and Prince William’s wedding may have taken place over 10 years ago, in April 2011, but the Duchess of Cambridge has only been spotted wearing a tiara less than a dozen times.
Why? As usual with royal fashion etiquette, there are several rules that need to be followed. Firstly, Kate, like Meghan Markle, would not have been allowed to wear the headpiece until after she got married.
Tradition dictates that you need to be married and/or hold a certain royal title to be able to wear a tiara. Single women or those who aren’t officially part of the family would not be able to don one for example.
The only exception to this rule is when brides borrow the accessories for their wedding day, and the Duchess of Cambridge chose the Cartier Halo tiara for the occasion.
Of course, being part of the family means you have easier access to the crown jewels, since the Queen wouldn’t just let anyone borrow a tiara.
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Since then though, despite many royal events, Kate has only worn one around 11 times, and that’s because there are even more rules to follow.
Firstly, diamonds should not be worn before 6pm, excluding most occasions. Secondly, tiaras should only be worn to white tie events, in other words, the most formal ones.
These include state banquets and balls, which don’t happen that often. So in the past, Kate has worn the Lotus Flower tiara in 2013 for Buckingham Palace’s annual diplomatic reception and again in 2015 for a banquet honour the Chinese president.
Other occasions included the 2019 Queen’s Diplomatic Corps and a Banquet in honour of former US President Trump.
In total, she has only worn three headpieces: the aforementioned Lotus Flower tiara, a favourite of Princess Maragaret’s, Princess Diana’s Lover’s Knot tiara and the Cartier Halo which she wore on her wedding day.