Kate Middleton's Tiaras She's Worn as a Royal Family Member

While Princess Kate has been part of the British royal family for 12 years since marrying Prince William in April 2011, she has only worn a select handful of the vast collection of family tiaras to formal events.

Royal tradition dictates that tiaras are not supposed to be worn before 6 p.m., but that didn’t apply to Kate’s wedding day. She chose Queen Elizabeth’s Cartier Halo tiara for the nuptials, which is the only time she ever wore it.

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The Princess of Wales became fond of the Cambridge Lover’s Knot tiara, previously worn by her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana. Kate has worn it on numerous occasions including state dinners, diplomatic receptions and other royals weddings since debuting it for the first time in 2015 at a Buckingham Palace reception.

Scroll down to see photos of the different tiaras Princess Kate has worn during her time in the royal family.

The Cartier Halo Tiara

Kate chose the relatively small tiara made of diamond scrolls to wear when she married William. It was originally purchased in 1936 by the future King George VI for his wife, Elizabeth, best known as the Queen Mother. She passed it on to her daughter then-Princess Elizabeth as an 18th birthday gift.

Queen Elizabeth II never wore the tiara in public but loaned it out to her sister, Princess Margaret, and daughter, Princess Anne, who were each photographed wearing the treasure on public occasions.

The Lotus Flower Tiara

The then-Duchess of Cambridge wore the Lotus Flower tiara to a diplomatic reception at Buckingham Palace in 2013. She donned it again in 2015 during a state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping to the palace. Kate wouldn’t wear it again until a 2022 Diplomatic Corps reception, marking the first time she wore it with her hair down and not in an updo.

The piece was made by Garrard and was a gift from the future King George VI to his bride Elizabeth Bowes-Lyons for their 1923 wedding.

The Cambridge Lover’s Knot Tiara

As the Duchess of Cambridge, this was Kate’s go-to tiara for many years, wearing it for the first time in 2015. She wore it on nearly all formal occasions calling for a tiara in the years since, most recently donning it for the June 2023 wedding and reception for Crown Prince of Jordan Al Hussein bin Abdullah and Rajwa Al Saif.

The diadem made of pearls and diamonds was originally made for Queen Mary by Garrard in 1914 from jewels her family already owned. It was passed on to her granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II, who loaned it out to Princess Diana after she married then-Prince Charles. Although she complained that the weight of the piece gave her headaches, Diana wore the signature piece throughout her marriage and returned it to the royal family upon her divorce.

The Strathmore Rose Tiara

Kate blew royal watchers minds when she wore the delicate tiara for the first time to a November 21, 2023 state dinner at Buckingham Palace for the President of the Republic of Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol. It had not been seen in nearly a century and many royal fans believed it had become too fragile to ever be worn.

When then-Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon married the Duke of York in 1923, her father, the Earl of Strathmore, gave it to her as a wedding present. It features five diamond flowers, which can be removed and worn as brooches. Kate’s wearing of the priceless piece confirmed it was still among the royal collection and in wearable condition. The future Queen Mother wore the piece for several portraits in the 1920s, but it hadn’t been seen since the early 1930s.

Some royal watchers theorized that King Charles allowed Kate to wear the piece as a sign of his devotion and appreciation for his “beloved” daughter-in-law, as he was deeply close to his grandmother, the only woman to have previously worn it.