< Historic Diamonds / Royal Stories
The Royal History of The Cambridge Lover’s Knot Tiara
From Queen Mary to Queen Elizabeth II, the diamond and pearl Cambridge Lover’s Knot Tiara has been adored by royal women like Princess Diana and Kate Middleton.
Diana, Princess of Wales attends a dinner at the British Embassy in Washington, DC, November 1985. (Getty Images)
The majestic diamond and pearl Cambridge Lover’s Knot Tiara has been adored by four generations of royal women. The first official Crown Jeweler, Garrard, created the diadem for Queen Mary in 1913, before it was inherited by Queen Elizabeth II and gifted to Princess Diana.
Lady Di wore the Lover’s Knot so frequently that the tiara has become inextricably tied to her indelible and enduring royal style. One of only two main tiaras she wore during her tenure as a member of the Royal Family, Kate Middleton has since taken up the mantle, breathing new life into the historic heirloom for State Banquets and royal receptions.
Meet the Expert
- Claire Scott is the Design & Development Director at Garrard.
- Scott previously held positions like Senior Jewelry Designer and Head of Design at the first official Crown Jeweler.
- With over 20 years of experience in the luxury jewelry industry, Scott has developed iconic collections and custom commissions at some of the most prestigious jewelry houses in the world.
Its elegant open-heart motifs, known at Garrard as the Sovereign motif, are set with natural diamonds, with 19 baroque pearls suspended beneath. The Sovereign motif has remained a signature of the luxury jeweler for over 290 years. To this day, it continues to appear across high jewelry creations and modern collections, such as the brand’s contemporary Aloria assortment.
“The Lover’s Knot Tiara is a true expression of Garrard’s design language, where romantic symbolism meets exquisite craftsmanship,” says Claire Scott, Design & Development Director at Garrard. “The suspended baroque pearls bring the piece to life, giving it movement and grace. The lover’s knot itself is deeply tied to our heritage, a reimagining of the Sovereign motif, notably seen on the Sovereign’s Scepter set with the Cullinan I diamond. This design thread runs through our 290-year history, continuing to inspire today’s high jewelry designs and collections.”
Here, OND explores the history of the Cambridge Lover’s Knot Tiara and the royal women who made it shine.
Queen Mary and the Origin of the Cambridge Lover’s Knot Tiara
The romantic and regal tiara was commissioned by Queen Mary (Mary of Teck, Queen Elizabeth II’s paternal grandmother) in 1913, crafted by the House of Garrard, the first official Crown Jeweler.
Queen Mary requested the piece replicate that of a design owned by her maternal grandmother, Princess Augusta of Hesse, the Duchess of Cambridge. Queen Mary provided one of her existing tiaras— the Ladies of England Tiara— and other diamond and pearl pieces from her jewelry box to use for the Lover’s Knot.
Consisting of 19 archways of brilliant and rose-cut diamonds, the headpiece is capped with a diamond ribbon “lover’s knot” bow motif, including 19 dangling pear-shaped baroque pearl drops. “The suspended pearls give the Lover’s Knot Tiara a rare sense of movement and life, a hallmark of Garrard’s craftsmanship and heritage,” says Scott.
Previously, the tiara included an extra 19 pearls that pointed upright from each diamond curvature. The pearls were taken from the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara. Since then, they’ve been replaced with a row of standalone brilliant-cut diamonds.
The Lover’s Knot Tiara Was Passed Down To Queen Elizabeth II
After Queen Mary passed away in 1953, she left the tiara to her granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II. Her Royal Highness went on to wear the Lover’s Knot consistently throughout the 1950s, before shifting towards her more recent favorites like the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara. The Queen had the Lover’s Knot immortalized in portrait form in 1957, posing in the tiara for British painter Leonard Boden for the Royal Military Academy.
The Lover’s Knot Tiara Was Among Princess Diana’s Most-Worn Crowns
After marrying Prince Charles in 1981, Princess Diana received a treasure trove of royal family jewels from the Queen on permanent loan, including the Lover’s Knot Tiara as a wedding gift. It’s been said that the Queen expected Diana to wear it for her royal wedding, but, instead, the Princess wore her own family heirloom, the Spencer Tiara.
As one of Princess Diana’s favorite pieces of jewelry, the royal wore the Lover’s Knot so frequently that it’s become synonymous with some of her most iconic style moments, including the state opening of Parliament and her white beaded Catherine Walker ‘Elvis dress’ worn in Hong Kong in 1989.
The royal loved the Lover’s Knot so much, it’s been said that she suffered for beauty – the tiara allegedly hurt Lady Diana’s head and gave her headaches, due to its heavy and ornate nature. This, however, doesn’t seem to have deterred Kate Middleton from often wearing the crown.
After Charles and Diana divorced, the tiara was returned to the royal family and put into a safe at Buckingham Palace. According to People, the tiara had not been seen since Diana’s death in 1997 until Kate Middleton pulled it out of the vaults in 2015.
Kate Middleton Wore the Lover’s Knot Tiara in 2015 and Hasn’t Looked Back Since
The Princess first wore the Lover’s Knot Tiara at the annual Diplomatic Reception at Buckingham Palace in 2015, choosing it again for the next four consecutive years before reviving the piece this year. She has also selected the tiara for at least six State Banquets, making it the most frequently worn headpiece in her rotation since 2015.
Considering the tiara was modeled after one belonging to the original Duchess of Cambridge, it’s fitting that Princess Catherine has embraced the diadem, a nod to her first HRH title.
The Princess of Wales wore the Lover’s Knot during the first state visit hosted by the UK with King Charles III as monarch, paired with her white caped Jenny Packham gown, the Royal Family Orders, and Princess Diana’s diamond and pearl drop earrings. The State Banquet at Buckingham Palace took place on November 22, 2022, and marked the first state visit by a South African leader since 2010.
In December 2023, she donned the Lover’s Knot Tiara for the Diplomatic Reception at Buckingham Palace. True to her reputation for rewearing beloved ensembles, the royal paired the same tiara, rose-gold sequin Jenny Packham gown, and Queen Elizabeth’s Greville Diamond Chandelier earrings at the Jordanian royal wedding earlier that June.
Kate Middleton pulled out her most-used tiara to attend the State Banquet during the first State Visit made by France in 17 years, welcoming President Emmanuel Macron and Mrs. Brigitte Macron at Windsor Castle this July.
Most recently, Princess Catherine wore her go-to headpiece, the Cambridge Lover’s Knot, for the State Banquet hosted by King Charles III and members of the Royal Family at Windsor Castle during the state visit by the President of the United States on September 17, 2025.
