It could be possible that the Durbar Tiara was considered as a part of the Royal Collection from the 1940s on. But then, why would have Queen Mary loaned/lent/handed over the tiara to Queen(-Mother) Elizabeth in 1947 for the South African tour? I think it could have been a private jewel as well.
What let me think the tiara had been inherited (privately) by Queen-Mother Elizabeth from Queen Mary is the caption under the Durbar tiara's picture in Geoffrey Munn's book Tiaras, A History of Splendour (page 128): "by gracious permission of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother".
Nevertheless, even admitting the tiara was already included in the Royal Collection (meaning that the Sovereign owns it, but only "holding it in trust for the Nation", not privately), Queen Elizabeth II could have accepted to let the tiara at her mother's disposal, like other Crown pieces (e.g. Queen Victoria's Ruby Parure or Queen Victoria's Household's Jubilee Pearl and Diamond brooch).
A sensitive issue, indeed. I notice that Hugh Roberts, in The Queen's Diamonds, does not say anything about the ownership of the Durbar tiara. In a striking example of his ambiguous comments, he just writes that the tiara "remained with" Queen-Mother Elizabeth until her death in 2002...
--Previous Message-- : : I agree that we may never know. Sensitive : territory. : My belief is that the Queen Mother never : owned it and alteration might not have been : authorised by its owner. : : : --Previous Message-- : Well... since we are speculating....how : about : this. : : The Tiara was altered for use by Diana, : Princess of Wales (or Sarah, Duchess of : York). Neither of whom - for whatever : reason - wore the tiara. : : Again - this is complete speculation on my : part. : I do not think we will ever know. : : Cheers! : Bryce : : --Previous Message-- : : Queen Elizabeth (QM) did not inherit the : tiara in 1953. : : --Previous Message-- : The alterations of the Durbar Tiara have : been : made at some time between 1947 (Royal visit : to South Africa) and 2001 (publishing of : Geoffrey Munn's book, in which the tiara is : photographed in its altered form). As far as : I know, the tiara has not been seen (at : least in public) between these two dates. : : Camilla married Prince Charles only in 2005, : so I think it is rather unprobable that the : alterations (made before 2001) were made : specifically for her head size. : : If the tiara had been altered for Camilla, : that implies that Camilla would have worn : (privately) the tiara before her marriage to : Prince Charles, as soon as 2001, and : possibly earlier. But this hypothesis raises : a lot of questions: : - what would have been the point of : wearing a tiara strictly in private? Camilla : (who, at that time, was merely Charles' : mistress and was still unpopular) could not : have worn it publicly without causing an : uproar... : - the Queen-Mother was still alive at : that time, and that would imply that she : would have deliberately lent the tiara to : Charles for his mistress to wear the : tiara... Though the Queen-Mother loved her : grandson (and maybe even saw Camilla as a : suitable wife-to-be for him), I seriously : doubt she would have loaned the tiara in : these conditions... : So, I think it is unprobable that the : tiara's alterations were made for Camilla. : : Another (more pausible, IMHO) possibility : could be that Queen(-Mother) Elizabeth found : the tiara uncomfortable to wear during her : visit to South Africa (after all, it was the : first time she wore it) and decided later to : have it altered. : : As shown on the picture below, : Queen(-Mother) Elizabeth had a smaller frame : (and probably a smaller head size) than : Queen Mary; moreover, she had shorter hair : than Queen Mary (who had a big puffing : hairdo, as it was fashionable in the late : 19th/early 20th century). Therefore, Queen : Mary was probably able to wear larger/wider : tiaras than Queen(-Mother) Elizabeth. After : Queen-Mother Elizabeth inherited the tiara : in 1953, she could have decided to have it : altered to fit better her own head size. : But then, the question is: if the : Queen-Mother had the tiara altered for her, : then why did not she wear it anymore during : her lifetime? : : : : : --Previous Message-- : Isn't there also a possibility that the : tiara : was altered for Camilla as she has a : different head shape and size and maybe she : needed the alteration to be able to wear it : (comfortably)? : : --Previous Message-- : My memory is that the tiara had been altered : before the Queen Mother loaned it to an : exhibition. : : : : : : : : : : :
on July 18, 2014, 3:37 am, in reply to "