How Queen Elizabeth, Kate Middleton, and More Royals Have Worn the Family's Heirloom Jewelry

Queen Mary had the tiara made in 1913, and modeled it after a previous version of the same sparkler: her grandmother Princess Augusta of Hesse’s Lover’s Knot Tiara. When Queen Mary died in 1953, the headpiece came into her granddaughter Queen Elizabeth II’s possession, who lent it to Princess Diana for a time. After Diana’s death, it wasn’t publicly seen until Kate wore it to Buckingham Palace in 2015. Since then, it’s become one of Kate’s favorite tiaras.

The Queen “doesn't give the jewels as gifts—they still remain part of her personal jewelry collection—but she allows [family members] to wear them on a long-term basis,” Kay explains.

More: Kate Middleton's Stunning Lover's Knot Tiara Has a Fascinating Royal History

When Queen Mary ordered the Lover’s Knot from the House of Garrard, she supplied some recycled material: one of her existing toppers, the Ladies of England Tiara. The Lover's Knot originally had 19 upright pearls set along the top, but they were eventually removed, leaving only the suspended pearls in place.

Queen Mary was the first to own this diamond piece—one of many diamond chokers in her collection. After Mary’s death, the stunning choker wasn’t seen again until 1975, when the Queen Mother famously wore it in her 75th birthday portrait (see that here). Today, Kate Middleton seems to have it on loan from the Queen, as she’s been spotted wearing it multiple times in recent years.

The piece was originally designed as a choker, but after Queen Mary, subsequent royal generations have worn it as a bracelet. The piece features a distinctive chain-link pattern, which is sometimes described as an Art Deco-influenced design.

The four-stranded pearl necklace was made for Queen Elizabeth. She’s since lent it to Princess Diana and Kate Middleton.

Per The Court Jeweller, it’s thought that Queen Elizabeth was gifted the pearls for the necklace by the Japanese government. The necklace was subsequently made by Garrard—and possibly designed to hold a fifth string of pearls, on the off chance that the Queen might want to add it later.

Queen Victoria received this sapphire and diamond brooch from her husband-to-be, Prince Albert, on the day before their wedding. She was immediately taken with it—so much so that wore it pinned to her wedding dress the next day. In her will, Victoria designated the piece “an heirloom of the crown,” meaning that the piece should be worn by future queens. All four of the queens and queen consorts since—Queen Alexandria, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Elizabeth II—have gone on to wear it. The reigning British monarch’s daughter, Princess Anne, has also been known to sport a copy of the brooch.

It’s worth exploring the the various ways in which these pieces are passed down. As a general rule, royal jewels fall in to one of three categories. First, the royal collection includes some jewels, but it is mostly dedicated to art and art objects. The second category of gems is the crown jewels, which are “regalia used in ceremonies of state, like coronations,” per Kay. And the final category is the Queen’s personal collection. The first two are owned by the sovereign in a trust, and pass directly from monarch to monarch, while the latter is the Queen’s personal property. “I'd say the majority of her jewelry is part of her personal collection,” Kay explains. “That includes everything from the pearl earrings that she wears on a daily basis to her brooch collection and her tiaras, as well as the jewelry she inherited from Queen Mary and the Queen Mother.”

There is some mystery surrounding the provenance of Princess Anne’s copy of the brooch. As Vogue editor Suzy Menkes claims in her book The Royal Jewels, “The Princess Royal wears one of the copies of Queen Victoria's brooch that Prince Albert had made for his elder daughters. When one came on the market, the Queen bought it back for her own daughter.” But, as The Court Jeweller notes, official sources have never commented on the piece’s history, and Menkes’s claim remains unverified.

Prince Charles proposed to his first wife, Princess Diana, with this stunning ring. Even after their divorce, Diana continued to wear the piece, and in 2010, Prince William gave it as an engagement ring to his now-wife, Kate Middleton.

Despite the ring’s grandeur, it actually caused a bit of a scandal for being an off-the-shelf piece. Charles ordered it from the Garrard’s catalogue, and although the $60,000 price point ensured that it wouldn’t become too popular, members of the royal family were upset that it wasn’t bespoke. Princess Diana, however, wasn’t among the critics—she chose the ring herself. See an original sketch of Princess Diana’s engagement ring right here.

This headpiece was first created for Queen Elizabeth, the future Queen Mother, who wore it in a series of pictures used to publicize King George VI’s coronation in 1937. She styled it low across her forehead, whereas generations of royals wore it higher up.

Those later family members included Princess Margaret, to whom the headpiece was passed down. When Margaret’s son was set to marry, she lent the tiara to his fiancée Serena Stanhope for the wedding. Before she died, it seems that Margaret returned the piece to the royal family, as Kate Middleton has been spotted wearing it in recent years.

George VI gave his wife a diamond and pearl necklace in celebration of their wedding. It appears that it wasn’t to her taste, as she promptly had its components remade into the Lotus Flower Tiara.

Prince Albert (the future King Edward VII) gave his bride Princess Alexandra of Denmark a parure of jewelry as a wedding gift. Among the set was what came to be known as Queen Alexandra’s Wedding Necklace. The stunning piece was passed down to the Queen Mother, who wore it often until her death in 2002, after which it was passed on to Queen Elizabeth. The necklace was kept out of sight for several years, until Kate wore it to the Dutch state banquet in 2018.

The parure originally included a matching tiara, known as the Rundell Tiara, which is unfortunately no longer in existence. Per Order of Splendour, historian Hugh Roberts revealed in his 2012 book, The Queen’s Diamonds, that Queen Alexandra left the tiara to her daughter, Princess Victoria, who “disposed” of the sparkler.

The piece is best-known these days as Kate Middleton’s wedding tiara, but of course, there’s more to the heirloom’s story. The Cartier Halo Tiara was originally purchased by King George VI for his wife, Queen Elizabeth. She subsequently gave the piece to her daughter, then-Princess Elizabeth, as an 18th birthday gift. It was the current Queen who loaned Kate the tiara for her wedding to Prince William.

The headpiece is made of platinum, 739 brilliant-cut diamonds, and 149 baton diamonds. Its name comes from its shape (a halo) and its maker. George VI was said to be a great admirer of Cartier’s work.

King George VI gave his wife Queen Elizabeth this brooch to mark their 1939 state visit to Canada. Then-Princess Elizabeth was loaned the piece for her 1951 trip to Canada, but it stayed in the Queen Mother’s possession until her death—and she continued to wear it, even at age 100. Queen Elizabeth II subsequently inherited the piece, and has lent it to Camilla Parker-Bowles and Kate Middleton for their respective trips to Canada.

The piece was made by jeweller Asprey, according to The Court Jeweller. It’s made of diamonds set in platinum, and its distinctive, Canadian-inspired design pays tribute the Commonwealth country.

As its name suggests, Queen Mary was the first to own this piece after it was created in 1932. After Mary’s death, the tiara passed down to Queen Elizabeth II. Famously, the British monarch lent the Diamond Bandeau to Meghan Markle for her and Prince Harry’s wedding. “I was very fortunate to be able to chose this gorgeous Art Deco style bandeau tiara,” Markle revealed in an audio guide for an exhibition at Windsor Castle. She went on to disclose that selecting her wedding tiara was “an incredibly surreal day, as you can imagine.”

The tiara’s central jewel was originally a brooch, which Queen Mary received as a wedding present in 1893. Forty years later, the headpiece was designed specifically to feature the stunning brooch. The Diamond Bandeau consists of an 11-section flexible band, which holds both pavé and brilliant diamonds.