The first State Dinner of November really sparkled. As the Queen led the Royal Family in welcoming President Juan Manuel Santos to the UK for a State Visit, some of the most famous diadems from the regal vaults were on display. We got diamonds, we got sapphires, we got enough sparkle to see us through until Christmas. Here are the tiaras that starred at the State Banquet for #ColombiaStateVisit.
The Queen wore one of the most spectacular sapphire tiaras currently in use for this big event. This diadem has modern roots tied into long gone eras of history and a very personal link to the Queen's beloeved father.
The sapphire necklace and earrings were a wedding present to the Queen from King George VI and the Queen loved them so much that she went and got herself a tiara to match. It was made in 1963, over ten years into Elizabeth II's reign, but it was originally a necklace owned by Princess Louise of Belgium in the 19th century that ended up being sold years later and went on to become the basis of this rather lovely tiara.
It features rows of round and square sapphires with diamonds trims linked together with diamond arches converging on a huge diamond shaped sapphire in the centre with a three leafed decoration on top of that made up of more of these beautiful blue stones. Add in the golden sash on the Queen's dress and the colours of Colombia start to appear. It's perfection.
The Queen raises a toast to Colombian President Santos pic.twitter.com/vQpH3BsVEw— PA Royal Reporters (@PARoyal) November 1, 2016
We got more top notch diamonds from Camilla who went back to a tried and tested favourite and scored another huge hit. The Duchess of Cornwall chose the Greville Tiara which suits her all the way up to the sparkling chandeliers of the Buckingham Palace Ballroom.
It began life as a tiara for a Mrs Greville (so far, so very obvious) who had no children to leave her diamonds to so instead she bequeathed them to the Queen's mother. In later years, the Queen Mum loved this tiara and passed it on to the Queen. Since Camilla's marriage, this towering wall of diamonds has been used by the Duchess of Cornwall on a regular basis and no wonder - the layers of sparklers woven into rows looks just perfect on her.
One State Dinner, two spectacular tiaras with interesting and rather modern royal histories. November is off to a glittering start.
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