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Despite presumably having access to a dazzling vault of royal jewels, Kate Middleton had only been spotted in three tiaras until this week. The Princess of Wales, who has served as a senior royal since her wedding to Prince William in 2011, doesn’t often sport headpieces but has frequently reached for the Cambridge Lover’s Knot, a favourite of her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana, when the time calls. On a handful of occasions, she has also been known to wear the Lotus Flower tiara and famously wore the Cartier Halo tiara on her wedding day.
But at a state dinner at Buckingham Palace on November 21st, held in honour of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee, she dug out a rare piece of jewellery, one that most of the public would have never seen before: The Strathmore Rose Tiara.
The Strathmore Rose Tiara is named after the Queen Mother’s father, Lord Strathmore, who gifted the piece to his daughter for her wedding to the Duke of York (later King George VI) in 1923. It was initially purchased from London-based jewellers Catchpole & Williams.
Designed to resemble a garland of wild roses, the tiara features a central rose at its peak, flanked by leaves and two symmetrical flowers on each side. Sporadic diamonds cleverly mimic thorns.
Notably, the Strathmore Rose Tiara is a versatile piece that can be dismantled to form five floral brooches. According to The Queen’s Diamonds, an authorised account of the royal jewels by Sir Hugh Roberts, it “reflects the naturalistic style of head ornaments popular from the mid-19th century onwards.”
Queen Elizabeth II inherited the tiara upon her mother’s death in 2002. But it remained in the vault for almost a century, leading many to believe that it was maybe too damaged or fragile to be worn again. That is until the Princess of Wales dusted it off for the formal dinner.
For the event, the princess wore a dress by one of her favourite designers, Jenny Packham—a white dress with capped sleeves and gold embroidery. Upon her chest was her Family Order and her Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, an honour awarded to her in 2019 by Queen Elizabeth II for her services to the country. Middleton completed the look with a pair of long white evening gloves.
