Wedding Wednesday: Princess Margaret’s Wedding Dress

HRH Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones

May 6, 1960

Princess Margaret chose Royal designer Normal Hartnell – the same designer who made Queen Elizabeth’s Wedding Gown and Coronation Gown. This wedding was the first Royal Wedding ever televised. The Wedding was seen by over 300 million people worldwide.

White silk organza with a satin-bound silk tulle veil and not a stitch of embroidery in sight. The whole design was made to accommodate the princess's short stature, including the tiara:

The Poltimore tiara, as discussed yesterday was made in 1870 for Lady Poltimore. Which was bought specially for Margaret. Her children sold this tiara after Margaret’s death in 2002.

Tiara Tuesday: Poltimore Tiara

On May 6, 1960; the late-Princess Margaret married Antony Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey.

Prior to Margaret and Antony’s engagement, the tiara was acquired for her. Many say it was selected by Margaret and bought by the Queen or the Queen Mum. Although, many thought that it was Margaret who bought it herself. The tiara was made by Garrard for Florence, Lady Poltimore who was the wife of the second Baron Poltimore. The Tiara was auctioned by the fourth Baron Poltimore in 1959.

The tiara is an all-diamond set in gold and silver in which clusters of cushion-shaped and old-cut diamonds are set amongst scroll motifs topped with diamonds. It has a maximum diameter of 19.2 centimeters. And it is a convertible piece, breaking down into a necklace and a set of 11 brooches. In the close up view of the tiara, you can just see the fittings at the back of the tiara which release to allow it to come off of its frame.

The place that Margaret wore the tiara most notably was at her wedding in 1960, ever since her death she wore it. Sadly, the tiara was auctioned off at Christie’s in 2006. Her children, Viscount Linley and Lady Sarah Chatto put not only the tiara but some other jewels. The estimated cost for the tiara was £150,000 - £200,000. But since it was worn by Royalty the cost was much higher, £926,400 ($1,704,576).

Many thought why didn’t the Queen buy it? Well, the queen had many tiaras that she wasn’t wear (ex: Sapphire Suite Tiara) and adding another tiara which probably wouldn’t come out wouldn’t be to smart.

My Top 15 Tiaras: #14: The Cartier Halo Tiara

  

Prior to the wedding of William and Kate, this tiara was commonly known as the Scroll Tiara. In the official information released about the bride's attire, the Palace referred to it as a 'halo' tiara, so I'll go with: the Halo Scroll Tiara. This delicate diamond piece has served as something of a starter tiara for royal ladies throughout the years, beginning with Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

The tiara was made by Cartier in 1936 and was purchased by the Duke of York for his Duchess three weeks before he became King George VI, and she became Queen Elizabeth (the future Queen Mother). The only picture of her wearing it was taken after she received it and before she became Queen Consort. Apparently it wasn't a favorite, as she switched to other, grander pieces once her tiara access increased.

She soon passed the tiara on to her daughter, Princess Elizabeth (the current Queen), as an 18th birthday present (1944). This Queen must not have been terribly fond of it either, as she's never worn it publicly.
The Queen has made a practice of lending it out, however. The first loan was to Princess Margaret, and it became a go-to tiara in her early years. She stopped wearing it as her own tiara collection grew, especially after the Queen Mother gave Margaret the papyrus or lotus flower tiara.

And it served the very same purpose for Princess Anne, who also borrowed this tiara. She last wore the Halo Scroll Tiara publicly in the early 1970s, at which point the Queen had given her the Meander Tiara and she had received the Festoon Tiara as a gift for a ship christening.

After a few decades' rest, the tiara made its most famous appearance to date: anchoring the bridal veil of Catherine Middleton.

 

And as a bonus for the new Duchess, she already has matching earrings: a gift from her parents for her wedding day, these specially commissioned pieces from Robinson Pelham perfectly echo the scroll elements in addition to including acorns to echo her family's crest.