Princess Eugenie's wedding day tiara is the most expensive worn in history, according to new research. Eugenie had the rare honor of wearing the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik tiara, something which no member of the Royal Family had worn in public before her wedding day.
Princess Katharina Henckel von Donnersmarck's tiara – US$12.7 million.
For comparison, the Cambridge Lover's Knot Tiara worn by Kate Middleton is thought to be worth around $1M, and Meghan's Art Deco-style bandeau tiara is estimated at around $2.4M.
Grand Duchess Vladimir Tiara: ~$460K
The Grand Duchess Vladimir Tiara was arguably Queen Elizabeth II's all-time favorite tiara. The tiara was originally smuggled out of Russia by Grand Duchess Vladimir, who later had to sell it to support her children. Per Tatler, she sold the tiara to Queen Mary.
Meghan Markle borrowed her diamond tiara from Queen Elizabeth, who had, in turn, inherited it from her grandmother, Queen Mary.
While the Greville Tiara was actually Queen Elizabeth's—on extended loan to Camilla after first gaining renown as one of the Queen Mother's choice sparklers—the Cubitt Tiara is one of the Camilla's family heirlooms, according to the Court Jeweller.
Leading Diamond Expert, Maxwell Stone of Steven Stone, told woman&home, “The Greville Emerald Kokoshnik tiara is… estimated to be worth $12.2M (approx. £10M), making it the most expensive of all the tiaras we've studied.”
But one royal treasure pre-dates this most important of artefacts by 300 years: the Palatine Crown, also known as the Crown of Princess Blanche or the Bohemian Crown, which is the oldest surviving crown of England.
What is the oldest surviving tiara? As far we know, the oldest surviving royal tiara of England is the Crown of Princess Blanche, otherwise known as the Palatine Crown. Made of gold and set with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, enamel and pearls; it is thought to date back to 1370 to 1380.
Queen Victoria wore her Emerald and Diamond Tiara and Parure for a variety of occasions, including several portraits by the celebrated Franz Xavier Winterhalter between 1846 and 1859, as well as a State Visit to France in 1855.
The centrepiece of the British monarchy's crown jewels is St Edward's crown. Owing to its historical significance it is considered priceless, and therefore cannot be insured.
From the Imperial State Crown traditionally worn for the opening of parliament, to the numerous diadems she has lent to royal brides, the Queen has an impressive collection of tiaras. Yet there is one that is thought to be her favourite - a piece she turns to again and again - the Vladimir Tiara.
The tiara was inherited by Diana's father John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer in the mid seventies and, as such, remains in the Spencer family. But while Kate may not inherit the famous diadem, it seems it will one day be given to her daughter, Princess Charlotte.
Instead, the late Princess of Wales chose a piece from her own family's treasure trove – the century-old Spencer Tiara worn by her mother Frances and sisters Sarah and Jane on their own wedding days, which was likely picked for its sentimental meaning.
Meghan reportedly wanted to wear an emerald tiara, but the Queen had selected a diamond tiara that had been worn by her grandmother, Queen Mary, in 1932.
'Unknown Russian origins' was picked up and used to infer that Meghan had wanted to wear the Grand Duchess Vladimir's Tiara with the Cambridge Emerald drops. The Grand Duchess Vladimir's tiara has very clear and documented origins.
Today, the tiara is worth about £39,300 but sold last year at Christie's for an enormous £1.25 million. No doubt thanks to its historical links. By comparison, the tiara worn by Meghan was Queen Mary's lozenge bandeau tiara with is worth around £2 million. Kate's halo scroll tiara is thought to be worth £750,000.
However, the tiara most worn by Kate was Princess Diana's favorite, the Lover's Knot. She has been seen wearing it on several occasions, the first being at the 2015 annual diplomatic reception, and then wearing the item for the same event for three consecutive years.
Over the course of her decade-long royal career, the then-Duchess of Cambridge, now the Princess of Wales, has sported three different tiaras publicly: the Cartier Halo, which she wore on her wedding day; the Lotus Flower, which was notably one of Princess Margaret's favorites; and the Lover's Knot, which carries a ...
Kate, the new Princess of Wales, wears Princess Diana's engagement ring and she chose a pearl and diamond brooch given to her by the Queen for the Cathedral service at Westminster for the lying-in-state. If tradition prevails, most of the Queen's personal jewels will be passed on to King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
The tiara wasn't given to Diana, but was merely loaned to her by her father. When she asked to continue using the jewel, Earl Spencer was apparently glad to let her continue to borrow the piece. After all, the Spencers, so long part of the royal world but not royal themselves, had become royalty.
Queen Elizabeth II was known to have an exquisite collection of jewels including expensive crowns and tiaras, while it is believed that the Queen's private collection has around 50 tiaras.