A Look At The Most Stunning Royal Tiaras

My love of weddings started with the Royal Family. Watching Princess Diana’s wedding and then endlessly reading the celebratory books and magazines fired a passion that’s lasted for decades. When I was young, tiaras were the preserve of princesses and queens who had their pick of collections worth millions. Whilst royalty around the world might not wear their tiaras as frequently as in days gone by, they still bring them out for the most glittering occasions so let’s take a look at the most stunning royal tiaras…

Images: Left via Duchess Kate | Middle via Royalista | Right via ZsaZsa Bellagio

I had to start with the Duchess of Cambridge and the glorious Cartier Halo tiara that she wore on her wedding day. Made by Cartier in 1936, it’s been passed down through the Royal Family ever since. The Queen lent this gorgeous diamond headpiece to the Duchess of Cambridge for her wedding and the design includes 739 brilliant and 149 baton diamonds.

The simply superb Cambridge Lover’s Knot tiara is another design that the Duchess of Cambridge has been seen in and this opulent headpiece was the favourite of Diana, Princess of Wales. It was made back in 1913 when the then Queen Mary asked Garrard & Co. to copy the design of one of her Grandmother’s tiaras and the 19 pearls hang from lover’s knots around a large brilliant diamond.

Images: Top Left via Woman Magazine | Top Right via Tumblr | Bottom Left via The Fashion Spot | Bottom Right via Order of Splendor

Another piece in the British royal collection is the elegant Meander tiara and I have to say that this design, based on the classic Grecian key pattern is one of my absolute favourites. Worn by Zara Philips on her wedding day and also by her mother, Princess Anne, the tiara includes a laurel wreath of diamonds and is simply beautiful.

Sophie, Countess of Wessex wore a tiara that was also a gift to her from Queen Elizabeth II. It’s said to have been created for Sophie from pieces in the Queen’s own collection, including a piece taken from one of Queen Victoria’s crowns. Whatever the truth behind the delightful Honeysuckle tiara is, I adore its light design and interesting shape.

A tiara in the Royal Collection that’s most certainly an older piece is the Papyrus or Lotus Flower tiara. Originally made for the Queen Mother from one of her necklaces, it’s been worn in various ways and I love it when worn low across the forehead, 1920s style in a more traditional style as the Duchess of Cambridge has done recently. If my 10 year-old self drew a tiara, this is probably what you’d have seen – it’s everything a diamond tiara should be!

Images: via The Daily Mail

Of course, the collections of the European royal families also hold plenty of treasures. Two delights are in the Spanish collection and the Floral tiara and the Prussian Diamond tiaras, both worn by Queen Letizia are absolutely heavenly. The Prussian Diamond is the most worn of all the Spanish tiaras and it’s easy to see why and even though it’s more Hellenic in looks than Prussian, it’s named after its first owner Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia.

The Ruby Parure tiara in the Danish collection and the colours were chosen to represent those in the Danish flag. It’s been altered and added to over time and now Crown Princess Mary has re-arranged the leaves to make it more compact and whilst this has taken away some of the rambling botanical randomness of the old design, it’s still an incredibly eye-catching piece.

The Daisy tiara of Norway and the Vine Leaves tiara worn by Princess Claire of Luxembourg at her wedding are also on my list of favourites. The Daisy tiara is so easy to love thanks to it’s graceful and refined design whilst the Vine Leaves hits the other end of the scale in style – it’s an all diamond headpiece with the wow factor that any princess would love to wear.