Tomorrow marks the 70th Anniversary of the Death of Queen Mary! The Teck Princess who lived through the reigns of six monarchs and was the Queen Consort for twenty-five years, as well as a Queen Mother to two Kings and the Queen Grandmother to Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Mary assembled much of the British Royal Family’s spectacular Jewellery Collection, so we have been featuring some of the jewels in the days leading up to the anniversary, ending with the iconic Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara!
Queen Mary’s Crown | Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara | Vladimir Tiara | Delhi Durbar Tiara | Cambridge Emerald Parure | Lover’s Knot Tiara | Fringe Tiara | Gloucester Honeysuckle Tiara | Cambridge Sapphire Parure | Iveagh Tiara | Amethyst Tiara | Ladies of England Tiara | Surrey Fringe Tiara | The Jewels of Queen Mary
When Princess May of Teck married the Duke of York, the future King George V, in 1893, she received a series of spectacular gifts of jewellery from various parts of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, among which was this striking Diamond Tiara topped with pearls made by E. Wolff and Co. on commission from Garrard, from a committee known as the ‘Girls of Great Britain and Ireland’ headed by Lady Eva Greville, who donated a £3,000 surplus to the widows and children of 350 lost sailors of HMS Victoria. The versatile Tiara could be worn on a smaller frame and as a necklace, while the shadow of the Tiara shows a row of the ‘girls’ of Great Britain and Ireland holding hands. Later, the Pearls would be replaced with the Diamonds from the Surrey Fringe Tiara.
Ladies of England Necklace and the City of London Choker, which has a sign from 1896.
The Duchess of York began wearing her Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara soon after her wedding, with it appearing in a series of portraits with herThe Duchess of York also wore the Tiara as a Coronet while dressed as a ‘lady of the court of Marguerite de Valois’ for the iconic Devonshire House Ball held during Queen Victoria’s Jubilee Celebrations in 1897.
A few years later, the then Princess of Wales wore her Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara for the Coronation of her father-in-law, King Edward VII, in 1902, with the Ladies of England Necklace and the 11-row Pearl Choker.
The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara was also worn by the then Queen Mary for Official Portraits taken around the Accession of King George V in 1911, which featured in Coronation memorabilia.
In 1914, Queen Mary had the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara altered, removing the Pearls to add them to her Lover’s Knot Tiara, while Diamonds from the Surrey Fringe Tiara were used to top the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara. The Bandeau Base of the Tiara was also removed to allow it to be worn separately.
Queen Mary was rarely photographed wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara in the 1920s or 1930s, with a notable appearance being a portrait in 1920s, and a sketch of only the bandeau being worn.
Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) married Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark in 1947, Queen Mary gave the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara as a Wedding Gift to her granddaughter, along with the the Duchess of Teck’s Pearl Earrings, Queen Mary’s Diamond Stomacher, a pair of Pearl Earrings given by the Ladies of Devonshire, a pair of Indian Diamond Bangles from the Bombay Presidency, a Diamond Bow Brooch from the County of Dorset and a Ruby and Diamond Bracelet from the County of Cornwall. The Tiara, with the bandeau base displayed separately, was among the gifts displayed at St James’s Palace between November 1947 and March 1948, and was seen by over 200,000 visitors. Afterwards, the Bandeau seems to have stayed with Queen Mary, as the Queen later said:
WhenI suppose she thought, the child’s only 21, she doesn’t need a very big one
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The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara made an appearance on Princess Elizabeth on her first visit to Paris in 1948, and as one of her two Tiaras, along with Nizam of Hyderabad Tiara, in the early years of her marriage, it was worn for numerous Royal Occasions in those years, like during the French State Visit to Britain and for a Banquet at the Guildhall in 1950, the Opening of the Festival of Britain, the Danish State Visit to Britain, the Norwegian State Visit to Britain, Princess Elisabeth’s visit to Malta, and on Princess Elizabeth’s Tour of Canada in 1951.
Just a few weeks after her Accession to the Throne, the Queen wore the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara for her first Official Portraits by Dorothy Wilding, which were the basis of the Queen’s image on coins and postage stamps for decades.
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Later, that year, the Queen wore the Tiara for a Ball at Londonderry House, in Edinburgh, at the Royal Film Performance, and on a visit to Lloyds of London in 1952.
The following year, the Queen wore the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara for several events after her Coronation at Westminster Abbey in 1953, including the Coronation Gala at Covent Garden, at a Coronation Ball, and for a Concert at the Royal Festival Hall.
