Queen Mary bought tiara that was 'smuggled' to UK says expert
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Queen Elizabeth II inherited a wealth of royal jewellery when she became Queen in 1952. But before she was Queen, then-Princess Elizabeth was granted permission to wear an iconic royal tiara for her wedding to Prince Philip in 1947.
For her royal nuptials, the future Queen Elizabeth II wore the Queen Mary Fringe Tiara.
In a beautiful continuation of royal tradition, the Queen’s daughter Princess Anne also wore the same tiara when she married Captain Mark Phillips in 1973.
The latest royal bride to wear the tiara was Princess Beatrice, the Queen’s granddaughter, when she married Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in 2020.
The Queen Mary Fringe Tiara has been in the royal collection for more than a century.
The tiara was originally a necklace, and it was a gift from Queen Victoria to Princess Mary of Teck, later Queen Mary, upon her wedding to the future King George V.
Queen Mary later had the fringe necklace altered into a tiara, although it can still be worn as a necklace.
Daena Borrowman, Marketing Manager at jewellerybox, told Express.co.uk: “It consists of diamonds set in gold and silver fashioned into 47 graduated rose-set tapering bars, separated by 46 narrow spikes.
“The diamonds in the tiara were originally part of a necklace that Queen Victoria gifted to Queen Mary on the occasion of her wedding.
“The then-Princess Elizabeth wore it on her wedding day when it snapped as she was getting ready and had to be rushed to Garrard’s to be fixed.
“Other Windsor brides who have donned the tiara on their wedding day include Princess Anne and more recently, Princess Beatrice.”
The design is thought to be worth millions of pounds, although the Royal Family is highly unlikely to ever part with it.
Nilesh Rakholia, Director at ABELINI Jewellery, told Express.co.uk: “Steeped in royal history, this necklace could easily achieve more than £6million.”
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The Queen hardly wears the tiara now, opting for other tiaras such as the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara.
But royal fans were delighted when Princess Beatrice wore the glittering piece for her wedding last year.
Princess Beatrice’s royal wedding came as a surprise to many royal fans in July 2020.
Beatrice and Edoardo were originally planning to marry in May 2020, however, their plans were derailed due to the coronavirus lockdown.
On a smaller scale, Beatrice and Edoardo were able to have a beautiful wedding in Windsor, attended by the Queen and Prince Philip.
As well as lending Beatrice the tiara she wore for her own wedding day, the Queen also allowed Beatrice to borrow a special outfit.
Beatrice wore an altered version of a dress worn by the Queen in the 1960s to the premiere of Lawrence of Arabia.
The dress was designed by the esteemed designer, Sir Norman Hartnell.
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