Queen Victoria’s Regal Circlet

Today marks the Anniversary of the Death of Queen Victoria, who died on this day in 1901! While we have already covered most of Jewels, but we have been saving this iconic piece for today, marking the anniversary by featuring one of Queen Victoria’s most prominent jewels: The Regal Circlet!

Originally composed of a diamond circlet which featured alternate fleur-de-lis and cross pattée as well as detachable greek honeysuckle (anthemion) elements and the possibility to attach the legendary Koh-i-Noor Diamond, this Regal Circlet was originally created by Garrard in 1853 by remaking Queen Adelaide’s Diamond Circlet with the addition of diamonds from Queen Charlotte’s wedding stomacher and the Cumberland Diamond, though after the Hanoverian claim in 1858, when all the diamonds had to be returned, additional diamonds supplied by Garrard and redundant jewels were used to complete the Circlet by 1859, also featuring a large diamond from the Ottoman Sultan.

Queen Victoria was depicted wearing the original Regal Circlet in a spectacular portrait done by Winterhalter in May 1856, when she wore the Koh-i-Noor Diamond Brooch and Queen Charlotte’s Diamond Rivière, which also had to be given to her cousin, the King of Hannover, and was replaced by the Coronation Necklace.

Another notable appearance of the Regal Circlet came in November 1861, when Queen Victoria posed for Charles Clifford wearing the Circlet exactly a month before the passing of Prince Albert, thus making it the last portrait in which she was not in mourning.

Queen Victoria also wore the Regal Circlet during her widowhood, as depicted in illustrations, but eventually replaced it with her Small Diamond Crown, since she felt her larger Tiaras and Crowns too grand to go with her perpetual mourning.

While Queen Alexandra had her own almost identical Diamond Circlet created, she was never pictured wearing Queen Victoria’s Regal Circlet, and it was next worn by Queen Mary for the State Opening of Parliament in 1911, which took place before the Coronation of King George V when Queen Mary’s Crown was created. There are no subsequent appearances of the Regal Circlet in public.

Ahead of the Coronation of King George VI in 1937, there was the need for a new Queen Consort’s Crown, and thus Crown of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother was made using the diamonds from Queen Victoria’s Regal Circlet, and also features the legendary Koh-i-Noor Diamond as well as the Ottoman Sultan’s Diamond. The empty frame belongs to the Royal Collection but is on display at the Museum of London.

However, It does seem that the four anthemion elements we are used to create Countess of Wessex’s Wedding Tiara ahead of her Wedding to Prince Edward in 1999. After wearing the tiara with the elements only spaced out, by 2019, the Countess seems to have had the anthemion elements bodied to create another version of the Tiara, which has so far only been worn once, for the American State Banquet in 2019.