Embed from Getty Images
Well, the Queen opened her vaults and picked out a tiara to lend to Camilla, and what a tiara! The Delhi Durbar tiara has been seen only a handful of times: the Queen Mother wore it in 1947 during a tour of South Africa, and in 1998, it was displayed at Christie's in aid of charity.
The circlet was made by Garrards, especially for Queen Mary during the Delhi Durbar on December 12,1911 - hence its name. Durbar is Hindi, for a 'ceremonial gathering to pay homage'. The gathering was to install King George V and Queen Mary as Emperor and Empress of India. King George V admired this piece and referred to it as "May's best tiara".
It was originally worn with detachable emerald drops and at the Durbar, Queen Mary wore it over a crimson velvet cap. According to the book Tiara's A History of Splendor by Geoffrey Munn, it is designed as a:
'graduated frieze of lyres and forget-me-not leaves and flowers, emblematic of harmony and love, it once supported not only the Cambridge emeralds but also the third and fourth cleavings of the famous Cullinan diamond. The cushion shaped stone of 62 carats was secured by a wire at the highest point of the jewel and the drop-shaped stone weighing 92 carats hung in the oval aperture below.'
The Cullinan III and IV diamonds are known as the Lesser Stars of Africa, they are the most valuable items owned by the Queen, who refers to them as 'Granny's Chips'. These diamonds are no longer in the Delhi Durbar, but are now set in a brooch, whch is rarely worn by the Queen. Queen Mary's Delhi Durbar crown latterly belonged to the Queen Mother, but upon her death it went into the private collection of the Queen.
© Marilyn Braun
Thank you for enjoying this article. If you use the information for research purposes, a link to credit the work I've put into writing it would be appreciated.
References:
Tiaras - A History of Splendor by Geoffrey C. Munn
Tiaras Past and Present by Geoffrey C. Munn
Queens' Jewels by Vincent Meylan
The Royal Jewels by Suzy Menkes
The Queen's Jewels by Leslie Field
Photo of the Delhi Durbar tiara from: Tiaras - A History of Splendor by Geoffrey C. Munn
Contact Form
Featured Post
If being royal is so extraordinary, why do the royals want to be ordinary?
Being royal is clearly not all it is cracked up to be. Gilt here and there. Liveried footmen abound. Church bells ring on your birthday. Red...
Search This Blog
Popular Posts
-
Periodically you will see a variation of this question in media articles, usually when there's no news to report. However, by asking thi...
-
Now that Catherine has been a member of the Royal family for close to five months, the real work is set to begin. After all, there's m...
-
View image | gettyimages.com When Lady Diana Spencer married Prince Charles in 1981, the Spencer's - one of England's preeminent ...
-
The final arrival in the royal marriage race that began with the death of Princess Charlotte in 1817, she was a first cousin of Queen Victor...
-
Based on the title it would be easy to dismiss this book as yet another attempt to reincarnate Diana. Other books have tried and, in my opin...
-
I have already written a blog post about what Baby Boy Cambridge will be called , . Apparently William and Kate did not read it, choosing a ...
-
Fresh off my post encouraging Catherine to develop her royal role sooner rather than later, imagine my chagrin when discovering an article i...
-
I don't know if you've noticed but lately there's been a lag in royal news. Queen Beatrix's abdication just serves as a remi...
Blog Archive
-
▼
2005
(87)
-
▼
October
(11)
- Question - How can I please everyone?
- Camilla's tiara: The Delhi Durbar
- Camilla's night to shine
- Prince William's stripes
- Royal Profile: King Olav V of Norway
- Royal Reality
- More Royal Trivia
- Wanted: A job writing about royalty
- Royal Profile: Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent
- Why I love the Internet
- My Favourite Royal
-
▼
October
(11)
No comments:
Post a Comment