The Lotus Flower Tiara

The Lotus Flower Tiara

This tiara, also referred to as the Papyrus Leaf Tiara, originally belonged to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. The Queen Mother gave it to Princess Margaret, who wore it often and also loaned it to her daughter-in-law, Viscountess Linley, as a wedding tiara. Following Princess Margaret's 2002 death, the tiara made its way into The Queen's collection. The Duchess of Cambridge borrowed it for her first tiara event after her wedding, and has worn it again since.

Read more at Order of Splendor.

Appearances:
20 October 2015: State Visit from China, State Banquet
3 December 2013: Diplomatic Reception
1960: State Visit from France (on Princess Margaret)

The Cartier Halo Tiara

The Cartier Halo Tiara

Another tiara known by several names (mainly as the Scroll Tiara, prior to 2011; the Halo Tiara, Cartier Halo Tiara, or Queen Elizabeth's Halo Tiara since then; I have also written about it as the Halo Scroll Tiara), this was made by Cartier in 1936 from diamonds and platinum. It was given by The Duke of York to The Duchess of York shortly before they became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. It doesn't seem to have been worn very often by her; she favored larger pieces as queen.

As shown in the Cartier archives

The Cartier tiara was given to Princess Elizabeth as an 18th birthday gift in 1944, another wartime birthday "re-gift". I suspect this may have been The Queen's first tiara, but (to my knowledge) she has never been pictured wearing it. By the time she started wearing tiaras in public, she was married and had more options at her disposal. She loaned it to Princess Margaret and Princess Anne, who both used it as young women. They both stopped borrowing the tiara as their own collections grew.

Video: The tiara sparkles at The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding

After a few decades in the vault, The Queen loaned the Halo Tiara to Catherine Middleton for her wedding to Prince William in 2011. As of this writing, we have not seen The Duchess of Cambridge wear the tiara again. It was on loan to a Cartier exhibit in France when it came time for her first post-wedding tiara appearance, so she moved on to the Lotus Flower Tiara and then on to the Cambridge Lover's Knot Tiara.  The Duchess' wedding earrings, diamond gifts from her parents that match this tiara, have also not been seen publicly since the wedding.

Read more about the tiara here, in my original post at Order of Splendor.

Photos: Royal Collection/Queen Elizabeth II, Cartier Archives