Princess Eugenie went against tradition on a very windy day and eschewed a veil for a stunning emerald tiara. While many assumed that the princess would wear the York Diamond Tiara which her mother Sarah Ferguson wore on her wedding day to Prince Andrew, she opted to wear something different.
People Magazine reported that Princess Eugenie borrowed the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara from her grandmother, Queen Elizabeth for the royal wedding which saw 800 guests descend upon Windsor Castle.
Princess Eugenie’s tiara of choice has an interesting provenance.
“According to Kensington Palace, Eugenie is wearing the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara, lent to her by the Queen. The tiara was made by Boucheron for Dame Margaret Helen Greville in 1919 in the fashionable ‘kokoshnik’ style popularized in the Russian Imperial Court.”
The platinum tiara is set with brilliant and rose-cut diamonds pavé with six emeralds on each side and a large stone on the front. The center emerald is 93.70 carats. Mrs. Greville left the tiara to Queen Elizabeth in 1942.
Harper’s Bazaar said that the Greville Tiara was Princess Eugenie’s “something borrowed” as part of wedding tradition. Princess Eugenie kept her look simple by just adding the emerald and diamond drop earrings which were a gift from the groom, Jack Brooksbank.
Princess Eugenie Skips Wedding Veil in Favor of Emerald-Embellished Tiara from the Queen https://t.co/Z4Vt1LZpXK
— People (@people) October 12, 2018
According to TiaraMania , the Greville Tiara was given to Queen Elizabeth II’s mother in 1942 (the then Queen Elizabeth) by Dame Margaret Greville, a society matron.
From Her Majesty’s Jewel Vault included additional information about Mrs. Greville and her gift to the mother of Queen Elizabeth II. The gift was called “The Greville Bequest,” and it did not just include the tiara, but the bulk of her jewelry collection.
“Mrs. Greville left a different surprise for the royal family: she bequeathed her magnificent collection of jewelry to Queen Elizabeth, ‘with my loving thoughts.’ The only pieces of jewelry that did not go to Queen Elizabeth were those with a value of under £100, which were designated for Mrs. Greville’s longtime maid.”
There are several pieces in the collection that Queen Elizabeth II wears regularly to this day.
“Contained within the Greville bequest were pieces destined to become favorites of Queen Elizabeth, and pieces that are still worn today by the women of the royal family. Mrs. Greville’s generosity served to permanently tie her name to one of the most spectacular parts of royalty, which seems to have been just the way she would have liked it.”
Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank officially tied the knot this morning at noon in Windsor, England.