Royals

All that glitters! Duchess Catherine’s best tiara moments

She's the crowning jewel in the royal family - yet Duchess Catherine rarely ever wears a tiara.
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This week, The Duchess of Cambridge dazzled when she stepped out in Princess Diana‘s favourite sparkling headpiece, The Cambridge Lover’s Knot tiara, for a diplomatic reception at Buckingham Palace.

Royal fans couldn’t get enough of the new photos because let’s face it, you’ll be hard pressed to find The Firm drenched in their bling save for very important occasions.

While we’d like to think Kate and co. can simply dip into The Queen’s bottomless jewellery box whenever they fancy, it’s sadly not as simple as that!

Royal etiquette has adapted with the modern times and these days, tiaras are only worn for weddings, state banquets or official receptions. Keen to steer their image away from decadence and indulgence, you’ll be more likely to see The Queen horse riding in jodhpurs, Kate recycling a dress several times over and Princess Charlotte in Prince George‘s hand-me-downs.

till, there’s no denying just how exciting it is to see a princess in a tiara (Meghan, it’s your turn next!).

“The first time a tiara is worn is by the bride on her wedding day. It signals the crowning of love and the loss of innocence to marriage. The family tiara is worn by the bride and from that moment onwards it was the groom’s jewellery she was expected to wear. It was a subliminal message that she had moved from her family to another,” Geoffrey Mun explains in his book Tiaras – A History of Splendour.

“Nowadays few adhere to this protocol, even if they are aware of it.”

In fact, Kate Middleton has only ever worn a tiara in public seven times – including her wedding day.

Keep scrolling to see every single photo of the Duchess in a tiara!

1. The Cartier Halo tiara, April 2011

Kate Middleton’s “something borrowed” for her 2011 wedding day happened to be this incredible creation made of diamonds and platinum, which The Queen very kindly lent to her.

King George VI commissioned Cartier to make it in 1936 as a gift to his wife, Queen Elizabeth (aka The Queen Mother). She handed it down her daughter, Princess Elizabeth, for her 18th birthday and it’s been in The Queen’s collection ever since.

WATCH: Kate and William exchange vows. Post continues after the video…

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As pretty as a princess!

Kate’s tiara was the perfect fairy tale accessory for her wedding day in April, 2011.

The royal was lent the heirloom from The Queen.

2. The Lotus Flower tiara, December 2013

Kate waited two whole years after tying the knot to wear another tiara, this time stepping out in the Lotus Flower (also referred to as the Papyrus Tiara) for a diplomatic reception at Buckingham Palace.

Tucking the glittering number neatly on top of her flowing locks, its papyrus-shaped folds and diamond and pearl accents utterly popped.

This particular number originally belonged to The Queen Mother before The Queen inherited it.

In 2013, Catherine wore the Lotus Flower tiara.

She teamed the look with chandelier-style drop earrings.

3. The Lotus Flower tiara, October 2015

Kate’s ravishing red look stole the show at Buckingham Palace’s state banquet to celebrate Chinese President Mr Xi Jinping’s visit in October 2015.

Sitting pride of place on her swept back locks was the trusty old Lotus Flower.

Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon often wore the tiara.

So nice Kate wore it twice!

The royal’s glittering headpiece was teamed with a bright red Jenny Packham gown.

4. The Cambridge Lover’s Knot tiara, December 2015

It’s somewhat of tiara staple for Kate now, but the first time we ever saw her don the iconic Cambridge Lover’s Knot tiara was back in 2015 for the diplomatic reception at Buckingham Palace.

The showstopping tiara is an heirloom headpiece which The Queen inherited it from her grandmother Queen Mary, before giving it to Princess Diana as a present on her wedding day in 1981.

It was worn by Diana on many occasions but returned to the monarch when Diana and Charles divorced in 1996.

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Behold! This was the first time Kate wore her mother-in-law’s beloved Cambridge Lover’s Knot tiara.

5. The Cambridge Lover’s Knot tiara, December 2016

It doesn’t get much better than this! A princess, her prince and a sparkling tiara in all its glory.

The 35-year-old once again sported the The Cambridge Lover’s Knot masterpiece for the 2016 annual diplomatic reception.

Duchess Catherine wore the Lover’s Knot tiara again in 2016.

The event is seen as the main diplomatic social event of the year and requires royals to wheel out all their finery.

Side-by-side, Kate and Diana both bring so much elegance to the regal accessory.

6. Cambridge Lover’s Knot, July 2017

In July this year, the mother-of-two dusted off the Cambridge Lover’s Knot for a third time when she attended a lavish state dinner at the palace held in honour of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain.

Dripping in a ruby and diamond necklace on loan from the monarch, Kate completed her look with a custom-made lilac Marchesa dress.

WATCH: The Royal Family arrive to the state dinner. Post continues…

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And that’s how you make a glittering arrival!

The Queen also lent Kate her diamond and ruby necklace for the occasion.

7. The Cambridge Lover’s Knot, December 2017

This week marked the seventh time Kate has ever worn a tiara in public, and if you ask us she should do it more often!

The Duchess of Cambridge clearly has taken a liking to The Cambridge Lover’s Knot and opted to wear it to the 2017 diplomatic reception.

Although only the top of her gown could be seen as she arrived in a chauffeur-driven Bentley, fans were given a glimpse of her embellished white dress.

The 35-year-old’s brunette locks were swept up into an elegant chignon so her impressive diamond jewels could take pride of place.

Just this week, A pregnant Duchess Catherine wore the iconic Lover’s Knot tiara yet again.

It’s hard to believe she’s only ever worn a tiara 7 times! We think she should do it more often.

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