Discover the history behind some of the most famous royal tiaras.
Nothing is more synonymous with princesses and queens than a glittery tiara. Royal women from around the world have been wearing the regal headpieces — which are typically adorned with diamonds, pearls and gemstones — for centuries as a way of signaling their elevated social status and affluence.
Over the years, tiaras have evolved to reflect the tastes and trends of the time, from Russian kokoshnik styles to Art Deco bandeaux.
Unlike crowns — which are symbolic headgear used for coronations and other official ceremonial events — tiaras are considered jewelry. From the 18th century onwards they were often included as part of a parure also featuring pieces such as earrings and a necklace.
While customs vary from country to country, British royals typically begin wearing tiaras once they are brides or married. The late Queen Elizabeth II is believed to have had about 50 tiaras in her massive jewelry collection and she liked to lend and gift them to her family members on their wedding day.
The Windsors aren’t the only royal family with some impressive tiaras in the vault, however. Here’s a look at some of the world’s most famous diadems — and the fascinating history behind them.
Vladimir Tiara
Originally made for the Grand duch*ess Vladimir of Russia in 1874 by court jeweler Bolin, the Vladimir Tiara was smuggled out of the country following the assassination of Tsar Nicholas II and his family in 1918 amid the revolution. British antiques dealer and Romanov family friend Albert “Bertie” Stopford made a daring raid to retrieve a collection of more than 200 jewels from the duch*ess’ secret safe in Vladimir Palace and brought them to England.
After the duch*ess’ death, Grand duch*ess Elena Vladimirovna sold her mother’s jewel collection, including the Vladimir Tiara, which was purchased by England’s Queen Mary in 1921, according to the Royal Collection Trust. Mary had the diadem — which features interlocking diamond circles and large drop pearls — altered by Garrard to feature 15 of her own pendant emeralds. Queen Elizabeth II later inherited the tiara in her coronation year of 1953, and it would become one of her favorite pieces. She wore it numerous times with its original pearl drops, with the pendant emeralds and without any drop stones.
Lover’s Knot Tiara
Originally commissioned from Garrard for England’s Queen Mary in 1913, the glittery Lover’s Knot Tiara — which features diamonds and 19 hanging pearls of graduated size — became part of Queen Elizabeth II’s expansive jewel collection during her 70-year reign. Elizabeth wore the piece for many years, before gifting it to her daughter-in-law Princess Diana in 1981.
Diana topped her signature short hairstyle with the tiara numerous times during her tenure as a royal, but the piece was later returned to the palace vault following her 1996 divorce from Prince Charles. Nearly 20 years later, Kate Middleton wore the Lover’s Knot headpiece for the first time at a diplomatic reception in 2015. Among the many British royal tiaras, it’s been a go-to piece for her ever since.
Cartier Halo Tiara
The Cartier Halo Tiara is perhaps one of the most famous of the British royals’ collection of more than 50 tiaras, thanks to Kate Middleton, who wore it for her April 2011 wedding to Prince William. King George VI first purchased the tiara in 1936 for his wife, the Queen Mother. The classic piece is detailed with a band of 16 graduated scrolls, set with 739 brilliant-cut and 149 baguette diamonds.
Queen Elizabeth II was later given the timeless headpiece as an 18th birthday present in 1944, but never wore it publicly. She did, however, lend it to several family members including her sister, Princess Margaret, and daughter, Princess Anne, who last wore it in the 1970s. When Princess Kate walked down the aisle at Westminster Abbey wearing the tiara, it was the first time it had been seen publicly in decades.
Baden Fringe Tiara
This geometric sparkler, one of the more well-known pieces in the Swedish royal family’s collection, traces its history back to the late 19th century. Princess Victoria of Baden received the tiara as a wedding gift from her parents, Grand Duke Friedrich I and Grand duch*ess Louise of Baden, when she married the future King Gustav V of Sweden.
In a unique feature, the tiara’s string of 47 diamond sunrays detaches from the frame, allowing it to be worn as a necklace, as seen in Victoria’s wedding day portrait. During her reign as queen, Victoria also occasionally sported the fringe piece as an ornament on the bodice of her dress.
Over the years, the Baden Fringe has been seen on many Swedish royals, though most recently, it’s become synonymous with Crown Princess Victoria, who has worn the piece to numerous events including state dinners, royal weddings and the 2019 Nobel Prize award ceremony banquet.
Braganza Tiara
The Braganza Tiara is one of the more spectacular pieces in the Swedish royal family’s vault. It originally belonged to Princess Amélie of Leuchtenberg, the second wife of Emperor Pedro I of Brazil. Upon her death, Amélie’s sister, Queen Josefina of Sweden, inherited the weighty tiara, which features an elaborate design of intertwining flowers and leaves.
