Queen Elizabeth — who died Thursday at age 96 — had one of the largest and most expensive private collections of jewels in the world, and at the heart of it are around 50 stunning tiaras. What will happen to these tiaras, and who will inherit them, depends on which jewelry collection they come from.
Some of the pieces — her crowns and brooches, as well as ceremonial maces and rings — form part of the Crown Jewels, which are displayed at the Tower of London and are gawked at by around 2.5 million tourists a year. This priceless collection of mainly ceremonial items, some of them going back 800 years, belongs not to a person but to the Crown and whoever is the monarch.
Similarly, there is the Royal Collection, which contains most of the royal family’s extensive artworks —the largest private collection in the world — and their jewels. All together, it makes up more than 1 million objects, some of them going back to the time of Henry VIII.
Queen Elizabeth had 50 stunning tiaras in her collection — the royal family will decide how her jewels will be divided.NY Post photo composite
The Royal Collection is in itself divided into two portions. The bulk of the items are held in trust by the monarch of the time. And then there is the queen’s personal collection. This is mainly made up of items she inherited or was gifted by family members (her grandmother Queen Mary was famous for her love of jewels and was a particular fan of tiaras) or bought herself. Many of Queen Elizabeth’s recognizable tiaras are believed to be in her personal collection so, in theory, she could give them to who she wanted.
“It is likely that she would want to pass on items from her private collection to her loved ones,” royal commentator Josh Rom told The Post. “The bulk of the collection will pass to Charles — with Camilla as his queen consort — and then Kate, so they may not be left anything big [in the will].”
In 1953, the people and government of Brazil gifted Queen Elizabeth II a matching set of diamond and aquamarine earrings and necklace. Shortly after, she commissioned the House of Garrard, an English fine-jewelry maison that has been operating since the 18th century, to make her a tiara that would match with her Brazilian jewels. More than 30 years later, in 1986, the Queen wore the set, including the tiara, to a state dinner. Tim Graham Photo Library via Get
Princess Anne wore the famed Pine Flower tiara to a 2017 state banquet at Buckingham Palace. The diadem was commissioned by her grandfather, King George VI, from Cartier as a wedding anniversary gift to his wife, Queen Elizabeth’s mother. The tiara is named for the aquamarines and diamonds arranged in a pine cone motif. Getty Images
Queen Elizabeth II wore the Burmese Ruby tiara, which was commissioned in the 1970s, to a 2008 state dinner with the Slovenian President at Brdo Castle (in Predoslje, Slovenia). The queen often paired the tiara with a ruby necklace, which, on this occasion, she tucked beneath the neckline of her dress. POOL/AFP via Getty Images
In 1985, Diana, Princess of Wales, wore the Cambridge Knot Tiara to an event at the British Embassy in Washington, DC. The tiara, which was on loan from her mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth, is made of diamonds and 19 hanging pearls all set in both silver and gold. However, when Diana and Charles, Prince of Wales, divorced, Diana gave the tiara back, as noted by one of the terms of her settlement. Tim Graham Photo Library via Get
Kate Middleton — aka Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge — paired her Alexander McQueen wedding gown with the Cartier Halo tiara, which was crafted using 739-brilliant cut diamond and 149 baguette diamonds. Though plenty of people associate the Halo with the now-iconic wedding look, it dates much further back than 2011, when the Duchess married Prince William. The tiara was commissioned by George VI as a gift to his wife nearly a month before the two were set to be crowned monarchs of the United Kingdom in 1936. Getty Images
For Camilla Parker-Bowles’ wedding to Prince Charles in 2005, Queen Elizabeth gifted the newlywed the Delhi Durbar tiara. Though Camilla, who became Duchess of Cornwall, has held onto it for nearly two decades, it is technically on long-term loan from the Queen.
