The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Tiara Timeline: The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara

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Time for another journey back into the mists of royal history, magpies! Today, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom celebrates her 89th birthday, and in her honor, we’re charting the history of her very favorite sparkler: The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara.

December 1891: Princess Mary of Teck, the 24-year-old daughter of a German duke and a British princess, is considered by Queen Victoria to be one of the most suitable matches for her unmarried grandsons. Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, is the eldest son of the Prince of Wales. Although he had wanted to marry Princess Hélène of Orléans, her Catholicism was an obstacle that couldn’t be surmounted. Albert Victor dutifully proposes to Mary in December, and the two become officially engaged and plan to marry the following February.

January 1892: Only a few weeks after proposing, Albert Victor contracts influenza. He dies just before his 28th birthday.

May 1893: Albert Victor’s younger brother, Prince George, Duke of York, is now his father’s heir. He hasn’t just taken his brother’s place in the line of succession; he’s also become close to his brother’s fiancee. He and Mary have bonded as they mourned, and in May, he proposes. She accepts.

June 1893: Lady Eva Greville, daughter of the Earl of Warwick, forms a committee of women to raise money to buy a wedding present for Mary. The committee becomes known as the “Girls of Great Britain and Ireland.” Their appeal is so successful that they raise more than 3,000 pounds more than they need to buy her gift. They purchase an extremely versatile and lightweight tiara of diamonds set in silver and gold, made by E. Wolff and Co. on commission from Garrard. The tiara is topped with a set of 14 oriental pearls, and it comes with a second, smaller frame that allows it to be worn as a coronet. Even better, the tiara can also be taken off its frame completely and worn as a necklace. All of the components of the tiara are packaged in a custom mahogany box.

June 1893: As Wolff and Co. is finishing Mary’s tiara, a tragedy strikes: the HMS Victoria, a British battleship, accidentally collides with another ship off the coast of Tripoli and sinks, killing more than 350 sailors. Mary asks Lady Eva’s committee to donate the surplus money they collected to a fund that had been established to support the widows and children of the sailors who died aboard the sunken ship.

July 1893: George and Mary are married in a ceremony at the Chapel Royal at St. James’s Palace in London. Wisely, Mary chooses to wear a different tiara — the one given to her by Queen Victoria — nestled in a wreath of flowers on her wedding day. But Mary, now Duchess of York, expresses delight at the committee’s present, declaring that it is one of her “most valued wedding gifts.”

July 1897: Mary wears the smaller, coronet setting of the tiara to the famous Devonshire House Ball, which celebrates Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. As a feature of the party, the Duchess of Devonshire hired Lafayette to come and photograph the guests in a tent behind the house. The tiara is plainly visible in the photograph of Mary and George; she goes in costume as a lady from the court of Marguerite of Valois, while he goes as “the Queen’s Champion.” (Appropriately, Marguerite of Valois was portrayed by Mary’s mother-in-law, the future Queen Alexandra.)

January 1901: Queen Victoria dies. George is now the heir to the throne.

November 1901: George and Mary are created Prince and Princess of Wales.

May 1910: George’s father, King Edward VII, dies. George and Mary become King George V and Queen Mary of the United Kingdom. Wearing the tiara with its upright pearls, the new Queen Mary is painted by George C. Wilmshurst. The portrait is published in the Illustrated London News.

June 1911: Souvenir postcards for George and Mary’s coronation feature the queen wearing the tiara.

1914: Mary has the tiara altered by Garrard. The pearls are removed completely and replaced with 13 brilliant-cut diamonds (which had come from the dismantled County of Surrey Tiara). Mary has 13 of the pearls recycled by incorporating them into her new lover’s knot tiara. The base of the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara is also removed around this time so that it can be worn separately as a small diamond bandeau. Above, Mary is photographed in the tiara without its base, ca. 1920.

1935: Mary is photographed in the base-less version of the tiara by Hay Wrighton for a photographic album publication called Popular Personalities.

January 1936: George V dies, and Mary’s eldest son, David, becomes King Edward VIII.

December 1936: Edward VIII abdicates, and Mary’s second son, Bertie, becomes King George VI. Mary’s granddaughter, Princess Elizabeth, becomes the heir to the throne.

