Happy Birthday to the Countess of Derby, who turns 60 today! The daughter of the 10th Baron Braybrooke who served as an assistant to the Curator of the Royal Collection before she married the 19th Earl of Derby and became the chatelaine of Knowsley Hall, the Countess has often been seen earring the spectacular Derby Tiara!
Designed as a series of stylised buds issued from an openwork band, from which issues a sequence of eleven angular palmettes within diamond borders between which sit graduated lotus flowers, set throughout with cushion-shaped, rose- and circular-cut diamonds, the spectacular Derby Tiara is attributed to Skinner & Co, circa 1890.
The design of the Tiara is nearly identical to the spectacular Devonshire Palmette Tiara, created in 1893 for Louise, Duchess of Devonshire, who was the mother of the then Countess of Derby.
The Derby Tiara was notably worn by the 18th Countess of Derby for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey, where Lady Derby can be seen behind the Marchioness of Cholmondely.
After a gap of several decades, the Derby Tiara was next worn by The Honourable Caroline Neville, a daughter of the 10th Baron Braybrooke, for her Wedding to the 19th Earl of Derby at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Saffron Walden
A few years later, the Countess of Derby most notably wore the Derby Tiara at the Royal Caledonian Ball in 2001.
Over various years, the Countess of Derby was sure to be seen wearing the Derby Tiara at Elton John’s annual White Tie and Tiara Ball to Benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
The Countess also wore the Derby Tiara for the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation party with Marie Curie Cancer Care at Stud House in 2011, which was the last time she was publicly photographed wearing the piece.
In 2022, both the Derby Tiara and its twin, the Devonshire Palmette Tiara, were exhibited at the Sotheby’s Platinum Jubilee Exhibition: ‘Power & Image: Royal & Aristocratic Tiaras’ in London. Earlier the Tiara had been exhibited for Crowning Glories: Two Centuries of Tiaras at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in 2000.
Earlier this year, the Derby Tiara was worn by Isobel Stanley, the niece of the 18th Earl of Derby and a granddaughter of the late 5th Baron Fermoy, for her Wedding to Tristram Coates at Ely Cathedral in July. There is no doubt we will continue to see this spectacular Tiara worn for years to come!
