At Happy Pets Royal Palace in Chandler, part of our pet care specialists’ uniform is, in fact, a tiara! We treat your little Princes and Princesses like the royalty they are, so we want to look perfect for them, too. One of those tiaras is a replica of the Diamond Bandeau, and we love how it sparkles. It remains one of our favorites. We would like to share the history behind the tiara, which makes it all the more beautiful.
When King George V of England, then Duke of York, married Princess Victoria Mary “May” of Teck on July 6th, 1893, it caused quite a joyful stir. The wedding was at the Chapel Royal at St. James Palace. This is where Queen Victoria’s married her beloved Prince Albert over 50 years before. Along with the grand festivities that were to take place, George and Mary received a rather glittering collection of wedding gifts.
The County of Lincoln, or Lincolnshire, wished to present the royal couple with a wedding gift. The Earl of Brownlow, Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire, said he, “. . . endeavored to find out what would be most acceptable,” and he “. . . believed that Her Serene Highness Princess May would particularly value something in the nature of a brooch with a single pearl or diamond in the centre, set with diamonds. It would be an ornament that Her Serene Highness could wear now, and probably in a still higher position.”
For this reason, the Earl of Brownlow established a bank account to receive funds from willing participants residing in Lincolnshire, subscriptions not to exceed 5£. Everyone from earls, countesses, majors, esquires, and reverends all contributed. Over 300£ was raised to commission a brooch that could be worn as a pendant. It was set with nine diamonds surrounding a larger center diamond and became known as The County of Lincoln Brooch.
The brooch was presented to Princess Mary on the 5th of July, 1893, one day before her wedding. She was reported to have been heartily pleased with it and promised to wear it often.
Keeping to her promise, she did wear it often, both as a brooch and pendant. In 1932, once she was the queen of Great Britain and had gracefully established a reputation for having a beautiful collection of jewels and tiaras, she commissioned a special tiara to showcase the brooch.
Queen Mary’s Diamond Bandeau, which was said to have been designed by The House of Garrard, was made specifically to accommodate the brooch in a center front void. It was made of eleven separate sections and the design of the County of Lincoln Brooch was mimicked on either side of the tiara in patterns of seven diamonds. Originally, it also had a center top ornament, but that was removed at an undetermined time, creating the clean-lined tiara that remains today.
Queen Mary wore the tiara on many occasions up until her death. And once it was bequeathed in 1953 to her granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II, the tiara took a markedly long hiatus from public use.
It remained unworn for 65 years until a recent and rather grand affair hailed its return. Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, chose the Diamond Bandeau to wear on her wedding day to Harry, Duke of Sussex on May 19, 2018. The duchess had a meeting with Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace to choose a wedding tiara from the queen’s collection, and the rest is history! The tiara was Meghan’s “Something Borrowed” on her wedding day.
At Happy Pets Royal Palace, we love to pamper and spoil the pups and wearing a tiara sets the mood of gracefulness for loving and spoiling everyone. We appreciate the incredible history behind our Diamond Bandeau and love having it in our tiara collection.