even in royal circles, wearing a tiara was never an absolute tradition for the brides. I think that wearing grand jewels was usually considered unfitting for young/unmarried ladies. At weddings, flowers were considered more appropriate ornaments for the brides (probably as a symbol of purity, and also the symbolic promise of children, like the flowers are the promise of fruits to come...).
Therefore, many Queens or Princesses married wearing only flowers (usually orange blossoms) on their heads (just a not-comprehensive list):
- in Britain: Queen Victoria, Queen Alexandra, Queen(-mother) Elizabeth, the Duchess of Cornwall did not wear tiaras on their wedding day (on the contrary, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth II wore tiaras, as well as Princesses Anne, Diana, Sarah, Sophie and Catherine)
- in Sweden: Queen Victoria, Princess Margaret of Connaught, Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Princess Lilian did not wear tiaras (Princess Margaretha of Sweden wore a traditional bridal crown, Queen Silvia and Princesses Désirée, Birgitta, Christina, Victoria and Madeleine wore a tiara)
- in Norway: Mette-Marit and Märtha-Louisa were the first royal brides who wore a tiara at their wedding: neither Queen Maud, nor Princesses Märtha, Ragnhild and Astrid, nor Queen Sonja did
- in Denmark: Queen Ingrid did not wear a tiara, but a floral crown (Queen Margrethe II, Princess Benedikte, Queen Anne-Marie, Crown Princess Mary, Countess Alexandra and Princess Marie wore a tiara)
- in the Netherlands: only Princess Christina did not wear a tiara for her wedding (Queens Wilhelmina, Juliana, Beatrix and Maxima, as well as Princesses Irene, Margriet, Mabel and Laurentien all wore a tiara)
- in Belgium: Queen Astrid, Queen Paola and Princess Astrid did not wear a tiara (Queen Fabiola, Queen Mathilde and Princess Claire did) (not sure for Queen Elisabeth)
- in Luxembourg: all grand-ducal brides wore a tiara, except Princess Sibilla and Countess Tessy
- in Spain : Queen Victoria-Eugenia and the Countess of Barcelona did not wear a tiara (Queen Sofia, Queen Letizia, Infantas Elena and Christina did).
So, from these examples, we can draw the conclusion that royal brides tend to wear tiaras at their wedding more often in the second part of the 20th century and in the 21st century than in the 19th century and first part of the 20th century. But anyway, even in modern times, wearing a tiara is not an absolute "rule". So there was nothing wrong or extraordinary in Princess Astrid of Belgium wearing flowers in her hair instead of a tiara for her wedding to Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este in 1984.
--Previous Message-- : : : --Previous Message-- : I agree my conclusion was premature... sorry : for that ! : But I dont't understand why Princess Astrid : did not wear this tiara at her wedding only : flowers ? : There's no need to apologize and I don't : understand Princess Astrid's choice either. : Maybe she liked the flowery look because : that was quite popular in the 1980's? Or : then-Princess Paola changed her mind about : lending her tiara over time? But Lorenz' : mother had two tiaras and she has lend them : to her daughters. :