The Queen traditionally lends royal brides a tiara from her collection on their wedding days, and for many royal women, this will mark the first time they wear a tiara publicly. But after marriage, royal women are permitted to wear tiaras for formal state events or banquets when representing the Queen, and the monarch will often loan a diadem to a royal on a long-term basis.
Kate, Duchess of Cambridge wore her first tiara on her wedding day in 2011, opting for the demure Cartier Halo Tiara.
The Duchess has since worn a tiara on several occasions, just as Princess Diana did during the course of her 15-year marriage to Prince Charles.
But some royals have only ever publicly worn a tiara once, including the Queen’s granddaughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, and the monarch’s granddaughter-in-law Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex.
As non-working royals, Meghan, Beatrice and Eugenie are not required to attend the state occasions where tiaras are commonplace, which means they’ve only had one dazzling tiara moment each.
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Meghan Markle
Meghan wore her first and only tiara to date in 2018 when she married Prince Harry at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.
The tiara in question was Queen Mary’s Bandeau Tiara, a diamond-encrusted piece that previously belonged to the Queen’s grandmother, Queen Mary.
In a personal recording for the Windsor exhibition of her wedding outfit, Meghan said: “When it came to the tiara on the day, I was very fortunate to be able to choose this gorgeous Art Deco style bandeau tiara.
“Harry and I had gone to Buckingham Palace to meet with her Majesty the Queen to select one of the options that were there which was an incredibly surreal day as you can imagine.”
Meghan may have had further opportunities to wear a tiara after her marriage, but she and Harry quit as working royals in early 2020.
Princess Beatrice
Princess Beatrice also wore her first tiara on her wedding day in 2020, which took place during the UK Covid lockdown on a small scale.
Beatrice wore Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara, a poignant choice given it was also the tiara the Queen had worn during her 1947 wedding to Prince Philip.
While Beatrice may not wear one of the Queen’s tiaras publicly again, she may one day inherit the York Tiara that was gifted to her mother Sarah Ferguson to mark her 1986 wedding.