Happy Birthday to the Duchess of Gloucester, who turns 77 today! The Danish-born wife of the late Queen’s cousin, the Duchess has been a hardworking member of the Royal Family for 50 years, and possesses an enormous collection of heirloom jewellery, bigger than some main royal collections, the highlight of which is the versatile Gloucester Honeysuckle Tiara!
Gloucester Honeysuckle Tiara | Teck Turquoise Tiara | Cartier India Tiara | Iveagh Tiara | Diamond Necklace Tiara | Pearl and Emerald Suite | Emerald Necklace | Queen Mary’s 11-row Pearl Choker | Diamond Corsage Brooch | Emerald Necklace | The Duchess of Gloucester’s Tiaras
A few years after the Accession of King George V and Queen Mary in 1910, Queen Mary commissioned a striking Tiara from E. Wolff & Co in 1913-14, consisting of of a diamond frame of honeysuckle motifs that leads up to a larger interchangeable centre. The Tiara was largely made using diamonds from the dismantled Ladies of England Tiara and the Surrey Fringe Tiara, which had been wedding gifts in 1893. The central honeysuckle could have originally been swapped out for the Cullinan V Diamond or a Sapphire Brooch, though the current configurations include a spectacular faceted pink Topaz and a cabochon Emerald.
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Queen Mary was notably photographed wearing the Honeysuckle Tiara with the Cullinan V Diamond soon after it’s completion, and later, in the 1920s, the Tiara was pictured with a central Sapphire Brooch, though the Tiara was never a favourite in front of photographers.
When King George V and Queen Mary’s third son, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, married Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott in 1935, the bride received several spectacular wedding gifts, including Queen Mary’s Teck Turquoise Tiara and Parure, a Diamond Corsage Brooch, a Pearl and Emerald Suite, a Diamond Knot Brooch and the Honeysuckle Tiara, though the Tiara was not among the Jewels which went on display with the other wedding gifts, as was given by Queen Mary to Prince Henry to present to his bride.
The Duchess of Gloucester began wearing Queen Mary’s Honeysuckle Tiara soon after the Wedding, with a notable appearance at the Coronation of King George VI in 1937, as well as for several portraits and galas. There is no doubt the Tiara was also frequently worn during the Duke’s tenure as the Governor General of Australia during much of the Second World War. Despite having several smaller Tiaras, the Duchess only considered the Honeysuckle Tiara and the Teck Turquoise Tiara as actual Tiaras, saying (at a time she owned no less than six Tiaras):
‘I’ve already got two tiaras – one Queen Mary gave me, and one he did when we married’ (indicating Prince Henry). ‘Sufficient unto the day, don’t you know.’
By the 1950s, Honeysuckle Tiara had become a favourite of the Duchess of Gloucester, being worn for the as well as the Anglo-Danish Society Dinner in London in 1950, a Gala Performance at Covent Garden in 1950, the French State Visit to Britain in 1950, the Opening of the Festival of Britain in 1951, the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 and the Coronation Gala at Covent Garden, a series of Dorothy Wilding Portraits, a Gala Performance at the Drottningholm Palace Theatre in 1956, the Order of Amaranth Ball, the Iraqi State Visit to Britain in 1956, and the RAF 40th Anniversary Banquet in 1958.
After Queen Mary’s death, Princess Alice had inherited the Pink Topaz central element, though she usually preferred to wear the original version of Queen Mary’s Honeysuckle Tiara, like for the French State Visit to Britain the Order of the British Empire Service, and a Gala Performance at Covent Garden in 1960, the Belgian State Visit to Britain in 1963, and the RAF Golden Jubilee Banquet in 1968.
Princess Alice continued to wear Queen Mary’s Honeysuckle Tiara into her old age, including for the Japanese State Visit to Britain in 1971 the, Dutch State Visit to Britain in 1972, the Silver Jubilee Gala at Covent Garden in 1977, and the Order of the Bath Service in 1982, which was Princess Alice’s final public tiara appearance, over two decades before she passed away as the oldest member of the Royal Family.
By the late 1970s, Princess Alice had given Queen Mary’s Honeysuckle Tiara to her daughter-in-law, the current Duchess of Gloucester, who wore it first for the Swedish State Visit to Britain in 1975, and then more notably for the Oman State Visit and the Dutch State Visit to Britain in 1982 as well as the Norwegian State Visit to Britain in 1988 among numerous occasions.
By the 1990s, the Duchess had begun to wear the Topaz and Emerald versions, the latter usually with Princess Alice’s Emerald Necklace, of the Honeysuckle Tiara, and it made notable appearances during the Polish State Visit in 1991, the Diplomatic Reception at Buckingham Palace in 1991, the Brunei State Visit to Britain in 1992, the Malaysian State Visit to Britain in 1993, the Heads of State Banquet at the Guildhall in 1995, and the Wedding of Princess Alexandra of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Count Jefferson von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth in 1995 alongside several appearances at the State Opening of Parliament.
The Duchess of Gloucester wore Queen Mary’s Honeysuckle Tiara for Queen Margrethe’s Banquet at the Natural History Museum in London in 2000, and by the 2000s, the Duke and Duchess had become the designated royal representatives at the Guildhall, so the Tiara was worn for the Jordanian State Visit to Britain in 2001, the Norwegian Official Visit to Britain in 2005, and the French State Visit to Britain in 2008.
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester continued to represent the Royal Family at the Guildhall Banquets, and the Honeysuckle Tiara made an appearance at the Guildhall Banquet in 2016, during the Spanish State Visit to Britain in 2017, at the American State Banquet in 2019, and most recently for a Guildhall Banquet last year. There is no doubt we will continue to see the Duchess wearing Queen Mary’s Honeysuckle Tiara for years to come!
Gloucester Honeysuckle Tiara | Teck Turquoise Tiara | Cartier India Tiara | Iveagh Tiara | Diamond Necklace Tiara | Pearl and Emerald Suite | Emerald Necklace | Queen Mary’s 11-row Pearl Choker | Diamond Corsage Brooch | Emerald Necklace | The Duchess of Gloucester’s Tiaras
