Girls of Great Britain tiara and coronet styleArchived Message
Posted by Beth on November 5, 2016, 9:10 pm
While trawling through the Royal Collection site some time ago I saw a photo of the wedding of Queen Maud. It made me question the accepted version of the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara worn as a coronet to the Devonshire House Ball.
Below is a detail from the photo of Queen Maud's wedding. It shows that the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara formed a complete circle. The Duchess of Teck's tiara was also on a coronet frame.
As Duchess of York the Queen wore the tiara in a tight upright formation, which I now think was achieved by use of a coronet frame.
HM when Duchess of York.
It seems that, at the time, the coronet style was popular, and the then Crown Princess of Denmark used a brooch to enable the pearl tiara to form a circle.
Later, as fashion changed, Queen Mary positioned the tiara on another more open frame.
I suspect that what Queen Mary wore to the Devonshire Ball might have been small sections from the ends of the tiara mounted on a comb frame rather than a very small coronet frame.
Roberts says that the original jewel came with a "crown comb". It is of course possible that Queen Mary had 2 coronet frames, one larger than the other.
on November 5, 2016, 9:10 pm