Since her 1976 marriage to King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia has worn the Braganza Tiara many times, mostly for special occasions such as her children’s weddings, birthday celebrations and important state banquets.
Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara
Modern royal fans will recognize the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara as the striking headpiece worn by Princess Eugenie when she married Jack Brooksbank in October 2018. Made by Parisian jeweler Boucheron for British philanthropist Margaret Greville in 1919, the tiara is designed in the kokoshnik — or headdress —style popularized in the Russian imperial court. It’s made of brilliant- and rose-cut diamonds pavé set in platinum, with one large 93.7-carat emerald in the center and six smaller faceted emeralds on the sides.
Margaret Greville, who died in 1942, bequeathed the tiara, among other jewels, to Queen Elizabeth (later known as the Queen Mother). The Queen Mother passed the diadem down to her daughter, then-Princess Elizabeth, who lent the tiara to her granddaughter Eugenie for her wedding day.
Nine Provinces Tiara
One of the rare remaining tiaras belonging to the Belgian royal family, the Nine Provinces Tiara
showcases a unique Art Deco-inspired design featuring interlocking diamond arches over a series of nine Antwerp-cut diamonds from the colony of Congo. Each stone represents the nine provinces of Belgium at the time.
The tiara — made in 1926 by Van Bever — was a gift to Princess Astrid of Sweden upon her marriage to the future King Leopold III on behalf of the people of Belgium. Following Astrid’s death in 1935, Queen Fabiola became the next Belgian queen to wear the piece, for major events including her 1960 wedding, a 1963 royal state visit to England and a visit to the Vatican in Rome in 1961. The tiara next passed to Queen Paola, and then to its current owner, Queen Mathilde, who wears different configurations of the versatile piece depending on the occasion.
Meiji Tiara
One of the most recognizable Western-style jewels in Japan’s imperial collection, the Meiji Tiara dates back to the reign of Emperor Meiji in the 19th century. First worn by his consort, Empress Haruko, the glittery piece features a diamond scroll design and can be worn with two different sets of toppers — large round diamonds or diamond stars.
Over its more than 100-year history, the tiara has been worn by a succession of empresses, the latest of whom is Empress Masako, whose husband, Emperor Naruhito, acceded in 2019. That year, she debuted the tiara at Naruhito’s enthronement ceremonies and later at an enthronement banquet.
Queen Mary’s Bandeau Tiara
When Meghan Markle wore the Queen Mary’s Bandeau Tiara to hold her veil in place on her May 2018 wedding day, it was the first time the headpiece had come out of the British royal family’s vault in more than 60 years. The tiara features a band of 11 sections, pavé set with brilliant-cut diamonds in a geometric pattern.
The diamond and platinum bandeau piece was made by Garrard in 1932 for Queen Elizabeth II’s grandmother, Queen Mary, to accommodate a detachable center brooch featuring a large collet-set diamond surrounded by nine smaller brilliant-cut stones. The brooch was originally a gift for the then-Princess Mary from the County of Lincoln upon her 1893 marriage to the future King George V. Queen Mary bequeathed the bandeau and brooch to Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
Greek Ruby Parure Tiara
Featuring a design reminiscent of a laurel wreath, the Ruby Parure Tiara is one of the Greek royal family’s most dazzling pieces. It traces its history back to Queen Olga, whose husband, King George I, bought her a rare pigeon-blood red ruby every year on their wedding anniversary. The gemstones were eventually used in a set of jewelry pieces that included a tiara featuring diamond olive leaves and ruby clusters emblematic of ancient Greece.
After Queen Olga’s death in 1926, the ruby parure passed to her second son, Prince Nicholas, and his wife, Grand duch*ess Elena Vladimirovna, who often loaned the jewelry to her three daughters. Elena then gave the ruby set to King Paul of Greece, whose wife, Queen Frederica, wore the tiara for several state visits and weddings. The parure was later presented to Queen Anne-Marie as a wedding gift, and she has since worn the tiara on countless occasions.
Belgian Sapphire Tiara
Ten years after she took the throne, Queen Elizabeth II purchased a 19th-century sapphire necklace — which once belonged to Princess Louise of Belgium — and had it set on a frame to be worn as a tiara. The piece was meant to complete a set of sapphire jewelry (pendant earrings and a choker necklace) given to Elizabeth as a wedding present in 1947 from her father, King George VI.
The Queen, who was known to have an affinity for the color blue, wore the tiara frequently up until the 1990s, but then the piece was not seen publicly again until 2015. That year, Elizabeth brought it back out of the royal vault for a state visit from President Xi Jinping of China and his wife, Peng Liyuan. In November 2022, just months after Elizabeth’s death, Queen Camilla chose the Belgian Sapphire Tiara, as her first tiara in her new royal role, to attend a state banquet at Buckingham Palace welcoming South African president Cyril Ramaphosa.
