wedding tiaras

20th November 1947

Another 'behind the scenes' story – the princess's jewellery and accessories.

The Fringe Tiara
This tiara, which can also be worn as a necklace was made for Queen Mary in 1919. It’s not, as has sometimes been claimed, made with diamonds that had belonged to George III but re-uses diamonds taken from a necklace/tiara purchased by Queen Victoria from Collingwood & Co as a wedding present for the then Princess May of Teck, later Queen Mary in 1893. In August 1936 Queen Mary gave the tiara to Queen Elizabeth, from whom it was borrowed by Princess Elizabeth for her wedding in 1947. wedding tiaras

The Duchess of Teck’s earrings
These earrings, which originally belonged to Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester, were bequeathed to her niece Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck and by her to her daughter, the future Queen Mary, in 1897. They were given by the Queen to her granddaughter Princess Elizabeth on 31st January 1947, and she wore them at her wedding later that year.

The Necklaces
The shorter of her two pearl necklaces was the ‘Queen Anne’ necklace, said to have belonged to Anne, the last Stuart Queen. The longer ‘Queen Caroline’ necklace was said to have belonged to the wife of King George II. Both were left to the Crown by Queen Victoria and were given to Elizabeth as a wedding present by her father, King George VI.

Footwear
On her feet were ivory satin-draped sandals that had higher heels than she had ever worn before. The open-toe back and side effect was finished off with a silver buckle studded with small pearls.

(Courtesy of unofficialroyalty.com and blog.hellomagazine.com with editing and addition)

Photos - Top right - a close up of the Princess, showing the jewellery, top right - the earrings, bottom left - the tiara, middle right - the pearl necklaces, bottom right - the sandals