George VI Sapphire Suite Tiara

Sapphire Suite Tiara

In 1963, the Queen had a tiara and bracelet made to match the King George VI Victorian Sapphire Suite she was given as a wedding present. The George VI Victorian Suite was originally a present by George VI of the United Kingdom to his daughter Princess Elizabeth in 1947. 

The sapphire tiara was made with a sapphire collar of Louise of Belgium, Princess of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha bought by the QUEEN in 1963.
In 1907 there was a scandal at the Belgian Royal Court, and that's why the family has so few historic jewels.

Louise, daughter of King Leopold II, who left her husband, Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, had so many debts that her creditors wanted to take possession of her share of her mother's inheritance. It was about the jewels Queen Marie-Henriëtte left her in 1902.

Neither her husband nor her father wanted to pay her debts, and that's why the jewels were put up for auction in Brussels. It was a case the press wrote about for months. The Belgian people were against their King, an unfaithful husband, who neglected his wife, Queen Marie-Henriette, for years! But a bigger scandal for the Belgian people was his attitude towards his daughters. He disinherited two of them. Stéphanie, widow of Rudolph, son of the emperor of Austria, married for the second time without his permission.

Greek Key tiara of Princess Alice and Princess Anne

Greek Key Tiara

 
The tiara belonged to
Princess Alice of Battenburg(mother of the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh).
Her Serene Highness Princess Victoria Alice of Battenberg was born in the Tapestry Room at Windsor Castle in Berkshire in the presence of her great-grandmother, Queen Victoria at the queen's invitation. She was the eldest child of Prince Louis of Battenberg and his wife Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine. Her mother was the eldest daughter of Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse, the second daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

This tiara was wedding gift to the then Princess Elizabeth from her mother-in-law Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark (Princess Alice).

The meander tiara is in the classical Greek 'key pattern' featuring a large brilliant cut diamond in the centre surrounded by a diamond wreath. The tiara also incorporates a central wreath of leaves and scrolls on either side. The Queen has never worn it in public and it was given to Princess Anne around 1972. Princess Anne has worn the tiara in public, notably during her engagement to Mark Phillips.

The Scroll tiara

The Scroll Tiara 

Originally worn by the Queen Mother, Lady Elizabeth.

 

 

But the tiara was best known for being worn by Princess Margaret, sister to Queen Elizabeth.

Margaret borrowed the Scroll tiara until her mother gave her the Art Deco Fan tiara.

 

Princess Anne borrowed the Scroll Diamond Tiara from The Queen until she was given her grandmother's Princess Alice's greek key meander tiara in 1972.

The Poltimore Tiara of Princess Margaret

The Poltimore Tiara

This grand tiara was famous mostly for its more recent owner, the queen's sister - HRH Princess Margaret who died in 2002.

The Poltimore tiara Princess Margaret wore on her wedding day was purchased prior to her wedding, and was seen wearing the tiara in the form of the necklace prior to her wedding and continued to wear the piece in its various forms on many state occasions after her wedding day.

Florence Sara Wilhelmine, Lady Poltimore

The Poltimore Tiara was originally created by Garrards in 1870 for Lady Poltimore, the wife of the 2nd Baron Poltimore.

The children of the late Princess, Viscount Linley and Lady Sarah Chatto, sold this and other items at an auction at Christie's in 2006 to pay the inheritance tax due on her estate.
The tiara fetched $1.7 million, far more than its $360,000 pre-sale estimate.

As a necklace..

Festoon Diamond tiara, Aquamarine Pine Flower, Duchess of York tiara

The Festoon Diamond Tiara

Princess Anne, Princess Royal

 
Lady Autumn Kelly, wife of Peter Phillips - the only son of
Princess Anne. Lady Autumn was loaned the Tiara for her wedding at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle on 17 May 2008.

The Aquamarine Tiara
of
Princess Anne, Princess Royal


The Cartier Aquamarine Pineflower Tiara
A gift from the Queen and subsequently shortened at the sides.

The Duchess of York Tiara
This tiara was purchased for
Sarah, Duchess of York.

 
It was made by Garrard's, The Royal Jewelers. It has a diamond on top and an elegant floral design. Sarah decided to wear a floral arrangement while riding in the carriage to Westminster -- it was there that she put on the tiara. She came in as a 'commoner' and left as a 'Princess' and 'Duchess of York'.

Papyrus Tiara of the Queen Mum

 

Papyrus Tiara
This tiara was made in 1925. It was given as a wedding present to Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. She then gave it to her daughter Princess Margaret.

It is a tiara with papyrus-shaped mounts framed in scrolls separated with palmettes. The diamond trails arch above, surmounted by diamonds and a pearl.

The Queen Mother as Duchess of York before her husband became George VI.


Below is her daughter, HRH Princess Margaret wearing the Tiara
along with The Teck Necklace



Later, it was lent to Serena Stanhope for her wedding to David, Viscount Linley; Princess Margaret's son, in 1993.


Lady Serena is a descendant of Charles II of England.

Delhi Durbar

The Delhi Durbar Tiara

The circlet was made by Garrards, especially for Queen Mary during the Delhi Durbar on December 12,1911 - hence its name. Durbar is Hindi, for a 'ceremonial gathering to pay homage'. 

The gathering was to install King George V and Queen Mary as Emperor and Empress of India. King George V admired this piece and referred to it as "May's best tiara". 

 In this picture the center stone is a diamond circle.

It was originally worn with detachable emerald drops and at the Durbar, Queen Mary wore it over a crimson velvet cap.

The tiara was worn by the Queen Mother a few times after she became Queen consort. 

Different Versions

 
Here, Mary adds an extra diamond to the top instead of her usual emeralds.

The version above has no center stone, leaving the tiara quite plain in comparison to the original.

The tiara is loaned to Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall by the Queen.

Coincidence?

Coincidence? You tell me...

Would you be surprised if I told you this is my Grandmother?

The Burmese Tiara

The Burmese Tiara
The Burmese ruby tiara was ordered to be made by Gerrard's by the Queen in 1973.
 

The design of the jewel is in the form of a wreath of roses, as the Roses of England (Lancaster and York). It is conventional yet detailed. There are clusters of rubies in the centre of each flower, and the petals are made using brilliant diamonds.

The Queen during a state dinner in 2009.

The 96 rubies set into the tiara were a present from the Burmese people. The number of stones represent the number of diseases that the Burmese people believe can afflict the human body. They credit the ruby with prophylactic properties guarding the wearer not only against illness, but also against evil.
Contains 9g diamonds and rubies done in the shape of flowers. The diamonds were a gift from the Nizam of Hyderbad.


The Queen wears the tiara often with her many ruby necklaces andbracelets. Since the passing of the Queen Mother, she has worn the magnificent ruby necklace, The State Rubies, left to the Crown by Queen Victoria.