The Princess of Wales has worn a tiara reserved only for queens and we need to be totally clear that this is a major royal moment.
Kate wore the Circlet tiara for the German State Banquet and as well as being red and white (diamonds and rubies, you see) and completing the patriotic trio with her blue dress (another stunner and she's had several this year), it's also very, very royal and totally unexpected.
The tiara began life with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert helped design it. Of course he did, the man never stopped. The idea for this diadem came about at the same time as the Great Exhibition he helped organise in London. Its design is based on Indian architecture and features huge Mughal arches worked in diamonds. Albert had them studded with opals and Victoria loved it. She was often seen wearing it. And it's no wonder. This is a very, very grand tiara and it screams queen.
Which is perhaps why Victoria left it to the Crown on her death. Since then, it's only been worn by queens. Alexandra, consort of Edward VII, thought the opals were unlucky and swapped them for rubies. Queen Mary had so many other tiaras (and that's a psychology lesson in itself) that she didn't wear it that often in public but still popped it on from time to time. This tiara came into its own in the time of King George VI's consort, Queen Elizabeth, who loved this tiara with a capital L. In fact, she didn't hand it back when her own daughter became queen and kept on wearing it. When she died, in 2002, Queen Elizabeth II finally got hold of it but only ever wore it once in public, during a trip to Malta in 2005.
It's not been seen for twenty years and now it's made its latest appearance on the head of a future queen. This fully cements Kate as the consort in waiting and is easily the most royal jewel she's ever worn.
No comments:
Post a Comment