Catherine Middleton's Wedding Tiara: Suggestions and Musings

[Sister Morphine]

Scroll down...
Mandy's British Royalty: Royal Jewels - Tiaras


Russian Fringe based on a traditional Russian Court head gear the Kokoshnik which belonged to Queen Alexandra.

George III Fringe made for Queen Charlotte.

They said the Russian Fringe Tiara which I recall Elizabeth II wore the George III fringe on her wedding day, correct me more experience royal watchers if I'm wrong.

The Kokoshnik tiara is not the Russian fringe. It's called the Kokoshnik tiara. The George III fringe tiara is also called the Russian fringe.

The George III tiara (also known as the Russian Fringe Tiara) is a circlet incorporating brilliant diamonds that were formerly owned by George III. Originally commissioned in 1830, the tiara has since been worn by many Queens Consort. Originally it could be worn as a collar or necklace or mounted on a wire to form the tiara. Victoria first wore it as a tiara during a visit to the Royal Opera in 1839. In Franz Xaver Winterhalter's painting 'The First of May', made in 1851, Victoria can be seen wearing it as she holds Prince Arthur, the future Duke of Connaught and Strathearn. In a delicate veiled reference to the adoration of the Magi, The Duke of Wellington can be seen presenting the young prince with a gift, while Prince Albert looks on.[6]
When Queen Elizabeth, consort of George VI, first wore the tiara, Sir Henry "Chips" Channon called it 'an ugly spiked tiara'. Queen Elizabeth later loaned it to her daughter, Princess Elizabeth, the future Elizabeth II as "something borrowed" for her wedding in 1947. As The Princess Elizabeth was getting dressed at Buckingham Palace before leaving for Westminster Abbey the tiara snapped. Luckily the court jeweller was standing by in case of emergency. The jeweller was rushed to his work room by a police escort. Queen Elizabeth reassured her daughter that it would be fixed in time, and it was. The Queen Mother later also loaned it to her granddaughter The Princess Anne for her marriage to Captain Mark Phillips in 1973.[6] It was put on show with a number of other royal tiaras in 2001.

Queen Alexandra's Kokoshnik tiara is not the same as the tiara that in the poll, or that has been discussed.

 

[genegirl99]

I think they are different tiaras that have the same design. But they are not the same.

That's what I meant! Mary Hart said that Catherine was going to wear the Russian Fringe like the one Elizabeth wore on her wedding day. That wasn't true and she wore a different fringe tiara.

 

[genegirl99]

The Kokoshnik tiara is not the Russian fringe. It's called the Kokoshnik tiara. The George III fringe tiara is also called the Russian fringe.

Queen Alexandra's Kokoshnik tiara is not the same as the tiara that in the poll, or that has been discussed.

Thank you for correcting me. I think I might just stick to genealogy from now on.

 

[Peg]

As long as the Queen doesn't cobble something together from leftover bits and pieces in the vault for Catherine, like she did for Sophie.

i wonder if it was Sophie's choice to 'assemble' a tiara for her to wear rather than select something from the vault or to select something from Garrands. Does anyone have an idea?

 

[Osipi]

Y'know, now all of the details that have come out with the flora and fauna being incorporated into the Abbey and all, I wouldn't be a bit surprised now if Kate does only wear flowers or something similar instead of a tiara.

OR.. she wears a tiara designed just for her with the flowers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland incorporated into it in a lightweight design that will be comfortable for her.

OR.. OR.. OR.. There's no definite answers to this one. The question now is what will I look at first? The dress or the headpiece? Decisions.. decisions!

 

[debby1965]

I just saw an interview with Ingrid Seward on Australian TV.
She was saying that Catherine is entitled to wear the Spencer Tiara as William is a Spencer !! .... Not what I have been reading over & over on these forums.
I am confused.
But I doubt very much she will.
I hope not anyway - if she was Diana's daughter then yes it would be lovel

 

[Osipi]

I just saw an interview with Ingrid Seward on Australian TV.
She was saying that Catherine is entitled to wear the Spencer Tiara as William is a Spencer !! .... Not what I have been reading over & over on these forums.
I am confused.
But I doubt very much she will.
I hope not anyway - if she was Diana's daughter then yes it would be lovel[/QUOTE

I would imagine that if William thought that it would be right for the day and he asked his Uncle Charles for permission, it most likely would have been granted to him the use of the Spencer tiara. For William though, I think the only reason would be that it was the tiara his mother wore on her wedding day and as such wouldn't have a big meaning for William to even think to ask for its loan. I would imagine that the next time we'll really see the Spencer tiara is when any of Charles' daughters marry.