Lotus Flower Tiara
The Queen Mother had the Lotus Flower Tiara made in 1923 from a diamond-and-pearl necklace she received as a wedding gift from her husband, King George VI. The Art Deco-style piece, which is detailed with diamond festoons and pearl toppers, was later given to Princess Margaret ahead of her 1960 wedding to Antony Armstrong-Jones. Along with the Poltimore Tiara, it would become one of Margaret’s favorites.
Margaret loaned the piece to her daughter-in-law, Serena Stanhope, for her wedding to her only son, Viscount Linley, in 1993. The tiara wasn’t seen again publicly until 2013, when Kate Middleton made a surprise appearance wearing it to a formal diplomatic reception. The Princess of Wales has since worn the tiara several more times, including to a 2022 reception for members of the Diplomatic Corps at Buckingham Palace.
Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara
Created by Garrard for England’s Queen Mary in 1919, the Fringe Tiara has been worn by five generations of the British royal family. The Russian-pattern diadem features a halo style with “47 tapering bars of brilliant-cut and rose-cut diamonds alternated with smaller spikes of lozenge-set diamonds,” according to the jeweler.
The piece’s timeless design has made it a popular choice for royal weddings. The late Queen Elizabeth II wore it for her 1947 nuptials to Prince Philip. Her daughter, Princess Anne, chose it for her 1973 wedding to Mark Phillips, and Elizabeth’s granddaughter Princess Beatrice wore the piece as her “something borrowed” when she married Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in July 2020.
Queen Sophie’s Diamond Tiara
Greece’s Queen Sophie first owned this impressive diamond tiara, distinguished by its blend of traditional and modern styles. The design features large, rectangular stones amid an intricate floral motif. After Queen Sophie’s 1932 death, the piece passed to her daughter Princess Helen, who married the crown prince of Romania, and then to Helen’s daughter-in-law Princess Federica of Hanover, who became queen of Greece in 1947 as the wife of King Paul.
Frederica wore the tiara on her wedding day in 1938 and throughout her time as queen, but the piece was not seen publicly for decades after the Greek monarchy was deposed in 1973. In 2012, the tiara made a surprise reappearance worn by Marie-Chantal, wife of Crown Prince Pavlos, at a banquet in celebration of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark’s ruby jubilee.
Fleur-de-Lis Tiara
Created in 1906 by Spanish court jeweler Ansorena as a wedding gift from King Alfonso XIII to Queen Ena, the Fleur-de-Lis Tiara features large fleu-de-lis motifs on the front and sides — representing the House of Bourbon — mounted on platinum. Queen Ena wore the diadem throughout her life, bringing it with her when the Spanish royal family went into exile in 1931.
Her will included a codicil that the tiara, along with a collection of other jewels, would be passed down from monarch to monarch. When General Franco restored the monarchy upon his death in 1975, Queen Ena’s grandson became King Juan Carlos I, and his wife, Queen Sofia, began wearing the Fleur-de-Lis Tiara. After Juan Carlos abdicated in 2014 in favor of their son, King Felipe VI, the tiara was passed down to Queen Letizia.
Over the past decade, Queen Letizia has worn the striking piece for some of the grandest royal occasions including a 2017 state banquet at Buckingham Palace, the Japanese imperial enthronement in 2019 and a new set of Spanish royal portraits released in 2020.
Stuart Tiara
The Stuart Tiara has the distinction of featuring one of the rarest diamonds of any royal collection: the Stuart diamond, weighing nearly 40 carats. The blue-green pear-shaped stone was first purchased by Queen Mary II of England and King William III in 1690 and originally set in a brooch. It was later placed in a tiara in 1897, and Queen Wilhelmina wore the piece for her investiture the following year.
Since then, various members of the Dutch royal family have worn the tiara in different configurations including Queen Juliana and Queen Máxima. Most notably, Queen Máxima showcased it at a 2018 state dinner at Britain’s Buckingham Palace in a nod to the diamond’s history.
Arabic Scroll Tiara
One of the most unique pieces in Queen Rania of Jordan’s jewelry collection, the Arabic Scroll Tiara — made by Yan Sicard for FRED in 2005 — was reportedly a gift from the royal’s husband, King Abdullah II. The stunning platinum and diamond piece is detailed with scrolling featuring the words, “Allah is great,” in Arabic.
Over the years, Queen Rania has pulled the tiara out for special occasions, including a 2006 banquet at The Hague during a state visit to the Netherlands. She also wore the glittery piece to her son Crown Prince Hussein’s June 2023 wedding to Princess Rajwa, pairing it with a cream Elie Saab cape gown.
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