We are under 2 weeks away from the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, so we have invited our wonderful colleague and avid royal watcher, Viv Haxby, to walk us through some of the stories and history behind the private jewels - not the crown jewels! Viv has made her predictions about what will be worn at the coronation, and why.
Here, in order of how they appear in the podcast, are images of all the tiaras, coronets and jewels mentioned.
Camilla;
Viv's predictions - the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara.
Top 2 photos - copyright Royal Collection Trust
Bottom - left - Queen Mary, the original owner, centre and right images - Queen Elizabeth II wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara
Option 2 - the Greville tiara, which Camilla wore recently in Germany on their state visit
Mentioned - the George VI sapphire tiara, worn by Camilla after the Queen.
Coronation necklace - worn at every coronation after Queen Victoria. Viv suggests that it might be worn without the large pendant at the bottom, the Lahore diamond, due to its controversial provenance. Queen Elizabeth II wore it at her coronation and regularly at state dinners.
The Queen Mother wore the coronation necklace PLUS another at the coronation of her husband George VI;
Coronation earrings - Viv thinks they may be avoided, as the diamonds at the bottom were originally set in with the Koh-I-Noor diamond, the provenance of which we have covered on a previous podcast.
Crown of the Queen Mother (with the Koh-i-noor diamond at the front), and the Queen Mary crown, which is being repurposed and (we believe) having 4 of the arches removed to be Camilla's crown.
The Cullinan diamond collection;
Cullinan 3 and 4, which Queen Elizabeth II wore as a brooch (!!) and which are now being incorporated into Queen Mary's crown for Camilla.
Left hand image - copyright Royal Collection Trust
Cullinan 5 - brooch.
Cullinan 1 and 2 - to be found in the coronation sceptre (left, Cullinan 1, 530 carats) and Imperial State Crown (right, Cullinan 2, 350 carats), both of which will be seen at the upcoming coronation. The crown will be King Charles III's working crown.
All the major Cullinan stones;
Kate;
Viv's prediction here is that she will wear the Lover's Knot tiara, which seems to be one of her favourites. This was one of Princess Diana's regular tiaras, and was a wedding gift from the Queen. It is on the Inventory of Heirlooms of the Crown, meaning it must stay within the family and be passed down the main line of inheritance, which is how it has made its way to Kate.
Also mentioned - Cartier Halo tiara (left), which Kate wore for her wedding, and the Lotus Flower tiara (centre and right).
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh;
Viv thinks that she may wear a tiara, and if she does, it will be the Anthemion tiara, worn by her regularly, as well as at her wedding where it was a gift.
Princess Anne;
It's not sure if she will or won't wear a tiara, but the options are the Festoon tiara (above), or the Queen Mary fringe tiara (below)
Worn by (in order) Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Anne, Princess Beatrice.
Charlotte
Viv hopes young Charlotte will be given the circlet worn here by Princess Elizabeth (later QEII) at her father's coronation
Also mentioned; the George IV Diadem, worn by the Queen as she entered the Abbey for her coronation. Viv thinks King Charles might also wear it for the arrival.
Wedding gift bracelet - given by Prince Philip to the Queen on their wedding. Worn here by Kate.
And that's it! Tune in next week to hear us demystifying the coronation!
Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
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Fiona’s guiding profile -Fiona Lukas - Guide London