Despite being a part of the royal family, tiara occasions are surprisingly rare for Kate Middleton. When she does get to don a tiara, she usually goes for the Lover’s Knot tiara — or the one that Princess Diana made famous by wearing it on her wedding day. But looking back at past state banquets, there was a time when Kate made an unusual choice when it came to her accessory, pulling out a royal family heirloom that hadn’t seen the light of day in a century.
Kate brought the tiara out of hiding in 2023.
As People reported, Kate wore the Strathmore Rose Tiara to a banquet during a state visit from South Korea at Buckingham Palace in November 2023. This was the first time that the tiara had been worn in over 90 years — and Kate was only the second royal in the family to ever have worn it.
The tiara first belonged to Queen Elizabeth’s mother, who received it as a wedding gift from her father. The last time she was photographed wearing it was in the ’30s, and Kate bringing the headpiece out for the banquet was the first time it had been worn since then.
It was a quiet tribute to King Charles.
“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 of the Court Jeweller told People. “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.”
Kate is believed to be inspired by the Queen Mother.
Royal expert Bethan Holt called Kate wearing the Strathmore Rose tiara a “really emotional tie between the generations.”
“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,” Bethan said. “I think if there was anyone to wear that tiara, it was Kate; she was the woman to wear it and carry it forward.”
She’ll get to wear a tiara at least one more time in 2025.
Earlier this month, People reported that there’s another state banquet on the books for December — this time, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and First Lady Frau Elke Büdenbender are planning to visit in the first week of the month.
No word on which tiara Kate intends to wear for that event, but it will be fun to see the royals all glammed up again.
