The Duchess of Cambridge was spotted wearing the Cambridge Lover’s Knot tiara, one of Diana’s signature pieces, last night to the annual Diplomatic Reception held at Buckingham Palace.
The Cambridge Lover’s Knot Tiara was commissioned by Queen Mary in 1913 from Garrard using pearls and diamonds already in her possession and based on a tiara worn by her grandmother, Princess Augusta of Hesse-Casse.
After Queen Mary’s death in 1953, the tiara was passed on to the Queen, who wore it in the early years of her reign, but moved on to other tiaras. The Queen then gifted it to Diana as a wedding present, making it one of her go-to tiaras. She first wore it at the 1981 State Opening of Parliament. After her divorce from Prince Charles in 1996, the tiara was returned to the Queen and hadn’t been worn in public until last night.
It is only the second time Catherine has attended the Diplomatic Reception, having attended in 2013.
The white-tie event is held every year in either November or December as a way for the Queen to meet with her diplomatic corps of 160 people. Also invited are ambassadors, high commissioners, foreign diplomats from around the world, and senior leaders in various British sectors.
Prior to this outing, the Duchess had only been seen wearing a tiara three times in public.
At her 2011 wedding, she wore the Halo Scroll tiara, created by Cartier for the future Queen Mother. The Queen has never been pictured wearing the tiara, but it graced the heads of Princess Margaret and Princess Anne many times.
At the Duchess’s first Diplomatic Reception appearance in 2013, she wore the Lotus Flower tiara, another piece most commonly identified with the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret.
She again wore the Lotus Flower tiara to her first State Banquet earlier this fall, on 20 October, accentuating the delicate diamond-encrusted piece with a resplendent red Jenny Packham gown. The State Banquet was held in honour of President Xi Jinping of China.
Untrue – if this is the tiara of tear-drop pearls with diamond bows above and round diamonds dotting the crown, Camilla wore it several times before Catherine.