I have found more references to Princess Beatrice, and then Princess Louise wearing tiaras before their marriages.
I have not had time to do a search on all of Queen Victoria's daughters' pre-wedding appearances at Courts, Drawing Rooms, State Balls etc, and I suspect that those who married at a younger age may not have worn tiaras prior to their marriage, but that is merely a hunch. Only research will show if that is true.
For Beatrice and Louise. Wedding dates:
Louise 21 March 1871
Beatrice 23 July 1885.
[All references are to items in the Times. All comments relate solely to jewels worn on the head. The date of publication is at the end of each item.]
Louise.
1. Tiara of rubies and diamonds worn at a Drawing Room. 11 March 1869.
2. Report that she wore a "diadem" of rubies and diamonds for a Drawing Room. 12 May 1869.
3. Report that she wore a diamond tiara for a Drawing Room. 23 March 1870.
There are reports of Louise wearing diamonds, diamonds and a crescent and a sapphire and diamond crescent as part of her headdress on a number of occasions. She also wore diamond stars on a number of occasions.
Beatrice.
1 [Apart from the reference in my first post] she was reported to have worn a ruby and diamond tiara for a Drawing Room while the court was in mourning for the Czar. 6 May 1881.
2. She wore emeralds and pearls for a Drawing Room. 11 May 1876. (These may be individual pins or brooches, rather than a tiara)
On most occasions she was reported to have worn diamond stars on her head. One report specifically said that her veil and feathers were fastened with diamond stars.
Whether the diamond stars, which the media said were worn by Princess Louise and Princess Beatrice, are the same as these worn by Princess Beatrice for her wedding is something I don't have any information about - perhaps others do. (I think, from other images I have seen, that the stars worn by Princess Beatrice for her wedding were mounted on a diamond base - so, technically, they are part of a tiara at the time of the wedding.)
Queen Alexandra's daughters and tiaras prior to marriage.
[Note: I would like to exclude references to Princess Victoria as a mature aged Princess - for a number of reasons]
I did some searching for jewels worn by Queen Alexandra's daughters, but I found that, after Queen Alexandra became Queen very, very few official reports of the Courts, Drawing Rooms, Balls etc carry reports of any of the royal ladies' jewels and dresses- except for those of the Queen.
Could unmarried princesses have worn tiaras?
I think that, at least for some of the younger daughters of Queen Victoria, we need to re-examine the concept that a female did not wear a tiara prior to marriage.
What could Queen Victoria's daughters have worn as the tiaras described?
I very much doubt if Queen Victoria's daughters, as young, unmarried women, wore this - and I have read that it was given to the Duchess of Albany.
I also wonder if Queen Victoria would have lent her strawberry leaf ruby tiara to her daughters during a period when she was still wearing it occasionally.
[Later given to Princess Beatrice as a wedding present - and the tiara in the photo below has been modified by the addition of a large band to increase its height}
I suspect not, but that is just my opinion.
Unfortunately, I have not found any images of Princess Louise or Princess Beatrice wearing unknown tiaras for the period concerned so identification is problematic.
That makes me think that Queen Victoria had another ruby tiara, which we do not have any photographic record of.
on February 24, 2016, 3:05 am, in reply to "
