While the world watched Charles and Camilla being crowned King and Queen of the Commonwealth in a tradition that has been carried on for hundreds of years, the Princess of Wales arrived with her daughter and changed the tradition in their own elegant way.
Princess Kate and her daughter Charlotte decided to forego the expected tiara headpiece, which was always considered a staple of a coronation event.
According to Lauren Kiehna, writer of The Court Jeweller, "Tiaras were worn by nearly every royal lady at the Queen's coronation in 1953, as well as lots of aristocratic women, but times have certainly changed in 70 years."
The 41-year-old mother of three decided to opt for a Jess Collett & Alexander McQueen-designed headpiece. It featured a three-dimensional leaf embroidery with silver bullion, crystal, and silver threadwork.
Her eight-year-old daughter wore a similar version of Kate's garland headpiece, with a simpler single-tiered silver-leaf embroidery design.
Since marrying Prince William in 2011, Kate has only been seen wearing three different tiaras on a handful of occasions. The most iconic of these has been her wedding day, when she wore Queen Elizabeth's Cartier Halo Tiara, a delicate band set with hundreds of diamonds that originally belonged to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, and was later gifted to Elizabeth II on her 18th birthday.
Additionally, for King Charles' coronation, Princess Kate wore a set of Diana’s pearl and diamond earrings as a touching nod to her late mother-in-law. She also wore the George VI Festoon Necklace, which was a gift from King George VI to his daughter, then Princess Elizabeth, as a tribute to the late Queen.
