Today marks the 60th Anniversary of the Death of Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, who passed away on this day in 1965! The Bavarian Duchess who became the popular Queen, Queen Mother, and Queen Grandmother of Belgium, today we are featuring Queen Elisabeth of Belgium’s iconic Cartier Diamond Tiara!
A ‘garland style’ diamond scroll tiara, composed of diamond in millegrain setting which features scrolls, foliates, and a large central cushion-shaped diamond, the Tiara was created by Cartier around 1910.
King Albert acquired the Cartier Tiara around 1912 and Queen Elisabeth first wore the Tiara for a series of portraits in the 1910s, attaching it atop a fabric turban.
The Cartier Diamond Tiara was also worn by Queen Elizabeth for a series of portraits in the 1920s, which are among the most iconic images of the Queen taken not long after the liberation of Belgium at the end of the First World War.
Queen Elisabeth wore the Cartier Diamond Tiara for the Civil Wedding in Sweden and also the Wedding of her elder son, Crown Prince Leopold of Belgium, and Princess Astrid of Sweden in Brussels in 1926.
The Cartier Diamond Tiara was worn by Queen Elizabeth for the Bal de la Grande Harmonie in 1927 and also on the Belgian Royal Family’s visit to the Vatican in 1930.
Another notable appearance came when Queen Elisabeth wore the Cartier Diamond Tiara for the Wedding of Crown Prince Umberto of Italy and her daughter, Princess Marie-José of Belgium, in Rome in 1930.
The Cartier Diamond Tiara was worn by Queen Elizabeth when she represented Belgium at the Inauguration Gala of Queen Juliana of The Netherlands in Amsterdam in 1948.
Queen Elisabeth wore the Cartier Diamond Tiara for the final time at the Wedding Ball of her grandson, King Baudouin of Belgium, and Doña Fabiola de Mora y Aragón at the Royal Palace of Brussles in 1960.
Just a few weeks before Queen Elisabeth’s death, her Cartier Diamond Tiara was worn by her daughter-in-law, the Princess de Réthy, for the Wedding Ball of Prince Alois-Konstantin of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg and Princess Anastasia of Prussia at Schloss Löwenstein.
After King Leopold’s death in 1983, Princess Lilian sold the Tiara to Cartier, apparently without informing the rest of the Royal Family. The Princess de Rothy’s sister was married to Jacques Cartier.
Nowadays, Queen Elisabeth’s Cartier Diamond Tiara can be seen at Cartier exhibitions around the world, most recently in the Cartier Exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London this year. Next month, it will be going on display in Paris and likely in Australia after that, so there is no doubt we will continue to see the Tiara for years to come!
