Queen Alia’s Cartier Tiara

Happy Birthday to Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, who turns 50 today! The accomplished equestrian sister of the King of Jordan who is the former wife of the Emir of Dubai, getting one of the largest divorce settlements in history, Princess Haya inherited Queen Alia’s Cartier Tiara!

In late 1974 or early 1975, King Hussein of Jordan acquired this striking Cartier Diamond Tiara, along with a pair of earrings and a bracelet, as a gift for his third wife, Queen Alia!

Queen Alia most notably wore her Cartier Tiara for a series of Official Portraits taken with King Hussein at some point in the mid-1970s.

Queen Alia took her Cartier Tiara on the Jordanian State Visit to Japan in 1976 for the State Banquet hosted by the Emperor and Empress at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo as well as the Return Banquet at the Akasaka Imperial Palace.

Following the State Visit to Japan, King Hussein and Queen Alia embarked on a State Visit to Australia, where the Cartier Tiara was worn for a Banquet at Government House in Canberra and a Return Banquet at the Lakeside Hotel.

After Queen Alia’s untimely death in a plane crash in 1977, the Cartier Tiara was inherited by her only daughter, Princess Haya, who first wore it for a shoot for photographer Maher Attar in 1998.

The following year, Princess Haya loaned the Queen Alia’s Cartier Tiara to her sister-in-law, Queen Rania, for the Enthronement of King Abdullah II of Jordan.

When the new Jordanian Royal Couple embarked on their first State Visit a few months later, Queen Rania wore Queen Alia’s Cartier Tiara for the State Banquet at the Royal Palace of Madrid.

A few weeks later, Queen Rania also took Queen Alia’s Cartier Tiara to Japan, where it was worn for a State Banquet hosted by the Emperor and Empress at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.

The following year, Queen Rania wore Queen Alia’s Cartier Tiara for the State Banquet hosted by King Harald and Queen Sonja at the Royal Palace of Oslo.

Queen Rania also wore Queen Alia’s Cartier Tiara for numerous Official Portraits until 2001, following which she has worn her Diamond Tiara, Boucheron Bracelet Bandeau, and Arabic Script Tiara.

Following her marriage to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai in 2004, Princess Haya took Queen Alia’s Cartier Tiara to Dubai, where she was photographed wearing it for numerous portraits over the years.

Most notably, in 2017, Princess Haya bint Al Hussein wore Queen Alia’s Cartier Tiara for an interview in Majesty Magazine, talking about life, work and her husband Sheikh Mohammed of Dubai’s humanitarian endeavours.

When Princess Haya left her marriage to the Sheikh and fled to London with her two children, she received a record-breaking £550m divorce settlement, that included £13.5m for jewellery regarding her claim for property lost as part of the end of the couple’s marriage.

The princess said she had left several precious items behind when she left Dubai as she did not want to be accused of theft.

Her jewellery, in total valued at £20m, would fill the courtroom if spread out, she had earlier told the judge.

It is not known if Queen Alia’s Cartier Tiara was among the jewels left behind in Dubai or if Princess Haya has retained it in London, but since she did not attend the Wedding Banquet of Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan last year, we probably won’t know for certain for quite a long time.