Royal Collection Wiki

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Echoing the story of the Emerald Greville Tiara worn by Princess Eugenie of York, Queen Mary's Bandeau Tiara never saw the light of day until 2018. Elizabeth II loaned this obscure treasure to Meghan Markle for the royal wedding on 19 May. The Royal Collection describes the tiara as on a "flexible band" of diamonds set in a "geometric design."[1] It was specifically designed for Queen Mary in 1932 to accommodate one of her brooches, which forms the detachable[1] centerpiece. That brooch had been given to her in 1893 as a wedding gift from the County of Lincoln.[1] There seems to be one, very grainy picture of Queen Mary wearing what might be the same tiara.[2][3] It has been suggested that Queen Mary wore it to the "less formal" events in her social schedule, such as "gala performances," but it was certainly never worn after her death in 1953, until, that is, 2018.[4] The day of the Sussex royal wedding, the Royal Watcher blog identified the tiara in tweets, calling it Queen Mary's "filgree" tiara.[5] The same blogger speculates that it is the same tiara that was worn by Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent at a ball celebrating the Silver Jubilee of King George V in 1935.[6]

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