Hugh Roberts on the tiara's ownershipArchived Message
Posted by Ella Kay on December 8, 2015, 7:28 pm, in reply to "Re: it's routine!"
William didn't inherit the tiara; we know that it belongs to the Queen, because it was included in Hugh Roberts's book.
From the section in The Queen's Diamonds on the tiara: "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." It's the last sentence of the entry on the piece.
The careful wording of that sentence tells us a few things: 1) The tiara currently belongs to the Queen (as it's in the book at all) and, actually, apparently has belonged to her since 1953. There's no suggestion that she relinquished the ownership of the tiara at any period following that date. 2) The tiara was "worn by" Diana, not "given to" her, suggesting it was actually a long-term loan, much the same way as the Greville Tiara has been loaned the Duchess of Cornwall. If Diana never owned it, it makes sense that it was returned to the vaults at BP in 1996-97.