All About Royal Families

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 bank

The  House of Mecklenburg The House of Mecklenburg is a North German dynasty of Slavic origin which ruled until 1918 in the Mecklenburg region. This was one of the longest-ruling families of Europe.  History The family was established by Pribislav, a Slavic prince who converted to Christianity and accepted the suzerainty of Saxon Duke Henri the Lion. The main branch of the house was elevated in 1347 to ducal rank. In the family there were several branches: - Duchy of Mecklenburg; - Lordship of Rostock; - Principality of Schwerin; - County of Schwerin; - Principality of Ratzenburg; - Lordship of Stargard; - Principality of Wenden. Titles and claims to the thrones Sweden The Dukes of Mecklenburg pursued from the 14th. century a claim to  the Swedish throne. The Duke of Mecklenburg was a descendant and the heir of two women whom legends tied to Scandinavian royal houses: * Christina, who was the wife of Henry Borwin II, Lord of Mecklenburg; * Marianna, who was the wife of duke Barnim I of