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The Queen took the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara with her on the six-month Commonwealth Tour to, notably wearing the piece in Fiji in 1953, and on several occasions in New Zealand and Australia in 1954.
The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara was frequently worn by the Queen during the 1950s, for the British State Visit to Norway and the Battle of Trafalgar 150th Anniversary in 1955, the British State Visit to Sweden, the Order of Amaranth Ball, a Gala Performance at the Drottningholm Palace Theatre and the Grenadier Guards Tercentenary in 1956, the State Visit to Denmark, State Visit to Paris and State Visit to the United States in 1957, the RAF 40th Anniversary Banquet and the State Visit to the Netherlands in 1958,
By the 1960s, the Queen had established a habit of alternating the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara with the two versions of the Vladimir Tiara and Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara, with the Tiara being worn for the Order of the British Empire Service, Banquet at Nepalese Embassy, and Royal Tank Regiment Ball in 1960, the visit to Pakistan, Royal Film Premiere of ‘The Guns of Navarone’, Gala in Liverpool, a Gala at the Palace of Holyroodhouse and a Tour of West Africa in 1961, visit to New Zealand and Australia in 1963, the Belgian State Visit in 1963, the State Visit to Germany and the State Visit to Ethiopia in 1965, the Royal Tour of the Caribbean and Royal Company of Archers Ball in 1966, a visit to Canada in 1967 and a Gala Performance at Covent Garden in 1968.
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In 1969, the Queen found the Bandeau base of the Tiara in the back of the safe and had it reattached, being worn for the State Visit to Austria in 1969, the Captain Cook Bicentenary Tour in 1970, the Visit to Canada in 1970, Ghillies Ball at Balmoral in 1971, the State Visit to Thailand, State Visit to Singapore, and State Visit to Malaysia in 1972, various CHOGM Banquets, the Swedish State Visit in 1975, the visit to the United States and the State Visit to Luxembourg in 1976, the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Celebrations in 1977, and the Tour of the Gulf States in 1979.
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In the 1980s, the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara continued to be worn by the Queen for many of her Banquets, like for the State Visit to Morocco in 1980, the State Visit to Norway in 1981, the Queen’s South Pacific Tour, Oman State Visit, and Dutch State Visit in 1982, State Visit to Sweden and visit to California in 1983, State Visit to Jordan, State Visit to Nepal, the Spanish State Visit, 60th Birthday Concert, and the State Visit to China in 1986, the State Visit to Spain in 1988, and the State Visit to Malaysia in 1989.
While the Burmese Ruby Tiara, Brazilian Aquamarine Tiara, and Belgian Sapphire Tiara had replaced the Queen’s three larger Tiaras for the less formal events, the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara made frequent appearances through the 1990s, during the Polish State Visit, the Ghillies Ball at Balmoral Castle in 1991, on a visit to Canada in 1994, during the Heads of State Banquet at Guildhall in 1995, and for the State Visit to Brunei in 1998.
The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara continued to be a favourite of the Queen in her later years, worn for countless State Visits and Dinners through the 2000s, and 2010s, including for the Danish State Visit to Britain in 2000, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Tours in 2002, the landmark visit to Ireland in 2011, and in portraits for the Diamond Jubilee in 2012.
Towards the end of her life, the Queen for the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara for the Diplomatic Reception at Buckingham Palace in 2017, for the Commonwealth Dinner at Buckingham Palace in 2018, at the State Banquet for the Dutch State Visit to Britain, and for the Diplomatic Reception at Buckingham Palace in 2018.
In recent years, the Girls of Great Britain & Ireland Tiara was often displayed during the summer exhibitions at Buckingham Palace, most recently at the ‘Platinum Jubilee: The Queen’s Accession’ Exhibit last year, where I saw the Tiara at Buckingham Palace on the day the Queen passed away, which was also the last day that the Tiara was publicly seen. With two State Visits later this month and a Coronation coming up in a few weeks, lets hope this spectacular Royal Heirloom makes an appearance soon.
Queen Mary’s Crown | Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara | Vladimir Tiara | Delhi Durbar Tiara | Cambridge Emerald Parure | Lover’s Knot Tiara | Fringe Tiara | Gloucester Honeysuckle Tiara | Cambridge Sapphire Parure | Iveagh Tiara | Amethyst Tiara | Ladies of England Tiara | Surrey Fringe Tiara | The Jewels of Queen Mary