Royal tiaras: Which of Queen Elizabeth's tiaras is her favourite? The surprising history
QUEEN ELIZABETH II has many royal tiaras in her possession, but there is one tiara the monarch is seen wearing the most. So which of the Queen's many tiaras is her favourite?
Grand Duchess Vladimir tiara: Expert on Queen’s 'favourite'
Collected over many centuries by past members of the Royal Family, the Queen has inherited a wealth of royal jewels. As well as being worn by the monarch herself, the Queen’s tiaras are often lent to other members of the Royal Family at events such as royal weddings or official engagements. Despite her enviably large collection of tiaras, the Queen is said to favour one tiara above all of the rest.
Repeatedly throughout her reign, the Queen has been seen wearing the Vladimir Tiara on state occasions and visits abroad.
But the Vladimir Tiara has a very interesting history, starting its journey as a royal diadem in Russia.
Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a German Princess, who married into the Romanov family in 1874.
Following her marriage, Marie became known as Grand Duchess Vladimir.
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The Russian imperial court jeweler Bolin made a tiara for the newly titled Grand Duchess, which consisted of a complicated pattern of diamonds and pearls, and Marie wore the style on various occasions
But after the Russian Revolution struck in 1917, Marie fled the Vladimir Palace, leaving her tiara and other jewels behind.
A British officer later crept into the palace in disguise, and took the jewels safely out of Russia over to London.
Grand Duchess Vladimir’s son, Grand Duke Boris, was living in London in exile at the time.
Queen Elizabeth’s grandmother and wife of King George V, Queen Mary, later bought the tiara.
Queen Mary made some amendments to the tiara, and to this day various parts of the tiara can be removed, such as the pearls and parts of the tiara’s structure.
Nowadays the current Queen Elizabeth is frequently seen wearing the tiara in public.
On some occasions she has been spotted wearing the tiara with pearl drops, sometimes with emeralds, but also sometimes without any added jewels at all.
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Along with the Vladimir Tiara, other royal tiaras have become synonymous with the Queen throughout her reign.
The Queen is often seen wearing the George IV State Diadem Tiara while completing official engagements, such as on the way to the State Opening of Parliament.
The tiara features a double band of pearls, along with an intertwined bouquet of flowers.
The flowers include an English rose, a Scottish thistle and an Irish shamrock.
The sight of the Queen wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara is also very common.
The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara is the tiara the Queen wears in her portrait on stamps.
The tiara was designed by royal jeweller Garrard, who also designed the engagement ring of Diana, Princess of Wales.
The tiara was a wedding present to Queen Mary from the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland society, who fundraised to have the tiara commissioned at the time.