For the first time ever, Kate Middleton wore Queen Victoria’s Oriental Circlet Tiara, a massive Garrard & Co. headpiece featuring 2,600 diamonds and more than a dozen rubies.
Heavy is the head that wears the crown? Ask Kate Middleton.
The Princess of Wales wore her biggest tiara to date during a state banquet at Windsor Castle Dec. 3, stepping out in a massive, diamond-studded accessory that has not been publicly worn in 20 years.
Joined by husband Prince William, Kate sparkled in Queen Victoria’s Oriental Circlet Tiara, a Garrard & Co. headpiece commissioned by Prince Albert in 1853 to incorporate 2,600 diamonds set in gold.
The 43-year-old paired the royally luxe diadem with a sparkling blue Jenny Packham gown. For accessories, she wore diamond earrings that belonged to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother as well as the Royal Family Order sash and the Royal Victorian Order star.
And Kate’s tiara has quite the story to it. After all, it was originally made to house more than a dozen opals, but they were replaced with rubies in 1901 by Victoria’s daughter-in-law Queen Alexandra due to “superstitions” surrounding the milky white gemstones, according to its maker.
Per Gerard & Co’s royal ledger, Alexandra is believed to have only worn the crown once on a state visit to Germany before it was passed down to the Queen Mother and her daughter Queen Elizabeth II, who last donned it during a 2005 trip to Malta.
Kate seemingly tapped into the crown’s storied past by wearing it to the state dinner, where she and the royal family—including King Charles III and Queen Camilla—welcomed German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
