"Copyright" might not be the most perfect word (English is not my mother tongue, so my wording can be sometimes not as accurate as I could wish). Sorry if this word has brought confusion.
Certainly, the Lover's Knot tiara was privately owned by Queen Mary, as she had the tiara made in 1913, using pearls and diamonds from various wedding gifts (mainly the Ladies of England pearl and diamond necklace/tiara). But at her death in 1953, Queen Mary bequeathed it to the reigning monarch, i.e. Queen Elizabeth II. Then, I understand that jewels transmitted from Queen to Queen become part of the Royal Collection and are not fully-private jewels anymore. This assumption relies on this excerpt of Leslie Field's The Queen's Jewels (page 86 of the 2002 reprint of the 1997 edition) about the sharing of Queen Alexandra's jewels between her children in 1926: "It is quite clear that King George [V] and Queen Mary included in their portion any jewellery that Queen Alexandra had inherited from Queen Victoria or that she had received as wedding gifts from the Prince of Wales and various civic bodies in 1863. The King and Queen established the precedent that although personal property, these pieces were indivisible from the monarchy, and in December 1936, when the Duke of York became King George VI, Queen Mary handed them onto Queen Elizabeth".
We can also remember that bequests to the reigning monarch are exempt from inheritance taxes, which justifies that the jewels inherited by the monarch remain with the next monarches (or with people designated by the monarch, but only for their lifetime).
So the Queen could have "given" the Lover's Knot tiara to Diana as a wedding gift in 1981, with the restriction that it is a Royal Collection's belonging, and not a jewel owned in full property by the Princess of Wales (contrary to the jewels she received, for instance, from Charles). After all, Diana was married to the heir to the Throne and was supposed to become one day the Queen Consort of the United-Kingdom, so the Queen could feel in 1981 that there was no problem giving a Royal Collection's jewel to her daughter-in-law (and for her own wedding in 1947, Queen Elizabeth II herself had received Crown heirlooms jewels as wedding gifts [Queen Anne & Queen Caroline's pearl necklaces], although she was at that time "only" heiress presumptive).
That is my understanding of the complex matter of the ownership of these British royal jewels. But of course, we will never be sure, until the Royal Collection clarifies its rules of ownership.
I am fairly certain that the Lover's Knot tiara will be never worn by Camilla, as it would raise too much uproar because of the association of this tiara with Diana. Moreover, this tiara would be a bit "drowned" in Camilla's big puffing hairdo. But it would look great on Catherine Duchess of Cambridge. Wait and see...
--Previous Message-- : : Arthur - I must take issue with you over a : statement you make at the start. : : " As a jewel transmitted from Queen : (Mary) to Queen (Elizabeth II), it should : now be a part of the Royal Collection (which : is the copyright mentioned by Geoffrey Munn : in his book Tiaras, A History of Splendour, : page 134), and not a private property of the : Queen. " : : Copyright I believe would relate to a : photograph . : We now know that the Royal Collection has : arranged for photos to be taken for the : purpose of inclusion in their publications. : : I would say the tiara is most likely still : the private property of the Queen. In any : event, not of the Royal Collection. : : Added by edit: I also believe the practice : of lending private jewels started well : before the divorces. : The experience of the abdication almost : certainly sharpened senses for keeping : principal jewels in the reigning line. : : : --Previous Message-- : Thanks for the link, PJ Kiser! : : The ownership of this tiara is rather : mysterious. As a jewel transmitted from : Queen (Mary) to Queen (Elizabeth II), it : should now be a part of the Royal Collection : (which is the copyright mentioned by : Geoffrey Munn in his book Tiaras, A History : of Splendour , page 134), and not a private : property of the Queen. : : But when she presented the Lovers Knot tiara : to Diana as a wedding gift in 1981, the : Queen could not foresee that the Royal : Family would be plagued, a decade later, by : so many divorces. A royal marriage was : supposed to last for life: so it made sense, : at that time, that gifts were fully given, : and not only "loaned", as it is : now the case. Therefore, it would be a : logical deduction that William (or Harry) : inherited the tiara at their mother's death. : But that would not be coherent with the : tiara being part of the Royal Collection. : : Another possibility could be that the Lovers : Knot tiara was a "gift for life" : to Diana - a kind of intermediary position : between a gift in full property and a mere : loan. That would imply that the tiara : reverted back to the Queen after Diana's : death (or even after her divorce). That : would also be coherent with an information : posted by our well-informed (and : much-missed) poster Boffer in 2011 : indicating that " most of the historic : royal jewels that Princess Margaret was : gifted by her mother and sister during her : lifetime were only gifts-for-life and thus : reverted back to the Queen upon her death : ". : : We can notice that Hugh Roberts, in The : Queen's Diamonds (page 182), remains silent : about the ownership issue: " the tiara : was inherited by The Queen from her : grandmother in 1953 and was worn by Diana, : Princess of Wales, following her marriage in : 1981 ". But he does not disclose if the : tiara had been given or loaned, and if the : tiara went to the Queen or to Prince William : (or to Prince Harry) after Diana's death. : : Note that the words used in the documentary : on Youtube should not be taken for a granted : and sure truth. Actually, there seems to be : some errors in this documentary. For : example, a few minutes after the passage : about the Lovers Knot tiara, the authors of : the documentary discuss Queen Alexandra's : wedding gift parure, and erroneously mention : that the brooch of the parure had remained : with the Queen-Mother (whereas we know that : it was bequeathed by Queen Mary to Queen : Elizabeth II). : : Anyway, I hope we will not have to wait for : decades before we can see this beautiful : Lovers Knot tiara again! It is both delicate : and majestic, and I am sure it would look : great on the Duchess of Cambridge! : : : : : : : --Previous Message-- : Thanks for the link to this documentary ! : : --Previous Message-- : I found this documentary while looking for : something else. Its on the British Royal : Jewelry, talks about the Queen, Queen Mary : and Princess Diana. The True Lovers Knot : Tiara is mention on 31:15 as one of two : pieces of Royal jewelry owned outright by : Diana and is the hands of her sons as her : legacy. I don't know how true this is and I : know this was talked about before. This is : my two cents on the subject. : PJ : British Jewels Doc : : : : : : : :
on October 8, 2014, 4:29 pm, in reply to "