When it comes to British royal tiaras, we don't get too many surprises. Princess Kate tends to favor the Lover's Knot Tiara, like her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana, and Queen Camilla often chooses her favorite Greville Tiara at events like state banquets. However, on Tuesday, Dec. 3, royal watchers were treated to a tiara debut for The Queen—and it's certainly a whopper.
Queen Camilla stepped out in a gorgeous red velvet gown by Fiona Clare at a state banquet held in honor of the Qatari state visit, but it was her glittering tiara that truly stole the show. She wore Queen Alexandra's Kokoshnik Tiara, a piece that was last seen on Queen Elizabeth nearly a decade ago.
The enormous diamond tiara dates back to 1888 and was given to Queen Alexandra on the occasion of her silver wedding anniversary, per The Court Jeweller. The fringe-style tiara features row after row of diamonds (more than 400 stones in total), and per the royal jewelry blog, is "shaped like a kokoshnik, which is a halo-shaped headdress worn by Russian women."
Queen Alexandra passed the tiara down to her daughter-in-law, Queen Mary, who in turn gave it to her granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II.
The late Queen wore the piece on numerous times throughout her 70-year reign, the last being at a state banquet held in honor of the then-president of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto, in 2015. The tiara hasn't been seen since, making Tuesday's banquet an even more exciting moment for royal jewelry fans.
This is the second time in recent memory Camilla has debuted one of Queen Elizabeth's tiaras. For the annual Diplomatic Corps Reception, The Queen wore an aquamarine and diamond tiara that Queen Elizabeth wore only one time in the 1970s—a piece that has been sported by Princess Kate's "royal sister," Duchess Sophie, on numerous occasions.
During Tuesday's state visit, Queen Camilla revealed that she's been recovering from the lingering effects of pneumonia, which forced her to miss out on the earlier events of the state visit. Princess Kate and Prince William joined The King for the official welcome ceremony to greet the Amir of Qatar and his wife, with Camilla joining the party later in the afternoon.
Although the Princess of Wales missed the state banquet (and Camilla's tiara moment), two surprise guests amped up the glam factor. David and Victoria Beckham were guests at the event, with the former England football star having been invited due to his connections with Qatar and its World Cup. Unfortunately, Posh Spice didn't wear a tiara, but one can always dream.
