IT WAS A regal event: the state banquet for the first official visit to the U.K. by South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, First Lady Kim Keon Hee. And two legendary tiaras appeared at the event, pieces that date back to Queen Elizabeth II and the Queen Mother.
I am a huge fan of tiaras, so seeing these awe-inspiring royal ones out and about again was a real treat.
Let’s start with the one worn by Queen Camilla, a tiara that I wrote about in my book If These Jewels Could Talk: The Legends Behind Celebrity Gems (ACC Artbooks, 2015). It was the Burmese Ruby Tiara from Queen Elizabeth II’s personal collection. The story goes like this: In 1973, Queen Elizabeth II wanted a tiara designed with rubies, so the palace approached the oldest jewelry house in the world, crown jewelers Garrard. The use of rubies and the fact that the queen commissioned, rather than inherited, the piece rendered it distinct from the other tiaras in her collection, which were been passed down to her from Queen Mary and Queen Victoria. The tiara’s motif is a wreath of red roses; the roses are made up of 96 Burmese rubies and gold, and the petals, crafted of diamonds, are set into silver. The cache of gems was originally a wedding gift from the people of Burma to then-Princess Elizabeth in November 1947, with the number of stones representing the number of diseases that, according to Burmese tradition, can afflict the human body. The rubies were meant to protect against illness and evil. Camilla wore the tiara with a red velvet dress by Fiona Clare.
Kate Middleton’s choice of tiara was even more compelling, as it had not been worn for nearly a century. Named the Strathmore Rose Tiara, it was originally gifted to the Queen Mother when she was still Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, in 1923. It bears its name due to the fact that she was the daughter of the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. And the tiara was a gift from her parents before she married the Duke of York.
The piece, created with five diamond flowers stretching across a vine-inspired design, is convertible and can be worn low on the forehead as a bandeau as well as a traditional tiara. The Queen Mother wore it as a bandeau several times in the early years after receiving it, and it also has fittings so the flowers can be worn as brooches. Middleton chose to wear it upright with a Jenny Packman white gown with intricate gold details.
Both tiaras are head turners that will live on as part of the royal family’s history.
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