It was created by a very creative prince during a family drama and this tiara has seen plenty of changes thanks to the right royal row surrounding it. Many of the stones that were originally included in it have been changed and yet it remains a sparkling example of beautiful royal jewellery. It was so stunning that one queen in particular became so fond of it, she forgot to hand it back when another queen came along. This is a tiara with a tale to tell.
It all begins in the 19th century when women ruling in their own right was still a bit of a novelty. While Victoria may have inherited the crown of Britain in 1837 on the death of her uncle, William IV, as a woman she wasn’t permitted to take the throne of Hanover and that went to an uncle called Ernest, Duke of Cumberland. King Ernest then laid claim to some of the jewels in the Royal Family’s collection.
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While this row was going on, that architect of the Victorian era, Prince Albert, decided his wife needed a new tiara, as you do, and set about designing one himself – very versatile, this particular Prince Consort. There are stories that he was inspired by the Great Exhibition of 1851 (another of his achievements, it’s quite a CV) or by jewellery already owned by his wife but either way he came up with this design inspired by India.
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It features arches framing lotus flowers with more flowers dividing the frames and they are all made of diamonds. The central flowers have room for another gem at their centre – Albert picked his favourite stone, the opal. But the story is far from over.
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It all goes back to the row with uncle Ernest. This brand new tiara was made by Garrards in 1853 but it had to go back several years later when the King of Hanover won the dispute over the family jewels and the diamonds that now belonged to him had to be taken from the diadem and replaced with others.
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Victoria left this tiara to the Crown in her will meaning it will always remain with the Royal Family and is really only for queens – either consort or regnant. The new consort, Alexandra, was left in charge of this tiara for a queen and promptly replaced the opals with rubies as she considered Albert’s favourite stone unlucky.
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It passed from Alexandra to Queen Mary without making too many public appearances and it was only when George VI became King that his Queen Elizabeth got this one out of the vaults and started to work it. In fact, this tiara became a real favourite of hers and was seen many times throughout her time as consort.
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It was seen even more once the throne passed to her daughter, Elizabeth II, but not on the new Monarch, The now Queen Mother kept hold of this one and it became one of her most worn pieces of jewellery. It has an air of discreet grandeur that is hard to beat – the circlet shape means it sits all the way around the head while the arches give hints of splendour. You can see why it is meant for a queen.
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On the death of the Queen Mother in 2002 it remained with the Crown, as Victoria had decreed, and Elizabeth II wore it once in 2005 when she visited Malta. But since then, it has remained tucked away in the Royal Family vaults. Whether Queen Camilla will choose to bring it back into the spotlight remains to be seen. For now, it is a lasting symbol of another consort, Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, who turned a right royal row into a calling card.
