Princess Kate Might Wear a "Floral Headpiece" Instead of a Tiara to the Coronation
While King Charles III and Queen Camilla will certainly wear crowns on the day of their coronation, it's less certain if other members of the royal family will be sporting formal headpieces, too.
Royal watchers are anticipating the possibility of Catherine, Princess of Wales, making an appearance at the landmark event in a tiara—a rare accessory for the royal. However, People reports that it's possible Kate may break royal tradition entirely by forgoing a tiara and wearing a more casual topper. "The conversation around the decision is still ongoing," according to the outlet.
Read ahead for everything we know about Kate's potential coronation tiara.
Kate may don a "floral headpiece" for the big day.
Instead of a tiara, the Princess of Wales is reportedly considering wearing a "floral headpiece" for the ceremony, according to The Times.
The outlet added, "There are also rumors within palace circles that no royal women will wear tiaras."
Though there's no word yet on what exactly a "floral headpiece" entails, looking back at the royal's style over the years may provide some answers. Kate has regularly worn hats or fascinators adorned with floral decorations
The coronation may have a more casual dress code than prior ceremonies.
King Charles's decision to "slim down" the monarchy and have a pared-down coronation ceremony may indicate that he will also install a more laidback dress code than we've seen at former coronations.
"I'm certainly hoping we'll see coronation tiaras, but it's possible that Charles is following the example of some of his European counterparts, like the King of the Netherlands, and setting a daytime formal dress code for the event," royal jewelry expert Lauren Kiehna told People. "That would mean that we could still see some grand jewels, like necklaces, brooches and earrings but no tiaras. I'll be sad if that's true but it may just be another part of the 'de-formalizing' of the British royal world that has taken place over the last several decades."
In the case of Kate's attire, this may mean that she could simply don a hat or a fascinator on the day of the coronation.
BAZAAR.com previously reported that the king's coronation is expected to be much more modest in comparison to Queen Elizabeth II's, which was estimated to have cost the British public £1.57 million, or $1.74 million at the time, and today's equivalent of around $50 million. With Britain in the midst of a cost of living crisis, Charles's coronation intends to reflect "the spirit of our times."
Women in the royal family have worn tiaras at previous coronations.
Royal and aristocratic women were known to wear tiaras at previous British coronations.
During Queen Elizabeth's 1953 coronation, her maids of honor and hundreds of fellow high-ranking women wore sparkling tiaras for the historic occasion, relishing in the opportunity to wear fine jewelry after the end of World War II.
"Tiaras were worn by nearly every royal lady at the Queen's coronation in 1953, as well lots of aristocratic women but times have certainly changed in 70 years," Kiehna told People. "No one had worn their jewellery or tiaras during the war. People were queuing to have their tiaras, which were like great fenders of diamonds, stomachers and necklaces cleaned."
If Kate does wear a tiara, which one will she wear?
There has been no official word yet on which tiara (if any) the Princess of Wales will choose to wear for the coronation of her father-in-law, but history shows that she tends to favor a small rotation of the royal headpieces.
Since marrying Prince William in 2011, Kate has only been seen wearing three different tiaras on a handful of occasions.
On her wedding day, she opted for Queen Elizabeth's Cartier Halo Tiara, a delicate band set with hundreds of diamonds that originally belonged to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, and was later gifted to Elizabeth II on her 18th birthday.
Her most-worn sparkler is the Lover's Knot Tiara (also known as the Cambridge Lover's Knot Tiara). This piece, which was also favored by Princess Diana, was originally made for Queen Mary in the early 20th century, and prominently features features dozens of hanging pear-shaped pearls and diamonds. Kate last wore the piece at a November 2022 state banquet in South Africa.
The third and final tiara frequented by the Princess of Wales is the Lotus Flower Tiara, which formerly belonged to Princess Margaret. The headpiece reportedly dates back to the 1920s, having originally been part of the Queen Mother's collection. Kate last wore this tiara in December 2022 during a reception at Buckingham Palace.
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