Queen Mary had the tiara made in 1911 for the Delhi Durbar, a massive festival to celebrate the coronation of herself and King George V as the empress and emperor of India. Tim Graham Photo Library via Get
At a state dinner in 2017 — when the king and queen of Spain visited the United Kingdom — Princess Anne wore the Diamond Festoon tiara, a gift from Hong Kong-based the World-Wide Shipping Group. The company offered the princess the tiara after she christened one of its ships in 1973. She later loaned it to her daughter-in-law, Autumn Phillips, for her 2008 wedding to Princess Anne’s son, Peter Phillips. Getty Images
Sophie, Countess of Wessex, wore a diamond and aquamarine Ribbon tiara to the wedding of Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Christopher O’Neill. As the wife of Prince Edward, Queen Elizabeth II’s youngest son, the countess represented the Crown at the 2013 wedding. Queen Elizabeth, meanwhile, wore the tiara during a 1970 trip to Canada. Getty Images
For a 1953 portrait, taken in Buckingham Palace’s Green Drawing room, Queen Elizabeth II donned a diamond and pearl diadem originally made for the coronation of King George IV in 1821, but since then, the tiara has been exclusively worn by women, including Queen Victoria. Popperfoto via Getty Images
During a 1976 trip to the United States, Queen Elizabeth II wore the Grand Duchess Vladimir tiara, commissioned by its namesake in 1874 from the Romanov court jeweler. In 1918, the tiara was smuggled out of Russia. It found its way to the British Royal Family in 1909, when the duchess’ family sold it to Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth II’s grandmother. Getty Images
Princess Eugenie’s look for her 2018 wedding broke with royal tradition: She displayed her scoliosis surgery scar in a custom gown and skipped the traditionally long veil. She did, however, wear the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik tiara, on loan from her grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. The tiara was originally commissioned by Boucheron for English socialite Dame Margaret Greville, but before she died in 1942, she left all of her jewelry, including the tiara, to the Queen Mother, who later bequeathed it to her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II. Getty Images
Another diamond-encrusted tiara that the Queen Mother inherited from Dame Margaret Greville is this diadem with its famous honeycomb pattern. The Queen Mother increased the height of the piece with a row of brilliant-cut diamonds and one marquise-cut diamond. Queen Elizabeth II’s daughter-in-law, Camilla, wore the tiara to the annual Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in 2013. Getty Images
The Greek key design of the Meander tiara Princess Anne wore to a 1988 banquet is indicative of its original owner — Prince Philip’s mother, Princess Victoria Alice Elizabeth Julia Marie, who lived in Greece until the Royal Family’s exile in 1917. Tim Graham Photo Library via Get
Queen Elizabeth II has worn the Belgian Sapphire tiara on several occasions, including a 1988 banquet at Prague Castle in the Czech Republic. Though most of Her Majesty’s tiaras were inherited, few were purchased. This sapphire and diamond tiara formerly belonged to Princess Louise of Belgium, who married Prince Ferdinand Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1875. She had numerous affairs, leading to the couple’s divorce — which left her in such enormous debt that she had to sell her jewelry. Queen Elizabeth II bought one of the Princess’ tiaras in the early 1950s. Tim Graham Photo Library via Get
Before she was queen, Princess Elizabeth attended a 1951 state banquet at Rideau Hall, Ottawa, wearing a Cartier tiara. The crown was a gift from the Nizam of Hyderabad, an Indian Prince. The future queen, however, picked out the tiara herself. Getty Images
The Queen Mother wore Queen Victoria’s Oriental Circlet tiara to a 1978 dinner at the Portuguese Embassy in London. It was designed by Prince Albert for his wife, Queen Victoria, in 1853. Allegedly, the prince was so inspired by a collection of Indian jewels gifted to Queen Victoria, that he felt compelled to design his own based on the floral motifs. After he gave the diadem to his wife, she commissioned a matching necklace, earrings and brooch. PA Images via Getty Images
For a 1961 state dinner, Queen Elizabeth II wore Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik tiara. The tiara, which was designed in 1888, was a gift for King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra’s silver wedding anniversary, and it was designed to look similar to one that Alexandra’s sister, Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia, owned. Popperfoto via Getty Images
In 1901, the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York — King George V and Queen Mary’s titles before they became monarchs — toured the British Empire for eight months. When they returned to London, King Edward VII offered the Duke the title of Prince of Wales, making the Duchess, Mary, Princess of Wales. To celebrate her new title, she commissioned a tiara for herself using the 675 diamonds that De Beers had presented her as a gift. Here, Mary, who became queen in 1911, wore the tiara for a royal portrait. Getty Images
