The piece features 47 tapering bars of brilliant- and rose-cut diamonds.
Published on August 20, 2025 12:03PM
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Key Takeaways
- For Queen Elizabeth's wedding to Prince Philip in 1947, the Queen Mother loaned her the Queen Mary's Fringe Tiara.
- During the getting-ready process, a piece of the tiara broke off. Luckily, the royal jeweler was on standby and was able to rush the tiara to the Garrard workshop to be repaired.
- It was fixed in time, resulting in Queen Elizabeth arriving to her ceremony on schedule.
After publicly announcing their engagement on July 9, 1947, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip tied the knot less than a year later, making their union official on November 20, 1947, at Westminster Abbey. Before the couple exchanged their vows, the bride went through an extensive getting-ready process. Her show-stopping gown, which was paid for by rationing coupons in the aftermath of World War II, required the work of 25 needlewomen and 10 embroiderers. The piece was ultimately estimated to cost $42,000, equivalent to $1.6 million today.
Her wedding dress wasn't the only statement-making big-day fashion item, though: The bride also donned a number of memorable jewelry pieces, including Queen Mary's Fringe Tiara. The headpiece, which was crafted by Garrard, features 47 tapering bars of 633 brilliant-cut and 271 rose-cut diamonds set in a Russian pattern. The piece is estimated to be worth $6.7 million today, according to the experts at Steven Stone.
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The heirloom was originally a necklace given to Queen Mary by Queen Victoria, and the former reportedly opted to turn it into a tiara in 1893. Even after its transformation, the piece could still be made into a necklace by removing the spikes, and the adjustable nature of the accessory resulted in an unanticipated delay on Queen Elizabeth's own wedding day that almost caused her to be late to her own ceremony.
As Queen Elizabeth prepared for her nuptials, her hairstylist worked to secure the tiara to her veil. Unfortunately, in the process of doing so, a piece of the accessory popped off. Even though the snafu may have been unexpected, the family was prepared for such an event to occur. The court jeweler was on standby, and the piece was promptly sent to the Garrard workshop (with a police escort) to be repaired. While the bride was upset by the accident, the Queen Mother reportedly reassured her that they still had two hours before the ceremony was scheduled to begin—and there were other tiaras available, Vogue Australia reported.
In the end, no back-up plan needed to be put into place. The jeweler was able to fix the piece quickly, and the bride arrived at her nuptials on time.
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Queen Elizabeth wasn't the only bride to select the beloved heirloom piece for her big day. Other royals, including Princess Anne and Princess Beatrice, also donned the tiara for their own nuptials. The piece stayed in the possession of the Queen Mother until her death in 2002. After her passing, it was inherited by Queen Elizabeth, her daughter. Yet, the monarch only wore the headpiece on a handful of occasions, including for her Diamond Jubilee portrait, which was revealed to the public in 2012.
