Kate Middleton Has Only Worn Four Different Tiaras in Her 13 Years as a Working Royal: Learn More About Each Sparkler

Mar. 15, 2025

AsKate Middletoncontinues her gradual return to public duty followingher cancer diagnosisearlier this year, one can only hope for a tiara moment in the not-too-distant future. Over the course of her 13 years of royal life since marrying husbandPrince Williamin 2011, the Princess of Wales, 42, has worn only four different types of tiaras — and one has emerged as her go-to.

Prince William speaks to his bride, Catherine Middleton as she holds the hand of her father Michael Middleton at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011 in London, England.Dominic Lipinski - WPA Pool/Getty

Dominic Lipinski - WPA Pool/Getty

The first and only time Kate ever wore the Cartier Halo Tiara (so far, anyway) was on a day she’ll remember forever — her April 29, 2011 wedding day to William. Kate’s tiara debut was a piece on loan fromQueen Elizabethherself, which the newly minted Duchess of Cambridge wore to her wedding at Westminster Abbey.

In addition to Kate,Princess Anne— Queen Elizabeth’s only daughter — also wore the Cartier Halo Tiara to a royal first: her public tiara debut at the State Opening of Parliament in 1967, when she was 17 years old.

Kate’s decision to wear the Cartier Halo Tiara on her wedding day “is a clear signal that she wants her royal role to be patterned after that of the late Queen Mother,” according to the blogThe Court Jeweller.

Prince William and Princess Catherine leave Westminster Abbey in a carriage following their wedding ceremony in London on April 29, 2011.Guibbaud-Mousse-Nebinger-Orban/ABACA/Shutterstock

Guibbaud-Mousse-Nebinger-Orban/ABACA/Shutterstock

As for Queen Elizabeth, though it was her first tiara, she wasnever publicly photographed wearingthe Cartier Halo Tiara — though she owned it for the last 78 years of her life. The tiara, according toTatler, “was often considered a good ‘beginner’ tiara of sorts, perfect for a younger family member with a smaller-than-average size that wouldn’t induce headaches.”

After her 2011 wedding day and tiara debut, it would be another year and a half before the then-Duchess of Cambridge wore her second tiara, theLotus Flower Tiara, which she wore to a diplomatic reception at Buckingham Palace on Dec. 3, 2013.

Garrard crafted the tiarafor the Queen Mother in 1923, and Kate wore the piece along with an Alexander McQueen dress to the diplomatic reception — just as she wore Alexander McQueen on her wedding day.

Speaking about Kate’s 2013 appearance in the tiara, Field said that “In the 1920s, it was tradition to wear it low on the forehead, like a horizontal headband. Then fashion changed. When Princess Margaret wore it in the 1960s, she wore it the way Catherine wore it last night, on the back of the head.”

Kate wore the Lotus Flower Tiara a second time on Oct. 20, 2015 for her first official state banquet, welcoming Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Madame Peng Liyuan — and paired it with a red Jenny Packham dress. Seven years would pass before Kate wore the tiara again, donning it on Dec. 6, 2022 at the Diplomatic Corps reception at Buckingham Palace. Though Kate repeated a familiar pattern — wearing a red Jenny Packham gown with the tiara — she didtry something new: she wore her hair completely down for the first time with a sparkler atop her head.

Since its debut atop her head in 2015, Kate wore the Lover’s Knot Tiara on Dec. 8, 2016 to the annual Diplomatic Corps reception at Buckingham Palace; on July 12, 2017 for a state banquet at Buckingham Palace hosting Queen Felipe andQueen Letiziaof Spain; on Dec. 5, 2017, Dec. 4, 2018 and Dec. 11, 2019 to the annual Diplomatic Corps reception; on Oct. 23, 2018 for a state banquet at Buckingham Palace; on June 3, 2019 for a state banquet hosting the United States at Buckingham Palace; and on Nov. 22, 2022 for a state banquet hosting South Africa — the first state visit ofKing Charles’ reign, which began two months prior.

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and United States Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin arrive through the East Gallery for a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace on June 3, 2019 in London, England.Victoria Jones- WPA Pool/Getty

Victoria Jones- WPA Pool/Getty

The Lover’s Knot Tiara came out again on June 1, 2023, when she attended a royal wedding in Jordan alongside Prince William; it came out once more on Dec. 5, 2023 for the Diplomatic Corps reception — the last time Kate publicly wore a tiara (for now, anyway).

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After Queen Mary’s death in 1953, she left the tiara to her granddaughter Queen Elizabeth, who wore it during many formal appearances in the 1950s. She later loaned it to Lady Diana Spencer as a wedding present, with many bets being hedged that Diana would wear the topper to her July 29, 1981 wedding day to then-Prince Charles. She famously chose to wear the Spencer tiara — her birth family’s ancestral sparkler — for her big day instead.

That said, Diana wore the Lover’s Knot Tiara frequently throughout her royal life — though rumors abound that the late Princess of Wales often said that it gave her headaches. The tiara wasn’t seen from Diana’s death in 1997 until Kate wore it for the first time in 2015, 18 years later.

The fourth and final tiara Princess Kate has worn throughout her 13 years as a royal — and a tiara she’s only worn once heretofore — is theStrathmore Rose Tiara, which she wore on Nov. 23, 2023 for a state visit from South Korea along with a white Jenny Packham gown with gold embellishments. Clearly following a theme here, the Strathmore Rose Tiara once belonged to the Queen Mother — and hasn’t been seen publicly since the 1930s.

“Kate has always signaled that she’d like to emulate the Queen Mother’s royal role, and wearing her jewels is an important symbol of that continuity,” Lauren Kiehna, founder of The Court Jeweller, told PEOPLE.

Prince William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales attend the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace on Nov. 21, 2023 in London, England.Yui Mok-WPA Pool/Getty

Yui Mok-WPA Pool/Getty

“It’s fitting that Kate — likely with some assistance from King Charles — would choose to wear the tiara exactly a hundred years after the Queen Mother originally received it. The piece is an antique that wasn’t fashionable for many decades, but many jewels once considered fussy or unstylish have now been embraced again,” she added.

King Charles was famously close to his grandmother, who died in 2002 at 101 years old. The King, 75, is also close to the Princess of Wales, previously referring to her as“my beloved daughter-in-law.”

“It has been said that Kate has looked for inspiration to the Queen Mother in terms of how she conducted herself, and so to have that tiara symbolizing that in such a public moment, I think it is really significant. I think if there was anyone to wear that tiara, it was Kate; she was the woman to wear it and carry it forward,” Holt added.

source: people.com