November 1947: Mary gives both the tiara and the bandeau base to Elizabeth as a wedding present. Elizabeth still reportedly calls the sparkler “Granny’s Tiara.”

May 1948: Elizabeth wears the tiara to the opera in Paris during a visit to France.

March 1950: Elizabeth wears the tiara to the Guildhall in London.

1951: Elizabeth wears the tiara in Malta.

September 1951: At a film premiere in London, Elizabeth pairs the tiara with a fur wrap.

October 1951: Elizabeth and Philip embark on a Canadian tour; she wears the tiara at the ballet in Winnepeg.

February 1952: George VI dies, and his daughter becomes Queen Elizabeth II. As queen, the tiara becomes something of a trademark piece for her. She wears it in portraits that appear on currency and stamps in the United Kingdom and throughout the Commonwealth.

June 1952: Elizabeth wears the tiara in Edinburgh during her first public appearance after her father’s funeral.

1952: Elizabeth wears the tiara to the royal film performance in Leicester Square.

October 1955: The tiara is Elizabeth’s choice for a film premiere starring another (future) royal: To Catch a Thief, featuring Grace Kelly

March 1956: The tiara accompanies Elizabeth, her mother, and her sister to the ballet at Covent Garden.

1957: Elizabeth poses in the tiara with the First Lady of France, Germaine Coty.

October 1957: Elizabeth wears the tiara to the White House during a visit to the United States.

May 1960: Elizabeth wears the tiara at a service held at St. Paul’s Cathedral.

1961: The tiara travels with Elizabeth on a trip to Pakistan.

1962: Elizabeth wears the tiara to the annual Royal Variety Performance.

November 1964: The tiara is Elizabeth’s choice for celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of the Royal Academy of the Dramatic Arts.

1965: The tiara sees Maria Callas perform in Puccini’s Tosca at Covent Garden.

1967: The Queen returns to Malta and, once again, brings the tiara with her.

1969: The bandeau base is finally reattached to the tiara, bringing the piece back to its original height. Elizabeth wears the tiara on a visit to Austria in May, and you can see that the piece has increased in height in the photograph above.

1970: Elizabeth pairs the tiara with jewels from the Delhi Durbar parure at a state banquet.

May 1972: Elizabeth wears the tiara at the Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium.

1975: Elizabeth wears the tiara with pieces from the Brazilian Aquamarine parure.

November 1976: Elizabeth takes the tiara with her on a visit to Luxembourg.

1977: In New Zealand, Elizabeth gives a speech wearing the tiara and the Durbar emeralds.

1979: HM pairs the tiara with rubies at the theater.

October 1980: In Morocco, Elizabeth toasts King Hassan while wearing the tiara with diamond and pearl jewelry.

February 1982: Elizabeth wears the tiara at Claridge’s Hotel in London.

November 1983: Elizabeth wears the tiara with a pearl and diamond choker in Bangladesh.

March 1985: In Portugal, Elizabeth pairs the tiara with a rare outing of the Kent amethysts.

November 1987: Forty years after receiving the tiara from her grandmother, Elizabeth poses in it with Prince Philip for a fortieth wedding anniversary portrait at Windsor.

October 1989: Photographers snap a view of the back of the tiara, showing that it is generally not worn as a complete circlet, during a banquet in Malaysia.

June 1992: Elizabeth wears the tiara with diamonds in Paris.

1993: The tiara is now a century old. Elizabeth wears it with a pink gown to a banquet in Hungary.

1996: Elizabeth wears the tiara at a gala concert in the Czech Republic.

February 2000: Alongside Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, Elizabeth wears the tiara to a gala at the Natural History Museum in London.

April 2004: The tiara is Elizabeth’s choice for an important state visit to France, marking the hundredth anniversary of the Entente Cordiale.

November 2005: The tiara takes yet another trip to Malta.

May 2006: Elizabeth wears the tiara with the robes of the Order of the Bath.

May 2007: The tiara makes another trip to the White House during a state visit to the United States.

2010: Elizabeth wears the tiara during a tour of Canada.

2011: Elizabeth selects this tiara to wear at a state banquet during her
historic state visit to the Republic of Ireland. The tiara’s name takes
on extra significance during the visit, which strove to highlight the
cultural and economic ties between the two nations.

July 2014: During a state visit designed to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings, Elizabeth wears the tiara at a banquet in Paris.

