marmalade]

Oh to be in the room as he present the jewels to her!! I would think maybe, if it is not too sensitive, to see her in the Lover's Knot tiara. I believe that is the one Diana wore, and if not, please someone correct me.

 

[kimebear]

Oh to be in the room as he present the jewels to her!! I would think maybe, if it is not too sensitive, to see her in the Lover's Knot tiara. I believe that is the one Diana wore, and if not, please someone correct me.

The Cambridge Lover's Knot tiara is one of two tiaras worn by Diana, the other being the Spencer family tiara. The Spencer tiara is owned by the Earl Spencer and chances of Williams wife wearing it, are slim and also inappropriate as she would not be a Spencer herself before marriage nor marrying the Earl Spencer. The Lover's Knot tiara was worn fairly frequently by QEII as a young woman as well as Diana, but Diana reportedly disliked it as it was heavy and gave her headaches.

My personal favorite would be the Strathmore Rose given to the Queen Mother on the occasion of her wedding by her father. The wild rose motif is romantic, apropriate for a love match, and the tiara itself young and petite in style as Williams bride will surely be herself.

photo courtesy of Geoffrey C. Munn's Tiaras: A History of Splendour
By Gracious permission of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother

 

[HRH Mims]

I love this tiara. Have someone recently worn this?

 

[sirhon11234]

I thought the strathmore tiara would go to Harry's wife. But the Lover's Knot tiara would be perfect on william's wife. The Princess of Wales looked absolutely wonderful wearing it.

 

[wymanda]

It is not a family piece. It was designed by Prince Edward, created by Garrard's and purchased by The Queen for Sophie. Sarah's tiara was also purchased by The Queen from Garrard's.

On another message board Sophies tiara has been identified as having been created from elements of Queen Victorias Regal Circlet which was broken up to create the Queen Mothers crown. The set also contained a brooch setting for the Koh-i-noor diamond. I would say that the elements were made available, Edward developed the design & Garrards put it together. If I remember correctly they actually made the original circlet.

 

[Stefan]

I thought the strathmore tiara would go to Harry's wife. But the Lover's Knot tiara would be perfect on william's wife. The Princess of Wales looked absolutely wonderful wearing it.

Perhaps Harry will be created Duke of Cambridge. Then the Lovers Knot Tiara would be quiet nice as it was made for an earlier Duchess of Cambridge. I think the should return it to its original state and put the Pearl-Drops on it (would then loook like the bavarian version).

 

[muriel]

I would be surprised if Harry´s wife received the Lovers Knot tiara. HM has shown a preference for only giving the wives of the PoW "serious" jewels - with a view to keeping the royal collection intact. Both Sarah and Sophie received new tiaras paid for by HM - suggesting that Harry´s wife woul receive a new tiara. I would also be surprised that much of the jewellery cloisely identified with Diana appears publicly with the wives of the Wales boys - I think they would much rather that the jewels be kept private, rather than their wives being compared with Diana (any more than they would no doubt already be)

 

[Prince of Chota]

Well, the difference between Sarah and Sophie and the future Mrs. William Wales is that she would become the Queen consort, and inherit many of the current Queen's jewels. Those family pieces given her would not pass out of the main royal family.

 

[muriel]

Agreed with Prince of Chota that William´s wife would inherit the royal jewels, but I still doubt William will want his wife to be wearing his mothers more prominent jewels in public for fear of comparisons. There are enough other tiara´s she could use

 

[Incas]

It will be a shame if the beautiful jewels were to be hidden for pass asssociation to one princess. After all, the Lover's Knot tiara was worn by Queens. It has been altered before and could be adjusted again before being given to another royal. After all, Camilla wore a Prince of Wales pin which had much shorter history. There were some mutterings a couple of photos for comparison, then people/press move on to another topic.

 

[Prince of Chota]

Another angle to consider is that William's wife will have her own preferences about particular pieces. I wouldn't be surprised to see her wear some of Diana's jewels, but by then the jewels of the current queen will likely be open to her use as well. I would expect to see the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara almost as much as we see it now.

 

[jcbcode99]

I do think that once HM The Queen passes away that the Girls of Great Britain tiara will not reappear until William's wife wears it; the piece is so closely identified with the Queen I doubt Camilla will want to wear it. It needs to skip a generation (even though I think Camilla would look lovely in it).
Also, I think it is quite wise of Queen Elizabeth to not give "serious" jewellery to her other children. I mean, let's backtrack--Anne has been given some lovely pieces (especially that Greek tiara) but they weren't BRF pieces. Queen Mary gave a lot of historic jewellery to her sons and daughter, and then Queen Elizabeth has seen a great deal of it pass out of the hands of the family. I think she is doing the smart thing by only passing pieces onto the PoW and DoC.
As for Diana's jewellery, I do think that the Cambridge Lover's Knot will remain with William, as will the PoW's feather brooch, and Queen Mary's emerald choker. He already has her engagement ring,
I think Harry will receive all the Saudi pieces, rubies, pear dog collar, and the pearl necklace that originally had the turquoise clasp that she replaced with another stone.
Everything else--pieces Charles gave Diana they will divide up.

 

[kimebear]

The BRF has so many beautiful pieces and still who knows how many more that are hidden in the vaults. I really wish that QEII would loan them to the other royal women. She doesn't need to give them away, but wouldn't it be better to use them as opposed to letting them sit and tarnish? I've heard that the Strathmore Rose is in appalling condition and is no longer fit to be worn.

