Fife Tiara

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Fife Tiara | Fife Fringe Tiara | Diamond Floral Tiara

The magnificent Tiara is composed of pear-shaped diamonds hanging from a diamond framework, topped with more pear-shaped diamonds over a diamond base, and was made by Parisian Jeweller Oscar Massin.

The Tiara was given by the then 6th Earl of Fife as a wedding gift to his bride, Princess Louise of Wales, the eldest daughter of the Prince and Princess of Wales (later King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra). Queen Victoria elevated the Earl as the 1st Duke of Fife upon his marriage to her granddaughter. Princess Louise also received the Fife Fringe Tiara from her parents and a Diamond Floral Tiara from friends.

Princess Louise, Duchess of Fife (later the Princess Royal), wore the Fife Tiara for numerous Official Portraits and at Royal events, including the Wedding of her brother, the Duke of York, and Princess May of Teck in 1893 and the Wedding of Prince Carl of Denmark and her sister, Princess Maud of Wales, in 1896.

Princess Louise also wore the Fife Tiara to the Coronation of her father, King Edward VII, in 1902 as well as for the Coronation of her brother, King George V, in 1911.

The Duke and Duchess had two daughters, Princess Alexandra and Princess Maud, before the Duke of Fife suddenly died in 1912, soon after the family was shipwrecked off the coast of Morocco, en route to Egypt. Princess Louise wore the Fife Tiara for a series of portraits as well as for the Wedding of Prince Arthur of Connaught and her daughter, Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife, in 1913, retaining the Tiara until her death in 1931.

The Fife Tiara was among the jewels inherited by Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife and Princess Arthur of Connaught who wore the Tiara with her Diamond Earrings in the Royal Box at the Coronation of her first cousin, King George VI, and Queen Elizabeth in 1937.

Around the same time, Duchess of Fife wore the Fife Tiara and the Diamond Earrings again, for a series of portraits taken in her Coronation Robes.

Following Princess Alexandra’s death in 1959, the Fife Tiara were among the jewels inherited by her nephew and heir, the 3rd Duke of Fife, and was worn by the new Duchess for several Balls in the 1960s.

The Fife Tiara was also worn by Caroline Bunting, when she married the then Earl of Macduff, now the 4th Duke of Fife, in 1987.

While the 3rd Duke sold some heirlooms, like Queen Victoria’s Turkish Diamond Parure, during the 1970s, it was only after the death of the 3rd Duke of Fife in 2015, that the Fife Tiara was accepted by Her Majesty’s Government in lieu of tax, valued at £1.4 million, and has now gone on display in the Jewel Room at Kensington Palace along with the Fife Fringe Tiara and Queen Victoria’s Emerald Parure, which are still owned by the Duke of Fife.

Fife Tiara | Fife Fringe Tiara | Diamond Floral Tiara

 

Fife Tiara

Fife Fringe Tiara

Diamond Floral Tiara

Fife Tiara

Fife Fringe Tiara

Connaught Fringe Tiara

Diamond Earrings

Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee Chain

Diamond Tiara

Honeysuckle Tiara

Fringe Tiara

Connaught Diamond Bow Brooch

Connaught Pearl Brooch

Maple Leaf Brooch

Art Deco Diamond Brooch

This glittering Diamond Tiara was a wedding gift from an aristocratic groom to his royal bride, who wore it for glittering royal events in the Edwardian era. Worn by their daughter at a coronations, it is still owned by their great-grandson, the Duke of Fife. To check out our post on Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife, click HERE.

This Tiara, composed of pear-shaped diamonds hanging from a diamond framework, topped with more pear-shaped diamonds over a diamond base, was made by Parisian jeweler Oscar Massin, and given by the Earl (soon elevated to Duke) of Fife as a wedding gift to Princess Louise of Wales, eldest daughter of the Prince and Princess of Wales (later King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra), in 1889.

Princess Louise, Duchess of Fife (later the Princess Royal), wore the Fife Tiara in Official Portraits and at Royal events, including the wedding of her sister Princess Maud, later Queen Maud of Norway, and the Coronations of her father, King Edward VII, in 1902 and her brother, King George V, in 1911. The couple had two daughters, Princess Alexandra and Princess Maud. The Duke of Fife died in 1912, soon after the family was shipwrecked off the coast of Morocco, en route to Egypt.He was succeeded by Princess Alexandra.

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Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife, who was married to Prince Arthur of Connaught, wore the grand Fife Tiara at the Coronation of her cousin, King George VI in 1937. She also wore it for a series of official portraits taken afterwards. The Duchess was predeceased by her only son, so upon her death in 1959, her title, and the Tiara, went to her nephew, Lord Carnegie, who became the 3rd Duke of Fife.

After being worn by the 3rd Duke’s wife, Caroline during her tenure as Duchess, the Fife Tiara was worn by Caroline Bunting, when she married their son, now the 4th Duke, in 1987. The Duke and Duchess were seen at Ascot last year. It was also worn by her sister-in-law, Lady Alexandra Etherington, at her wedding in 2001. The Tiara still belongs to the family, and was last seen at Geoffrey Munn’s Tiara exhibition in 2002.

UPDATE- It was discovered by 992234177 on RJWMB that the Fife Tiara has been accepted by Her Majesty’s Government in lieu of tax in 2017, and was valued at £1.4 million. This possibly comes after the death of the 3rd Duke two years ago. Unfortunately, this is a common fate for tiaras, but on a positive note, under conditions attached to the offer, the Tiara has been permanently allocated to Historic Royal Palaces and will be displayed at Kensington Palace.

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For more information, check out:

Royal Magazin

Tiara Mania

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