 

[Jaya]

Apologies but this fringe tiara is not very becoming although I think Kate may very well wear it..It suited the Queen and she sported it easily but Kate has the head of a Hollywood star- I hope that if she does wear it it becomes her.

 

[texankitcat]

I just saw an interview with Ingrid Seward on Australian TV.
She was saying that Catherine is entitled to wear the Spencer Tiara as William is a Spencer !! .... Not what I have been reading over & over on these forums.
I am confused.
But I doubt very much she will.
I hope not anyway - if she was Diana's daughter then yes it would be lovel[/QUOTE

I would imagine that if William thought that it would be right for the day and he asked his Uncle Charles for permission, it most likely would have been granted to him the use of the Spencer tiara. For William though, I think the only reason would be that it was the tiara his mother wore on her wedding day and as such wouldn't have a big meaning for William to even think to ask for its loan. I would imagine that the next time we'll really see the Spencer tiara is when any of Charles' daughters marry.

The next time the Spencer tiara will be used is when Earl Spencer marries his current fiancee who will be the 3rd Countess Spencer.

 

[texankitcat]

Apologies but this fringe tiara is not very becoming although I think Kate may very well wear it..It suited the Queen and she sported it easily but Kate has the head of a Hollywood star- I hope that if she does wear it it becomes her.

I don't know what you mean by the head of a hollywood star. In what way are heads of hollywood stars different from the heads of everyone else in the world including Royalty?

I think the fringe would look wonderful on Kate, although I would think having her hair up would look better with that tiara. Preferably not in the way Princess Ann wore it.

 

[muriel]

The next time the Spencer tiara will be used is when Earl Spencer marries his current fiancee who will be the 3rd Countess Spencer.

I am not sure that the third wife of Earl Spencer will wear the tiara at their wedding - after all, it is the third wedding!!

 

[Fennena]

Are myrtle or orange flowers a very bad idea? I know most of us would like to see a tiara, but I prefer flowers over diamonds...if only it would be the Strathmore Roses, it's white and it is made of diamonds. Well, we'll see after tomorrow

 

[muriel]

I would bet dollars to donuts that Zara will be wearing the Fringe tiara for her wedding. This is why: The Queen Mother wore it, her daughter wore it for her wedding, her daughter wore it for her wedding......there's a pattern there, I believe.

The Queen Mother did indeed wear the fringe, but not for her wedding. If anything, IMO, the pattern in Queens wear the tiara, though they allow their daughters to wear it as well on their wedding days. If that thesis were to hold true, I suspect Zara will not be wearing it.

 

[suztav]

I saw an interview last night conducted by Piers Morgan and the woman he was interviewing (I can't recall her name) said that that big rumor is that Kate will wear the tiara worn by both the Queen and Princess Anne at their weddings. I think it's the George III????

 

[Frideswide]

Well, the rumour is no doubt because of the bet.

 

[texankitcat]

I saw an interview last night conducted by Piers Morgan and the woman he was interviewing (I can't recall her name) said that that big rumor is that Kate will wear the tiara worn by both the Queen and Princess Anne at their weddings. I think it's the George III????

That was Katie Nicole, the alleged "royal expert" who gets things wrong more often than right. I have no idea why she is always being interviewed as having the inside scoop when most of what she says is based on tabloid rumors.

 

[wymanda]

I just saw an interview with Ingrid Seward on Australian TV.
She was saying that Catherine is entitled to wear the Spencer Tiara as William is a Spencer !! .... Not what I have been reading over & over on these forums.
I am confused.
But I doubt very much she will.
I hope not anyway - if she was Diana's daughter then yes it would be lovel

Ms Seward really should know better!
If she can't get the basic facts straight then perhaps Majesty needs to find a new Editor

 

[Osipi]

The next time the Spencer tiara will be used is when Earl Spencer marries his current fiancee who will be the 3rd Countess Spencer.

That's very possible too but I really don't see her wearing a tiara for the wedding as it will be a remarriage for the both of them. I think they most likely would go for the "downplay" as Charles and Camilla did for their marriage. I do however see her wearing this tiara as his wife.

The big question though is. will they really marry? He's changed finacees lately like most of us change batteries in our fire alarms.

That's why I think that the next time we'll see the Spencer tiara in a wedding will be with his daughters.

 

[Frideswide]

I just saw an interview with Ingrid Seward on Australian TV.
She was saying that Catherine is entitled to wear the Spencer Tiara as William is a Spencer !!

Ms Seward really should know better!
If she can't get the basic facts straight then perhaps Majesty needs to find a new Editor

Depends what she actually said. Did she use the word "entitled"? Or did she just comment on the possibility that Catherine might be invited to wear it - which is a different thing altogether.

