One key tradition could be changing in the Royal Family, and it’ll affect one of the youngest members.
- Princess Charlotte could wear her first tiara before marriage, breaking tradition
- Royals including Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle, and Princess Eugenie wore their first tiaras on their wedding day
- The change in tradition won't be the first of its kind as we learn that the Queen changed the rules for Prince Louis' name
Princess Charlotte, who’s eight years old, isn’t likely to wear a tiara anytime soon, but she might wear her first tiara earlier than some of her relatives – including her mother.
Usually, female members of the Royal Family only wear their first tiara on their wedding day. This was the case for not only Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle, but also some royals who were born into the family.
Queen Elizabeth’s granddaughters Princess Eugenie, Princess Beatrice, and Zara Tindall didn’t sport a tiara until their respective wedding days.
However, Charlotte may get to wear a tiara from the royal vault a little earlier. She’d be following in the footsteps of some of her older relatives, including her great-aunt Princess Anne, and the late Queen’s sister, Princess Margaret, who herself died in 2002.
Anne wore her first tiara when she was a teenager, and continued to wear them on occasion before her marriage to Mark Phillips in 1973. She wore the Cartier Halo tiara, which Kate also wore when she married William in 2011, to the State Opening of Parliament in 1967, and again wore a tiara two years later on a trip to Austria with her mother.
For her wedding, Anne went for Queen Mary’s fringe tiara, which the Queen also wore to marry Prince Philip.
The reason Princess Anne and Princess Margaret wore tiaras before marriage was most likely because they were already working royals, as either the daughter or the sister of the monarch. It’s thought that Charlotte could well follow suit when she’s a teenager.
In contrast, Kate Middleton wore her first tiara when she married Prince William in 2011, and has only worn tiaras a few more times in the years since. She’s worn the Lotus Flower tiara before, and often seems to choose the Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot tiara – also a popular choice for Princess Diana.
While Princess Charlotte didn’t wear a tiara for King Charles’ coronation in May, she did wear a special headpiece when she was in attendance to support her grandfather. Along with her mother, she wore a Jess Collett x Alexander McQueen headpiece with silver bullion, crystal, and silver threadwork three-dimensional leaf embroidery.
And, she wore a hat at a royal engagement for the first time at the Queen’s funeral in September. As she grows older, it’s increasingly likely that we’ll see Charlotte wear a tiara for the first time, but there’s no way of telling which one she’ll opt for.
Looking for more royal updates? Read up about Kate Middleton's shock over being dubbed the 'strict parent'.
