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| The Delhi Durbar Tiara Made for H.M. Queen Mary Garrard & Co., 1911 Crown Copyright The Royal Collection Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II |
Queen Mary had
decided that she and King George V needed different crowns when named Emperor
and Empress of India than those they’d worn for their 1911 coronation. She was told that the expense seemed
unnecessary. Her Majesty, then, went to
her friends and asked them nicely to donate the diamonds and gemstones which
were needed for these crowns. She went
back to the advisors and told them that the only cost would be the manufacture
of the crowns, and, she got her way.
She also got a
nice tiara out of the deal. This tiara
was made by Garrard & Co. in 1911 for the December 12 Delhi Durbar. The tiara was constructed so that it could be
hung with the Cambridge Emeralds or with pearls should the Queen desire. Therefore, the piece is considered part
of the Queen’s parure of emeralds and
diamonds which also included a necklace, stomacher, brooch and earrings.
The tiara a designed as a tall circlet of lyres and S-scrolls which are linked by festoons of rose-cut and brilliant-cut diamonds. In 1912, the tiara was altered so that it could accommodate both of the two Lesser Stars of Africa – Cullinan III and IV.
The tiara a designed as a tall circlet of lyres and S-scrolls which are linked by festoons of rose-cut and brilliant-cut diamonds. In 1912, the tiara was altered so that it could accommodate both of the two Lesser Stars of Africa – Cullinan III and IV.
Queen Mary lent
the tiara to Queen Elizabeth in 1946 so that the Queen Mother could wear it
during the 1947 South African Tour.
Following Queen Mary’s 1953 death, the Queen Mother kept the Durbar
tiara in her own collection until her death in 2002. In 2005, it was lent by Queen
Elizabeth II to The Duchess of Cornwall, wife of Prince Charles.
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