Princess Kate's Favorite Banquet Tiara Was a Royal Heirloom Not Seen in Nearly 100 Years
The Princess of Wales stunned royal watchers when she revived the Strathmore Rose Tiara for a 2023 state banquet at Buckingham Palace.
Kate Middleton has a unique knack for turning royal duty into pure elegance, and nothing shows it more than her iconic tiara moments. Every time the Princess of Wales dons one, she embodies the grace and sophistication of a future queen. In 2023, she made rare fashion history by wearing the Strathmore Rose Tiara, a dazzling piece once owned by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. In doing so, she became the first royal woman to wear the cherished heirloom in nearly a century, making it one of her most symbolic style moments.
The Princess of Wales revived the piece during the three-day state visit of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, Kim Keon Hee. The rare royal heirloom, featuring five diamond roses set along a floral band, originally belonged to the Queen Mother. She received it as a wedding gift from her father, the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, upon marrying the future King George VI in 1923, later wearing it in a series of portraits with her husband. While the exact dates of the photos remain uncertain, The Court Jeweller notes that she was last photographed wearing the headpiece in 1930.
At the time, Middleton's tiara moment was interpreted as a subtle tribute to King Charles, who was very close to his grandmother. Reflecting on the same, fashion expert Bethan Hold told PEOPLE, "I think it’s lovely as the King was so close to the Queen Mother, and knowing that one of her most precious pieces of jewelry is being worn by his daughter-in-law gives a really emotional tie between the generations." She added, "I think if there was anyone to wear that tiara, it was Kate; she was the woman to wear it and carry it forward."
Jewellery expert Lauren Kiehna also told the outlet how Middleton loved to emulate the Queen Mother’s sense of royal duty, and wearing her tiara was a way to continue her legacy. She explained, "It's fitting that Kate — likely with some assistance from King Charles — would choose to wear the tiara exactly a hundred years after the Queen Mother originally received it. The piece is an antique that wasn't fashionable for many decades, but many jewels once considered fussy or unstylish have now been embraced again."
The Strathmore Rose Tiara is a 1920s-style floral headpiece crafted from diamonds and covered in silver and gold. It features five large diamond roses connected by smaller floral motifs and leaves, creating a subtle, romantic design. The tiara can be worn in two ways, either on top of the head or lower across the forehead, in keeping with the fashion of that time. Its versatile frame still makes it one of the most unique and rare pieces in the royal collection.
