At the time Meghan Markle chose Queen Mary’s Bandeau Tiara when she was given a choice of tiara to wear for her wedding by the late Queen which has a surprising history.
Meghan Markle’s wedding tiara has a special replica hidden away for a Royal Family special occasion, it has emerged.
She married Prince Harry almost five years ago at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, Royal tradition dictated that the late Queen lent her a tiara from her collection. At the time the new member of the Royal family chose Queen Mary’s Bandeau Tiara, which has a surprising history.
When Queen Mary became Duchess of York, after a marriage to King George V in 1893, she was given a diamond brooch from the County of Lincoln. It features features a circle of diamonds with the largest of the 10 stones in the middle.
In 1932, she had a bandeau tiara made to feature the brooch in the centre, and The Express reports it can still be detached and worn separately. It “is formed as a flexible band of eleven sections, pavé set with large and small brilliant diamonds in a geometric design”, says the Royal Collection Trust.
Queen Mary was pictured wearing her bandeau tiara on a few occasions, but it wasn’t a firm favourite of future members of the royal family
Her tiara had its most famous outing in 2018 when the Queen lent it to Meghan to wear on her wedding day.
In a recording accompanying an exhibition of her wedding outfit at Windsor Castle, Meghan described her wedding tiara as “surreal”.
The Duchess of Sussex said: “When it came to the tiara on the day, I was very fortunate to be able to choose this gorgeous Art Deco style bandeau tiara.
“Harry and I had gone to Buckingham Palace to meet with Her Majesty The Queen to select one of the options that were there which was an incredibly surreal day as you can imagine.”
She continued: “That was the one that I think as we tried them on stood out.
“I think it was just perfect because it was so clean and simple – and also to that point, an extension of what Clare [Waight Keller] and I had been trying to do with the dress which was something that could be so incredibly timeless but still feel modern.”
Queen Mary’s tiara may have had its royal wedding debut, but a sister piece is still thought to be sitting in the royal vaults waiting for its next outing and she owned another diamond bandeau, a Diamond Lozenge Tiara.
It is described by the Court Jeweller as “a low, sleek kokoshnik-shaped tiara made of diamonds set in a lozenge pattern and topped with 13 pearls”
The tiara has not been seen for decades, but could be worn by the next generation of royals such as Princess Charlotte or Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor.
Queen Mary introduced several of the royal tiaras including the Lover’s Knot Tiara worn by Kate, Princess of Wales and Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara, worn by the late Queen to marry Prince Philip in 1947.