 

[jcbcode99]

Oh Kimebear, I LOVE the Strathmore Rose tiara! I love everything about it, its shape, its history, and I love how looked on the Queen Mother. I do wish she had worn it more. Anyway, yes, I have also heard that the Strathmore Rose tiara is in bad condition and needs to be reset. So sad. I hope that the Queen does reset it rather than use the stones for another hideous piece (let's face it, she really did not do justice to the stones used for the Burmese Ruby Tiara and that sapphire thing gone wrong that she commissioned).
Magnolia's website has beautiful photos of it, but it seems to be forever down.
I would like to see the Strathmore Rose tiara make a reappearance. I am also dying!!!! to see the Teck Crescent Tiara reappear. It's a stunner (its the one on my avatar). The Queen Mother wore that some as well when she was Duchess of York. It was a piece that belonged to Queen Mary's mother.
Here is a link to photo of Princess Mary Adelaide wearing it:

Imageuchess of Teck.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

She wore it to her daughter's marriage. When Queen Mary inherited it, she had the base taken off so it would sit lower on the head. I wish we had some photos of it to post. Also, the circle necklace she is wearing can also be worn as a tiara and I believe that Princess Margaret ended up with the piece, but she only wore it as a necklace.

 

[Maricar]

Who decides on what tiara she will wear? It's The Queen, right? I wonder if William can give her one, or are they allowed only one?

 

[Lady Bluffton]

Why doesn't QEII put all the family pieces into a trust with the Crown as trustee, something along the lines of the Dutch royal family. Seems like such a waste for all of this lovely heritage in the form of jewelry to be locked away in a vault for generations, never to see the light of day.

What's the point of owning all this stuff otherwise? It was made to be worn and appreciated.

 

[CasiraghiTrio]

No one knows what happened to Princess Maragret's tiaras. It's entirely possible that her children still own them, in which case Willam's wife won't be wearing them.

Wasn't the Poltimore tiara sold in an auction last year? maybe Princess Margaret left other jewels that can be of use to the Crown but it was my impression Linley sold virtually everything to pay the death duties.

 

[Warren]

The Poltimore was the only tiara sold at auction; the "on permanent loan to Margaret" pieces would have been returned to the Queen, and the remaining privately-owned tiaras and jewels divided between Viscount Linley and Lady Sarah Chatto.

Why doesn't QEII put all the family pieces into a trust with the Crown as trustee

She neither needs nor wants to. The "family pieces" are her private property and so long as ownership passes from Sovereign to Sovereign, no death duties are payable.
If HM wishes to rumble through those capacious and dusty vaults to find something to loan out, she doesn't require a Trust to do so.

 

[muriel]

The Poltimore was the only tiara sold at auction; the "on permanent loan to Margaret" pieces would have been returned to the Queen, and the remaining privately-owned tiaras and jewels divided between Viscount Linley and Lady Sarah Chatto.

She neither needs nor wants to. The "family pieces" are her private property and so long as ownership passes from Sovereign to Sovereign, no death duties are payable.
If HM wishes to rumble through those capacious and dusty vaults to find something to loan out, she doesn't require a Trust to do so.

I agree that a Trust is probably unnecessary at this stage. The Queen has exercised great care to make sure that the serious jewels remain within the royal family and are not passed on to minor royals. That is a duty that the sovereign will have, and if due care is exercised, no trust is required.

 

[daisygoogles]

The Queen should "lend' more of the jewellry and tiaras to Sophie like she did to CPB. She 'lent" the Delhi Durbar and the other tiara to CPB. She didn't "give" them to her.

 

[jcbcode99]

Her Royal Highness The Princess Charles Philip Arthur George, Princess of Wales and Countess of Chester, Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Rothesay, Countess of Carrick, Baroness of Renfrew, Lady of the Isles, and Princess of Scotland, or as some refer to her, CPB , is the future Queen Consort of King Charles III or if he chooses to be know as King George VII (in honor of his grandfather--his offical name has yet to be determined).

As HRH The Duchess of Cornwall is in the unique position of being the future Queen Consort then it is only appropriate that she wear more substantial pieces. The Delhi Durbar was made for a Queen.
That being said, I do firmly think that HRH THe Countess of Wessex should have a more substantial tiara--perhaps the Diamond Scroll Tiara. That is lovely and would suit her quite well. Her wedding tiara, while it is truly a royal piece having belong to Queen Victoria, it looks odd. The aquamarine piece is lovely but not necessarily versitile, and the other one--the buttony one--we haven't really gotten a good enough look to know much about. I do love the Diamond Scroll Tiara; The Queen Mother wore it before she became Queen Consort, Princess Margaret wore it, and Princess Anne wore it. It is time to bring it out of retirement!

 

[kimebear]

I like the Diamond Scroll as well. It's very delicate and feminine. I don't know how well it would work for either Sophie or William's bride as it has most recently been seen on Anne, but it would make a nice wedding tiara for Zara. Although I think Zara will probably use the Greek Meander given the strong connection to her mother and great grandmother. Perhaps Peter Phillips' fiancee? The Teck Crescent however, should definitely be taken out of storage for one of the senior royal ladies. It's too pretty to collect dust. The Circle tiara would be a lovely tiara for the future Princess William to use as she gets older.

 

[jcbcode99]

I would bet that Autumn Kelly will wear the festoon tiara that Anne was given years ago--it is perfect for a wedding!