Princess Diana's tiaras have become one of the most iconic parts of her fashion legacy—the most memorable of which being the crown she wore to her 1981 wedding to Prince Charles. Dubbed the "Spencer Tiara," it has been worn publicly by various members of the Spencer family over the years, though not since Princess Di's passing. That changed over the weekend when Celia McCorquodale, her niece, walked down the aisle wearing the gorgeous headpiece.
McCorquodale married George Woodhouse at the St. Andrew and St. Mary's Church in Stoke Rochford, England on Sunday, in front of an audience that included Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. She wore a princess-style lace gown, which she topped off with the Spencer tiara—which made her quite the spitting image of her late aunt.
Check out McCorquodale's wedding look.
According to People, it has a long history within the family: It's been worn by Celia's mom, Lady Sarah; her aunt, Lady Jane Fellowes; and the first wife of her uncle Charles, the Earl of Spencer, Victoria Lockwood. In royal tradition, a bride will usually wear a tiara from her own family's collection on her wedding day, and will begin borrowing from their husband's once they're married—so, it's not that surprising that McCorquodale would bring out the Spencer Tiara for this occasion.
The Spencer Tiara came into the family's possession in 1919, when the centerpiece was given to Princess Diana's grandmother, Lady Cynthia Hamilton, as a wedding present, per People. (The side adornments were added later on and are said to have belonged to Frances Manby, the last known Viscountess of Montagu.) The finished product, as it appears now, is believed to have been completed some time in the 1930s.
Although it's been exhibited in museums since, this is the first time the Spencer Tiara has been worn by a member of the Spencer family since Princess Diana's death in 1997. Many speculated that either Kate Middleton or Meghan Markle would choose to honor their late mother-in-law on their respective wedding days with the headpiece, but each bride opted for jewels from the Queen's collection instead. (For Middleton's 2011 trip down the aisle at Westminster Abbey, she wore the Cartier Halo Tiara; and for Markle's recent nuptials at St. George's Cathedral, the Duchess went with the Queen Mary Diamond Bandeau.) It's fitting that it's grand re-entrance happened within the Spencer family—and on Diana's niece, no less.
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