When a confident, charming young woman agreed to marry the son of a king and queen, she was determined to do things her own way, Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott refused to wear white for her wedding but once she was married to Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, she presented an impeccable royal image. Part of that was a sparkling tiara given to her by her new mother-in-law. And it remained with her for the next eight decades until her death in 2004, at the age of 102 years and 309 days, making her officially the longest lived royal on record.
Princess Alice’s long royal life had been marked by her determination as well as her devotion to duty. She only officially gave up royal engagements in 2000, just shy of her 100th birthday and even then made a public appearance to mark her centenary with Queen Elizabeth II at her side. She was responsible for many firsts, including becoming the first woman to be appointed Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath. During a service for the Order, in 1982, she wore the Honeysuckle Tiara.
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The Honeysuckle Tiara is a bit more “colourful” than most when it comes to the styles in which it can be worn. And that, in large part, is down to Alice who liked to make her mark. She also ensured its historic significance by choosing it for the coronations of her brother-in-law, King George VI, and then her niece, Queen Elizabeth II. Its origins are more ordinary, though.
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A few years after the accession of King George V and Queen Mary in 1910, this tiara was commissioned from E. Wolff and Co. The ever practical Queen Mary needed a new everyday tiara and this is the result. The original version of the tiara was completed just before World War One. It used diamonds from the Ladies of England Tiara and the Surrey Fringe Tiara which were wedding gifts to Mary in 1893. The original design allows for the central honeysuckle to be interchanged with the Cullinan V Diamond or a sapphire brooch. However, the current rendering of the tiara allows interchanges with a faceted pink topaz and a cabochon emerald.
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While it can be worn in many ways, it really wasn’t kept all that long by Queen Mary. In fact, it was offered to her new daughter-in-law, Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott, when she married Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester in 1935. Before it was given away, Queen Mary did get a new diamond piece, which features a honeysuckle design motif, created to fit the tiara’s central space. Soon after the wedding, the Duchess began wearing the tiara including to the Coronation of King George VI in 1937, as well as several galas and portraits.
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By the 1950s, it became a favourite as it was worn at dozens of events. After Queen Mary’s death, the Duchess, Princess Alice, inherited the pink topaz central element although she preferred to wear the original version of the tiara. The tiara would be the one worn on Princess Alice’s final public tiara appearance, the Order of Bath Service in 1982.
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It wouldn’t be that long before we saw her daughter-in-law wear it. By the late 1970s, the current Duchess of Gloucester was seen wearing the tiara. She wore it for the first time in 1975 for the Swedish State Visit to Britain. By the 90s, she began to wear the topaz and emerald versions and was seen pairing it with Princess Alice’s emerald necklace. In recent years, the tiara has been seen at the American State Banquet in 2019, and the Guildhall Banquet in 2022.
It remains a royal favourite and it was propelled to centre stage by a duchess who dared to be different.
