Queen Elizabeth might have had access to more glittering tiaras than her little sister, but one of Princess Margaret's headpieces is now at the center of an incredible mystery. After many assumed it was lost forever, the first tiara Margaret ever wore appeared on the head of a Malaysian royal bride at her recent wedding.
The Cartier tiara in question is known as Queen Mary's Diamond Lozenge Bandeau and was commissioned by Queen Mary (Queen Elizabeth's grandmother) and worn during the 1930s before being passed on to Princess Margaret. When the princess wore a tiara for the first time in 1948, this was the piece she chose, but it was last seen in 1965, according to Saad Salman of The Royal Watcher.
At some point the tiara was "discreetly sold off" and it was never seen again. In the words of my favorite Kris Jenner meme, "This is a case for the FBI." Or in this case, the royal jewelry FBI.
Salman tells Marie Claire that he's "been friends with the then-Queen of Malaysia for several years" due to a "shared love of jewelry," and had noticed one of her diamond tiaras shared some similarities to Queen Mary's long-lost design.
"Last month, I was attending the wedding of the Queen’s son in Malaysia when the bride wore the same diamond bandeau," the royal expert says, referring to Natasya Adnan, who wore the glittering design with three snowflake-style brooches attached.
Salman adds he "could not resist asking Her Majesty" about the headpiece "and shared a few pictures of the tiara worn by Queen Mary and Princess Margaret."
While Salman was "expecting a similar design and probably the same maker," he was in for a shock. The tiara "looked to be an exact match" and Queen Azizah invited Salman to join her at the palace "to inspect the tiara."
He tells Marie Claire that after "a close examination of the piece against the pictures and a few key identifying factors," the pair came to the conclusion that the tiaras were one and the same.
However, their discovery didn't come without a bit of drama. "Funny enough, in our excitement, the tiara fell on the floor and was slightly damaged, but will soon be repaired," Salman says. Oops.
He learned that Queen Azizah had "acquired the tiara from New York in 1988 on the advice of Princess Chulabhorn of Thailand" and "had been unaware" it once belonged to Queen Mary and Princess Margaret until Salman told her.
The royal blogger shares it's "been quite a major discovery in the world of royal jewelry," adding it was "an honor" for Queen Azizah to trust him "to reveal it to the world."
Indeed, it's not every day that a piece of history shows up like this, although last November, Princess Kate did turn up to a state banquet in the Strathmore Rose tiara, a piece that hadn't been publicly seen in nearly 100 years.
As for Queen Mary's bandeau, jewelry expert Maxwell Stone of Steven Stone Jewelers tells Marie Claire, "While placing a price on such a historic and exquisite piece is nearly impossible, after a careful examination of the tiara, I would estimate its value to be approximately $5 million." A lucky royal bride indeed.