 

[Jacknch]

Y'know, now all of the details that have come out with the flora and fauna being incorporated into the Abbey and all, I wouldn't be a bit surprised now if Kate does only wear flowers or something similar instead of a tiara.

OR.. she wears a tiara designed just for her with the flowers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland incorporated into it in a lightweight design that will be comfortable for her.

OR.. OR.. OR.. There's no definite answers to this one. The question now is what will I look at first? The dress or the headpiece? Decisions.. decisions!

Just make sure that at the moment we see Kate for the first time you don't faint with excitement and miss anything! Maybe start from the top and work your way down

 

[Sister Morphine]

The Queen Mother did indeed wear the fringe, but not for her wedding. If anything, IMO, the pattern in Queens wear the tiara, though they allow their daughters to wear it as well on their wedding days. If that thesis were to hold true, I suspect Zara will not be wearing it.

I didn't say the Queen Mother wore it on her wedding day, I said the Queen Mother wore it. Then her daughter wore it for her wedding. Then her daughter wore it for her wedding. Anne has a daughter who is getting married soon, so wouldn't it stand to reason that if two generations of Windsor women wore it for their wedding, she would too?

 

[Osipi]

I didn't say the Queen Mother wore it on her wedding day, I said the Queen Mother wore it. Then her daughter wore it for her wedding. Then her daughter wore it for her wedding. Anne has a daughter who is getting married soon, so wouldn't it stand to reason that if two generations of Windsor women wore it for their wedding, she would too?

I think like the Spencer tiara, some tiaras are just meant for family reasons. The same with this one.

 

[muriel]

I didn't say the Queen Mother wore it on her wedding day, I said the Queen Mother wore it. Then her daughter wore it for her wedding. Then her daughter wore it for her wedding. Anne has a daughter who is getting married soon, so wouldn't it stand to reason that if two generations of Windsor women wore it for their wedding, she would too?

Oh well, we will know in less than 48 hours!

 

[Mia_mae]

Look, for a moment there we began to thought she would not a tiara at all , so let's try not to moan too much about it!
I don't care what some say, I'll be happy as long a I see something sparkly on her head on the 29!

 

[EmpressRouge]

That was Katie Nicole, the alleged "royal expert" who gets things wrong more often than right. I have no idea why she is always being interviewed as having the inside scoop when most of what she says is based on tabloid rumors.

Katie Nicholl wrote this book.
Amazon.com: William and Harry: Behind the Palace Walls (9781602861404): Katie Nicholl: Books
Obviously she does not have insider scoop and from the reviews of this book, she doesn't know anything new, but probably more than the average American audience so she gets interviewed.

 

[EmpressRouge]

Well.....there is no difference between the Russian Fringe and the George III Fringe.....they're the same tiara. Just like Istanbul was Constantinople, now it's Istanbul not Constantinople, so why did Constantinople get the works? That's nobody's business but the Turks.

Point is, it's the same thing.

The fringe tiara worn by the Queen and Princess Anne on their wedding days is not the same fringe tiara worn by Queen Victoria in the Winterhalter painting, according to the Palace. The dates are off.
Royal Collection - A Royal Wedding
Unfortunately, this is confusing because the site only calls this modern one as "fringe tiara." I know WE (forum users and the media) are referring to that tiara as the Russian/George III fringe. But I think the true George III fringe (aka Hanover fringe) is the one Queen Victoria is wearing in the painting is the and seems to have disappeared a long, long time ago. The tiara we've dubbed the Russian/George III fringe, which was used for the Queen and Princess Anne's wedding, was made much later and is the one many forum users are voting for.

 

[texankitcat]

Katie Nicholl wrote this book.
Amazon.com: William and Harry: Behind the Palace Walls (9781602861404): Katie Nicholl: Books
Obviously she does not have insider scoop and from the reviews of this book, she doesn't know anything new, but probably more than the average American audience so she gets interviewed.

I agree. Which is the reason why american networks continually interview her. She is making a fortune based on speculation, rumors and conjecture and laughing at everyone's ignorance all the way to the bank.

 

[windsorgirl]

The other night Jane Seymour was on with Piers Morgan in London, and she guessed that Kate would wear diamond hair pins/clips interspersed with flowers in her hair. I like this idea -- certainly it covers all bases!

PS - Fully agree with the Katie Nicholl comments but have to give the gal credit for making something out of nothing for herself.

 

[CrownPrincess5]

I hope she wears the fringe tiara. I think it'll compliment her face well.

 

[muriel]

I hope she wears the fringe tiara. I think it'll compliment her face well.

I agree it will certainly be very befitting - a recognition of her senior role within the BRF going forward!