Queen Margrethe’s 75th Birthday: Fredensborg Dinner

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The last event of Queen Margrethe’s big 75th birthday bash was a black-tie dinner at Fredensborg. No tiaras, unfortunately, but still some interesting jewels on show!

The birthday girl flaunted the no-tiara dress code a bit, nestling one of the pieces of her mother’s Floral Aigrette Tiara in the back of her hair.

She also wore pieces from her turquoise collection. The gold and turquoise necklace is new addition to the set, a birthday gift from Prince Henrik.

Crown Princess Mary wore diamond earrings and a bow brooch at the neck of her gown.

Not sure if the piece is a part of the dress or an independent item of jewelry, but it does add a good bit of sparkle either way.

Here’s one more look at the brooch and Mary’s earrings, which she wore at Princess Madeleine’s wedding in 2013 with the tiara from the Midnight Parure.

Princess Marie wore very little jewelry — just earrings and a bracelet — at the dinner.

Princess Benedikte wore pearls to the dinner, where she was seated beside her first cousin, the King of Sweden, and Denmark’s prime minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt.

Queen Anne-Marie also opted for pearls, plus a brooch pinned to the neck of her gown. King Harald of Norway needed no embellishment, obviously.

More pearls, this time on Queen Silvia of Sweden, although her set also has a jeweled clasp and matching earrings.

Small earrings were Crown Princess Victoria’s choice, although the gown (which was previously worn by her sister, Princess Madeleine) did a pretty good job of glittering all on its own. I’ve not yet seen photos of Crown Princess Mette-Marit; the Norwegian and Swedish royals apparently did not step outside before the beginning of the dinner, so photos are limited.

Queen Margrethe’s 75th Birthday: Balcony and Town Hall Reception

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The celebrations for Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, who turned 75 on Thursday, continue! Let’s rundown the jewels worn to the daytime events on Thursday, shall we?

After the traditional “morning wake-up call” to the Queen (at which jewels were largely few and far between), the royals gathered at Amalienborg Palace for a balcony appearance and then traveled to the town hall in Copenhagen for a reception. Margrethe selected one of her most precious pieces of jewelry to wear on her birthday: the diamond daisy brooch that was given to her by her mother, Queen Ingrid. You can read about the brooch’s sentimental history — it honors Margrethe’s grandmother, also called Daisy — over here!

The next Queen of Denmark was crown princess levels of perfection, even if she kept the jewels to a minimum, wearing stud earrings, a simple bracelet, and her brand-new commemorative medal in honor of her mother-in-law’s 75th.

Even the littlest members of the DRF got a fancy new medal. Here’s Princess Josephine wearing hers.

And here’s the entire crown princely clan in theirs, looking extremely color-coordinated and ready for their family photos.

The Prince Joachims were also be-medaled and ready to wave.

Princess Marie wore an intriguing new bird brooch with her outfit for the daytime festivities. She also wore earrings with square green stones — perhaps peridot?

Prince Henrik was still too ill to attend, but Margrethe was flanked by her heir and her spare as she greeted the public.

Princess Benedikte paired pearls with her pink ensemble. It looks to me like her ring and earrings also include red or dark pink stones.

Queen Anne-Marie was wrapped up tightly against the wind, but we can still see that she also has red stones in her earrings and the bracelet on her right wrist. You can also sneak a peek at her gold bracelet, worn by all female descendants of Queen Ingrid, just above her wristwatch.

Queen Silvia of Sweden, who is married to Margrethe’s first cousin, King Carl XVI Gustaf, wore small pearl earrings, her usual stack of rings, and a collection of bracelets.

Here’s a good look at her rings. She also had a small ribbon pinned to her coat — I could be wrong, but I believe this is an Order of the Elephant ribbon.

The Scandinavian crown princely couples attended the Thursday festivities, replacing the Benelux royals, who headed home. Crown Princess Victoria paid a nifty tribute to her cousin with a daisy brooch. I’m not sure if this is a piece of jewelry made by Georg Jensen, or just one in a similar style, but either way, I love this little nod to Margrethe. Crown Princess Mette-Marit wore an interesting headpiece, pairing it with teeny little stud earrings in the shape of a human skull. You can take the princess out of the rock music festival, but…

Stay tuned later today for jewels from the last event of the celebrations: the dinner at Fredensborg!