Speculation was rife in the run up to the Royal Wedding about everything from Kate Middleton’s dress, to the cars they were going to use (we particularly loved the vintage Aston Martin they left for their Honeymoon in), but we were most interested in the tiara Kate chose to wear. 

Traditionally a royal bride wears a tiara lent to her by the Queen, although historically this hasn’t always been the case. Lady Diana wore a family tiara on her wedding day, and Sarah Ferguson received a new tiara commissioned for the occasion by the Queen from Garrard, the Queen’s Jewellers. 

Kate Middleton wore the beautiful 1936 Cartier Halo tiara (below), lent by the Queen, and she looked every inch the princess. The Halo tiara was purchased from Cartier London in 1936 by the Duke of York (who became King George VI 3 weeks later) for his wife Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, who later gave it to her daughter, Princess Elizabeth (now the Queen) on her 18th birthday.  This is the first time the Cartier Halo tiara has been worn by a royal bride.

The 1936 Cartier Halo tiara worn by (from top) Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret and Princess Anne:

We’ve added a gallery of some other famous tiaras below:

The 1934 Cartier Halo tiara

Below: Cartier London Citrine and Diamond Tiara made for the coronation of George VI in 1937. The central element can be dismounted and worn as a brooch. Photo: N. Welsh

Below: Cartier London Aquamarine and Diamond tiara, one of the 27 tiaras that Cartier made that year, most of which were worn at the 1937 coronation. Photo-N.Welsh

Below: The Bourbon Parma Tiara image from Chaumet

Below: Emerald tiara circa 1900 coming up for sale at Sotheby’s Geneva May 17 Auction, from the collection of Princess Katharina Henckel von Donnersmarck and probably the work of Chaumet.

Below: Boucheron second version of the Lady Greville Tiara redesigned in 1921 and later inherited to the Queen Mother in 1942. It was since modified and worn by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall in 2006.

Below: Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother wearing her Boucheron ‘honeycomb’ tiara that was given to her by Lady Greville in 1942 and subsequently adapted. Copyright Corbis

Below: Boucheron Lady Curzon tiara 1898

Thanks to the Jewellery Editor for the wealth of information about royal tiaras and http://orderofsplendor.blogspot.com/ for the photographs of Princess Anne, Princess Margaret and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

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Tags: 1936, bridal, bride, Cartier, Catherine Middleton, diamonds, Duchess of Cambridge, Halo tiara, Jewellery, Jewelry, Kate Middleton, Princess Anne, Princess Margaret, Royal Wedding, royalwedding, scroll tiara, tiara