For her 2018 wedding at Windsor Castle, Meghan Markle donned Queen Mary’s diamond bandeau diamond tiara. Queen Mary commissioned the tiara in 1932 using a brooch as the centerpiece. When she died, she left the tiara to Queen Elizabeth II, who loaned it to Markle. Getty Images
To her 1947 wedding to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Elizabeth wore Queen Mary’s Russian Fringe tiara, which was made in 1919. The diamond accented piece can be worn as a necklace too. Though, when Princess Anne, the Queen’s daughter, wore it for her wedding in 1973, she wore it as a tiara. Getty Images
Sophie, Countess of Wessex, wore the Anthemion tiara for her 1999 wedding to Prince Edward, and again in 2001, when she was a guest at Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway’s wedding. UK Press via Getty Images
A gift from her parents when she married the future king, Queen Elizabeth’s Strathmore Rose tiara was purchased in 1920s, but it was crafted in England in the late 19th century. Here, she wore the tiara in 1926 for a royal portrait. Though the tiara hasn’t been pictured on any royals since the Queen Mother’s death in 2002, perhaps its gems have. The flowers can be removed and worn as brooches, which any of the royals may have done. SSPL via Getty Images
Princess Mary Adelaide Wilhelmina Elizabeth, Duchess of Teck and granddaughter of King George III, was the first to don the Teck Crescent Tiara. The jewels it features were the gift of her godmother and aunt, Princess Mary, who left her the collection of jewelry when she died in 1857. When the Duchess of Teck got a hold of the collection, she combined the pieces to create the floral tiara, which hasn’t been seen on a royal since before World War II. Getty Images
Girls of Great Britain and Ireland, a committee headed by Lady Eva Greville, gifted the namesake tiara to Queen Mary in 1893 as a wedding present. She regifted it to her granddaughter, then Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II), for her own wedding in 1947. Here, Queen Elizabeth II wore the tiara to a state dinner in 2015. Photothek via Getty Images
In 1928, when this photo was taken, the Duke and Duchess of York did not yet know that they’d only nine years later, they’d become King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. In the photograph, the future Queen Mother wore the Lotus Flower tiara, which her husband had given her on their wedding day — though back then, it was a necklace that the Queen would later turn into a tiara. The piece is composed of diamonds and pearls. Corbis via Getty Images
The Countess of Wessex’s aquamarine tiara can be worn on her head or around her neck, making it one of the royal collection’s many convertible pieces. She wore it for the first time in 2005 and again to Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland’s wedding to Sofia Hellqvist in 2015. UK Press via Getty Images
On a 1989 royal visit to Canada, Sarah Ferguson, then the Duchess of York, wore the York Diamond tiara, which was a gift from Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip for her wedding to their son, Prince Andrew. Unlike most royal weddings, where the bride wears an old tiara on loan from the Queen, the prince’s parents commissioned Garrard to create a brand new piece. Getty Images
Over the years, Queen Elizabeth loaned many of them to family members for special events. In 2011 Kate Middleton wore the Cartier Halo tiara, which contains nearly 1,000 diamonds, at her wedding to Prince William, while Meghan Markle donned Queen Mary’s stunning Art Deco-style Diamond Bandeau for her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry. It was a tiara that hadn’t previously been spotted in public since the 1940s.
At Princess Eugenie’s wedding, also in 2018, the queen’s granddaughter wore the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik tiara, containing rose-cut pave diamonds and six large emeralds, which was inherited by the Queen Mother in 1942 but had never been worn in public by a royal woman before. Two years later, Eugenie’s sister, Beatrice, wore the famous Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara for her wedding. It contains 47 delicate bars of diamonds and was originally loaned to then-Princess Elizabeth by Queen Mary for her wedding to Prince Philip in 1947.
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So will the queen gift each of these young women the tiaras they wed in?
Rom thinks it’s a good possibility.
“She would have things she would want to gift to her loved ones and it makes sense to give them something she knows they will like,” he said. “There is one thing worth noting, though. If they are left these things in her will they will have to pay inheritance tax on what she has left them.”
As the tax is up to 40% of the value of the inheritance — and some of these tiaras are worth millions — the queen will have had to consider whether it is simply better for the tiaras to remain in the Royal Collection and be borrowed for special occasions.
