It’s been a while since a member of the British royal family last wore a tiara. The unmissable opportunity for Kate Middleton to dust off the precious diadem could be this summer, during Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte’s official visit to the United Kingdom.
The prediction is from Tatler magazine, which recalls how state visits are generally accompanied by banquets during which jeweled headdresses can be worn (after 5 p.m., except for royal weddings). Therefore, if the king and queen decide to organize such a ceremony in honor of their French guests between July 8 and 10, this would most likely offer the women of the royal family the opportunity to choose their favorite tiara for the occasion.
It will be the first state visit to Britain for the French presidential couple, who, unlike tradition, will not be staying at Buckingham Palace. In November last year, it was announced that visiting dignitaries of state would stay at Windsor Castle, while the London palace is undergoing renovation. Numerous state banquets have been held at Windsor: Queen Elizabeth II hosted many and Queen Camilla wore the kokoshnik diamond tiara for the Qatar banquet last year. It is possible that the Princess of Wales is more inclined to wear her royal clothes and jewels, considering how close to home the potential reception might be held.
But what jewels might Kate choose to wear? Probably the Lover’s Knot, writes Tatler. Of the 14 occasions Kate has worn the tiara, the royal has placed this pearl heirloom on her head nine times. It is a favorite of the Princess of Wales, of great sentimental value to both her and Prince William. Princess Diana, in fact, also appreciated this jewel, created in 1914 by the House of Garrard for Queen Mary, who was inspired by a similar headdress owned by her grandmother, Princess Augusta of Hesse.
After Queen Mary’s death in 1953, the Lover’s Knot was inherited by her granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II. After wearing the tiara throughout the 1950s, the late queen is said to have given it to Princess Diana as a wedding gift in 1981. In a rather iconoclastic decision, the late Princess of Wales chose instead to wear the Spencer tiara, which had belonged to her family for decades. Diana, however, was soon closely associated with the Lover’s Knot, despite it being so heavy to wear that it is said to have given her headaches.
Shortly after marrying then-Prince Charles, Princess Diana wore the Lover’s Knot to the opening of parliament in 1981, pairing it with a white dress and dangling pearl earrings during a state banquet during her tour of Canada in 1983. Three years later, in 1986, the late princess wore the jewel for a dinner with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. Perhaps her most iconic moment with the tiara was during a trip to Hong Kong in 1989, when she wore it with her Catherine Walker dress that became known as the “Elvis dress.”
After Princess Diana’s divorce from Prince Charles in 1996, she is said to have returned the tiara to Queen Elizabeth, who kept it in the vaults of Buckingham Palace. And there it remained, gathering dust for nearly 20 years, until Catherine, then Duchess of Cambridge, wore it for the first time at the 2015 annual diplomatic reception at Buckingham Palace.
—Adnkronos International, Rome (TNS)
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