The amazing Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara
Elizabeth II's first tiara was a wedding present in 1947 from her grandmother,
Queen Mary, who received it as a gift from the Girls of Great Britain and
Ireland in 1893 on the occasion of her marriage to the
Duke of York, later George V.
Made by E. Wolfe & Co., it was purchased from Garrard & Co. by a committee
organised by Lady Eve Greville.
In 1914, Mary adapted the tiara to take 13 diamonds in place of the large
oriental pearls surmounting the tiara. Leslie Field, author of The Queen's Jewels,
described it as, "a festoon-and-scroll with nine large oriental pearls on
diamond spikes and set on a base of alternate round and lozenge collets
between two plain bands of diamonds".
At first, Elizabeth wore the tiara without its base and pearls but the
base was reattached in 1969.
The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara is one of Elizabeth's most
recognisable pieces of jewellery due to its widespread appearance in
portraits of the monarch on British banknotes and coinage.
Although I liked the hats during the jubilee celebrations, I missed some royal
bling. I hope there will be other tiara occasions soon.
The new tiara Princess Elisabeth of Belgium wore at the B-Day party of
Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway had some striking similarities with
The Queen's Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara.
Source picture: Book covers
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