Meghan Markle‘s royal wedding tiara holds as much — if not more — significance as the gown she wore down the aisle. While somespeculated that Meghan might skip the tradition altogether,Prince Harry‘s bride followed royal protocol and paid homage to her new family through the meaningful, sparkling accessory which has been in the British royal family for decades.
Meghan followed inKate Middleton’s footsteps wearing a tiara straight from the Queen’s jewelry vault, the Queen Mary Diamond Bandeau.
According to Kensington Palace, the English tiara, which features diamonds set in platinum, was made in 1932 and features a center detachable brooch made of ten diamonds dating back to 1893.
The tiara is “formed as a flexible band of eleven sections, pierced with interlaced ovals and pavé set with large and small brilliant diamonds.”
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Meghan styled the diamond tiara featuring with a chic bridal updo and cathedral length veil and a custom Givenchy dress featuring long-sleeves and a statement train.
Royal wedding predictors had their eye on the Queen Mother’s Strathmore Rose tiara for Markle. The bejeweled floral headpiece was given to Harry’s great grandmother as a wedding gift. She wore the diamond garland design for hr official bridal portraits alongside the Duke of York in 1929. (They later became King George VI , 1895 – 1952, andQueen Elizabeth, 1900 – 2002.)
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Wearing a tiara from the royal family archives shows Meghan’s commitment to her new life in the royal spotlight asPrince Harry’s wife. So how does her glittering headpiece compare to the pantheon of royal bridal tiaras? See below for a recap of what Princess Kate, Princess Diana andQueen Elizabethand the Queen Mother wore on their big days.
Princess Kate in the Cartier Halo Tiara
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Princess Diana in the Spencer Tiara
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Princess Diana turned to her own aristocratic family’s archives when it came time to choosing atiara for her July 29, 1981, wedding to Prince Charles.
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The Spencer tiara, which still belongs to the Spencer family, has not been publicly worn since Diana’s death in 1997, but it has often been loaned to various Diana-themed exhibits around the world.
Botswana is a country in Africa that’s close to Harry’s heart. He took Meghan there on a romantic trip last summer.
Queen Elizabeth in the Diamond Fringe Tiara
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip on their wedding day.Hulton Archive/Getty
On November 20, 1947, a 21-year-old Princess Elizabeth wore her grandmotherQueen Mary’s Diamond Fringe tiarato marry Prince Philip at Westminster Abbey – the same place wherePrince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, andPrince Williamand the thenKate Middletontied the knotin 2011.
The piece of jewelry was made for Queen Mary in 1919 and can be worn as a crown-like headpiece or as a necklace.Elizabeth’s tiara famously broke on her wedding day,but was quickly repaired. She’s since worn it for numerous royal appearances.
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The Queen Mother in the Strathmore Rose Tiara
Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyons married Prince Albert, Duke of York, on April 26, 1923. Her father, the Earl of Strathmore, presented her with theStrathmore Rose Tiara as a wedding gift, which she wore in her official wedding portrait. The headpiece dates back to the late nineteenth century and boasts a garland of roses set with rose-cut diamonds. Albert became King George VI in 1936 until his death in 1952, when his eldest daughter,Princess Elizabeth, was crowned the Queen of England at the age of 25.
source: people.com
