Price of royal wedding tiaras worn by Meghan, Kate and Eugenie revealed - Mirror Online
When Princess Eugenie glided down the aisle of St George"s Chapel on her wedding day it was not only her dress that made her look every inch the perfect bride - but also her stunning diamond and emerald tiara.
It has been a long-held tradition in the Royal Family for brides to "borrow" a headpiece to wear on their big day.
Usually there is huge sentimental value behind it, and not to mention numerous dazzling jewels worth millions of pounds.
At Meghan and Harry"s Windsor Castle wedding in May, the now Duchess of Sussex stunned in a bandeau diamond tiara, made in 1932 for Queen Mary.
And on Kate Middleton"s wedding day on April 29 in 2011, she dazzled in a stunning Cartier Halo tiara.
Now Deborah Papas, a gemologist and jewellery expert from Prestige Pawnbrokers who found fame on Channel 4 show Posh Pawn, has revealed how much she thinks the three tiaras are worth.
The most expensive one - thought to be worth up to £10m - may surprise you.
Kate Middleton"s tiara - estimated price: £750,000 - £1,250,000
Kate Middleton"s tiara was loaned to her by the Queen and signified the time-honoured custom of wearing "something borrowed" on her wedding day on April 29, 2011 at Westminster Abbey.
It was made in 1936 for the Queen Mother by Cartier, from diamonds and platinum, before being passed to the Queen as a birthday present.
It features 149 baguette-cut diamonds as well as an astounding 739 brilliant cut diamonds of varying weights.
The Queen Mother, who was gifted the tiara by her husband, was only ever pictured wearing it once.
The tiara was later given to the Queen, then Princess Elizabeth, by her mother on her 18th birthday in 1944.
Her Majesty has not worn this piece very often, which used to be known as the Scroll tiara, but she did loan it to her sister Princess Margaret on several occasions.
It was made famous again in 2011, when Kate wore it for her wedding. Although it"s not the grandest of crowns from the royal jewellery vaults, it"s become iconic because of Kate.
Deborah told the Express: “It is very hard to estimate the value but as a Cartier piece, I would estimate it to be worth approximately £750,000 - £1,250,000.”
Meghan Markle"s tiara - estimated price: £2,000,000
The now Duchess of Sussex opted to style her glossy hair into a low chignon, and finished the look with a statement lace veil and a gorgeous English tiara for her wedding to Prince Harry on May 19, 2018 at Windsor Castle.
The veil was held in place by the bandeau diamond tiara, which was made in 1932 for Queen Mary.
The band was created with diamonds and platinum in 11 sections, and pierced with ovals. The centre of it is set with a detachable broach, dating from 1893, and is crafted with ten brilliant diamonds.
The brooch was given to the then-Princess Mary for her wedding to Prince George.
The beautiful piece was lent to Meghan by the Queen herself, who was left the bandeau and broach by Queen Mary in 1953.
It"s thought that this particular tiara hasn"t been seen since 1965, when Princess Margaret wore it.
Meghan previously said of the tiara: "When it came to the tiara on the day, I was very fortunate to be able to choose this gorgeous art deco style bandeau tiara.
"Harry and I had gone to Buckingham Palace to meet with Her Majesty The Queen to select one of the options that were there, which was an incredibly surreal day as you can imagine.
"And that [tiara] was one that, I think, as we tried them on, stood out..."
However it was claimed there was a row over the tiara.
An unnamed source told The Sun that Meghan wanted to wear an emerald-encrusted tiara, but the Queen said no.
The source said: "Meghan had her heart set on this tiara with emeralds and Prince Harry hit the roof when they were told it was impossible for her to wear it.
"There was a very heated exchange that prompted the Queen to speak to Harry. She said, "Meghan cannot have whatever she wants. She gets what tiara she"s given by me"".
Meanwhile, Deborah told the Express: "It is hard to put a value on this little seen piece but could be worth up to £2 million.
“It is set with a large brilliant cut (possibly old-cut) diamond estimated to be approximately 10 carats or more and surrounded by nine smaller brilliant-cut diamonds (but not so small at an estimated two to three carats each).
"There is a cluster either side also of seven round diamonds and an array of additional round brilliant-cut diamonds all over this 11 jointed art-deco piece.”
Princess Eugenie"s tiara - estimated price: £5,000,000 - £10,000,000
For her ceremony at St George"s Chapel in Windsor Castle on October 12, 2018, Eugenie opted to wear The Greville Emerald Kokoshnik tiara, owned by the Queen.
The stunning item was made by Boucheron for Margaret Greville in 1919 in a style popularised by the Russian Imperial Court.
Mrs Greville was a close friend of Queen Mary and before her death, she bequeathed all her jewels to The Queen Mother, including a diamond necklace thought once to have belonged to Marie Antoinette, a pair of diamond chandelier earrings, a ruby necklace and the tiara.
For her special day, Eugenie also wore a pair of diamond and emerald drop earrings, which while being a beautiful match for the tiara, were actually a gift from her husband Jack.
The 28-year-old wore the tiara sans veil, with her wedding gown featuring a v-shaped back which showed the scars from the life-changing spinal surgery she underwent as a child.
The Queen"s granddaughter specifically requested a low back on her custom-made gown by Peter Pilotto to show the scar.
Deborah said: “In keeping with the fashion of the time, this tiara was designed in the Russian headdress style, made of finely pierced platinum, which was kept delicately simple, although intricate in detail, to show off the main stone.
“Accompanying the centre emerald are matching old step-cut emeralds, as well as ample pave set brilliant and rose cut diamonds.
“This piece is certainly exquisite; the centre emerald has a wonderfully vivid colour and large size, something which is rare to find these days.
“With such strong historical provenance, from Mrs Greville to the Queen Mother, and now the Queen, an elegant jewel such as this would be estimated to fetch in the region of £5-10 million at auction.”
Source: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/price-royal-wedding-tiaras-worn-13868417
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