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Kate Middleton wears rarely-seen 1930s crown: The royal family's most expensive tiara's

Kate Middleton wearing the Strathmore Rose royal tiara at a state visit. (Getty Images)
Kate Middleton wearing the Strathmore Rose tiara at a state visit. (Getty Images)

The Princess of Wales has worn a rarely-seen royal tiara for the first time in nearly a century.

Attending the state visit for the President of the Republic of Korea Yoon Suk Yeo and First Lady Kim Keon Hee at Buckingham Palace, Kate Middleton, 41, wore the Strathmore Rose tiara which hasn't been seen since the 1930s.

The tiara, which is estimated to be worth around £500,000, was once part of the Queen Mother's collection as it was a wedding present from her father, the Earl of Strathmore, when she married Prince Albert (who would later become King George VI, Queen Elizabeth II's father).

Queen Elizabeth, November 1926. Queen Elizabeth, mother of Queen Elizabeth II. (Photo by Daily Herald Archive/National Science & Media Museum/SSPL via Getty Images)
The Queen Mother wearing the Strathmore Rose tiara in 1926. (Getty Images)

"It's fitting that Kate - likely with some assistance from King Charles - would choose to wear the tiara exactly a hundred years after the Queen Mother originally received it," Lauren Kiehna, founder of The Court Jeweller, told People.

"The piece is an antique that wasn't fashionable for many decades, but many jewels once considered fussy or unstylish have now been embraced again."

Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales (L) and Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales arrive for a a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace in central London on November 21, 2023, for South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee on their first day of a three-day state visit to the UK. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee began a three-day trip to the UK on Tuesday, with King Charles III's hosting his first state visitors since his coronation. (Photo by Yui Mok / POOL / AFP) (Photo by YUI MOK/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The Prince and Princess of Wales at a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace for South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee. (Getty Images)

After the Queen Mother, Kate is just the second member of the Royal Family to wear in public, and it marks the fourth tiara she has worn since she married the Prince of Wales in 2011. The other tiaras have included the Cartier Halo tiara she wore at her wedding, the Lotus Flower tiara, and one of her favourites, the Queen Mary's Lover's Knot tiara.

The last time Kate wore the Lotus Flower tiara was in 2022 at the Diplomatic Corps reception at Buckingham Palace.

Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales, greets guests during a Diplomatic Corps reception at Buckingham Palace in London on December 6, 2022. (Photo by Victoria Jones / POOL / AFP) (Photo by VICTORIA JONES/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Kate, Princess of Wales, was resplendent in two brooches and a tiara at the reception. (Getty Images)

Once owned by the Queen Mother, and favoured by Princess Margaret, the Lotus Flower Tiara is estimated to be worth £4million.

But is it the most expensive royal headpiece there is? From the Queen Mother’s family heirloom to Queen Mary’s (many) favourite jewels, these are the estimated prices of the tiaras in the Royal Family.

The Lotus Flower Tiara

Estimate: £4,000,000

Queen Elizabeth (The Queen Mother) took a page out of her mother-in-law's book when getting the Lotus Flower Tiara created, refashioning a Garrard necklace she had received from her husband, the future King George VI, on their wedding day in 1923 into the headpiece we know today.

The diamond and pearl sparkler takes its name from the lotus flower (or papyrus leaf) elements and was passed down to Princess Margaret to wear in her time, before being given to Kate, and is reportedly worth £4 million.

Princess Margaret, wearing the Lotus Flower Tiara in 1990. (Getty Images)
Princess Margaret wearing the Lotus Flower Tiara in 1990. (Getty Images)

Queen Mary’s Diamond Bandeau Tiara

Estimate: £2,000,000

Worn by Meghan Markle on her wedding to Prince Harry in 2018, the Art Deco-style bandeau tiara's 11 diamond sections and floral diamond clusters centre around the County of Lincoln Brooch.

Although the tiara was made in 1932 for Queen Mary by Garrard, the brooch was originally a wedding gift for the Queen and dates back to 1893. It was given to Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, who lent it to Meghan for her wedding day.

 Duchess of Sussex travels in an Ascot Landau carriage after her wedding to Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex
Meghan Markle wore Queen Mary’s Diamond Bandeau Tiara on her wedding day in 2018. (Getty Images)

The Lover’s Knot Tiara

Estimate: £1,000,000

Delicately crafted back in 1914 for Queen Mary by the House of Garrand, the Lover’s Knot is stooped in royal history. Based on a Gothic Revival tiara first owned by her grandmother, Princess Augusta of Hesse, the piece boasts an impressive height and features pearls and diamonds from the family’s own vault.

According to the Court Jeweller, when Queen Mary had the extraordinary piece commissioned, she ‘sacrificed a tiara from her own jewellery collection, the Ladies of England Tiara, to make it.’

Diana wearing the Cambridge Lover’s Knot tiara
Diana frequently wore the Cambridge Lover’s Knot tiara wearing it here in Canada in June 1983. (Getty Images)

After Queen Mary died in 1953, the tiara was given to her granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II it was her go-to headpiece throughout the Fifties, before later moving on to more modern pieces.

As a wedding gift, the Queen lent Princess Diana the family heirloom to wear on her big day, but in a protocol-breaking move, she instead chose to wear the Spencer Tiara. She did however go on to don the tiara for several royal engagements.

After her divorce from Prince Charles, Diana was asked to return the family heirloom despite being allowed to keep some of her royal jewels. It is thought to have then returned to the Buckingham Palace vaults.

That was until December 2016, when her daughter-in-law, the then Duchess of Cambridge, donned the sparkly number for the first time at that year's annual diplomatic reception, and gave the tiara a whole new lease of life. She accessorised the look with a red Jenny Packham dress.

The Princess of Wales wearing the Cambridge Lover’s Knot Tiara
The Princess of Wales wearing the Cambridge Lover’s Knot Tiara for the annual Diplomatic Reception in December 2016. (Getty Images)

The Cartier 'Halo' Tiara

Estimate: £1,000,000

On 29 April 2011, William and Kate tied the knot at Westminster Abbey. Dressed in a now-famous lace gown by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, Kate stole the spotlight with a cascading veil and wispy bouquet in tow. But the undeniable talking point had to be her debut tiara.

Kate wearing the Cartier tiara on her wedding day. (Getty Images)
Kate wearing the Cartier tiara on her wedding day. (Getty Images)

The Princess of Wales was loaned a Cartier tiara from Queen Elizabeth II ahead of her big day.

Boasting a total of 1,000 diamonds, the sparkly accessory was first chosen by King George VI as a gift for his wife, the Queen Mother. Eight years later, he gave the tiara to the Queen to mark her 18th birthday.

Princess Margaret wearing the Cartier Halo Tiara at the Sultan of Zanzibar's Royal Palace during her East African Tour in 1956. (Getty Images)
Princess Margaret wearing the Cartier Halo Tiara at the Sultan of Zanzibar's Royal Palace during her East African Tour in 1956. (Getty Images)

Kate isn't the first royal to wear the Cartier Halo tiara. Originally a gift from King George VI to Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother), the headpiece dates back to 1936, when he asked Cartier to create something for his wife, using 739 brilliant-cut diamonds and 149 baguette diamonds.

It then became a 'beginner' tiara of sorts, due to its slightly smaller frame, and was favoured by Princess Margaret when she was young and later lent to Princess Anne who last wore the piece in public in the 1970s.

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