The Duchess of Sussex and Queen Mary’s Diamond Bandeau Tiara

The Duchess of Sussex wearing Queen Mary's Diamond Bandeau Tiara on her wedding day. Image: Popsugar
One of the many highlights of the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex was the surprise appearance of Queen Mary's Diamond Bandeau Tiara. From a distance, it doesn't look as eye popping as other tiaras in Her Majesty's collection, but a closer look will reveal that it is actually a stunner!

Meghan Markle selected this little-known piece to wear on her wedding day. It features a brilliant floral-shaped suspended brooch in the center made of a large round diamond surrounded by nine smaller circular diamonds.

The tiara was commissioned by Queen Mary in 1932 to fit the detachable brooch, which was given to her in 1893 as a gift by Lincoln County. According to the Order of Sartorial Splendor, this English-made jewel was “crafted from large and small brilliant diamonds pavé-set in platinum, in a design pierced with interlaced ovals. There are 11 different sections to the structure, giving the bandeau flexibility.” There are also clusters of seven larger diamonds to each side, resembling the basic design of the central brooch.




When Queen Mary died in 1953, the bandeau and the brooch, together with most  of her fabulous jewelry collection, were passed on to Queen Elizabeth II.

Queen Mary’s Diamond Bandeau Tiara is just one of the many bandeau tiaras in her collection, which came into her possession between the 1920s and 1930s. In fact, it is easy to confuse one with the other although the designs are clearly different. The other bandeau tiaras  in her collection include Marie Feodorovna’s Sapphire Bandeau, last worn by Princess Margaret and looks almost exactly like the Diamond Bandeau Tiara. Another bandeau was used as a base for emeralds borrowed from the Grand Duchess Vladimir Tiara and left to the Kent branch of the. There is also Queen Mary’s Lozenge Bandeau, which served as a base for the pearls taken from her Lover’s Knot Tiara. Princess Margaret was seen wearing the tiara without the pearls.

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