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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Zoe Forsey

Queen let Sarah Ferguson keep wedding tiara - but made Kate and Meghan return theirs

One of the many, many perks of being a royal bride is getting to dig into the family jewellery collection to find the perfect pieces of sparkle for the big day.

And of course the main showstopper is the tiara.

Royal women aren't allowed to wear a tiara until their wedding day, so it's unsurprising that they all keep the tradition and wear one to walk down the aisle - with Princess Diana, Kate Middleton, Princess Beatrice and Meghan Markle all wearing stunning pieces on their big day.

Normally, the Queen lends the brides pieces from the family's official collection and once the day is over they are returned to the vaults.

However things were a bit different when it came to Sarah Ferguson's tiara when she married Prince Andrew.

When Fergie stepped outside the car ready to meet her prince, she was wearing a flower tiara instead of a diamond one.

Sarah started the day with a flower crown (Tim Graham Photo Library)
Once she officially became royal, she removed the flowers to show off her diamond tiara (Getty Images)

People were stunned to see her break tradition, but she had a surprise in store after saying 'I Do' when she removed the flowers to show a glittering diamond tiara.

Known as the York Diamond Tiara, the stunning head piece was commissioned by the Queen especially for the wedding.

It featured an intricate swirled pattern of jewels of various sizes and was topped with an impressive five carat stone.

The tiara was part of a set, with matching necklace, bracelet and earrings all being worn by Fergie on her special day.

Kate wore the 1936 Cartier halo tiara on her wedding day (Getty)

Gemologist Grant Mobley said it was difficult to estimate how much the tiara is worth, but that the value "would easily be more than $300,000 USD today.” That's around £234,000.

As it was made especially for her, Sarah was allowed to keep her tiara.

However as Kate, Meghan, Beatrice and Eugenie borrowed pieces from the Queen's collection, they had to return them after their big day.

Princess Diana also decided against borrowing a tiara from her future mother-in-law when she married Prince Charles.

Instead, she opted to wear the Spencer family tiara in a nod to her own parents.

The tiara dates back to the 18th century, and the family heirloom is now owned the Diana's brother Earl Spencer.

It has been worn by several members of the family on their wedding day, including both of Diana's sisters.

Most recently it was worn by Celia McCorquodale when she married George Woodhouse in a country wedding in the small village of Stoke Rochford, Lincolnshire, in June 2018.

Celia is the younger daughter of Diana's sister Lady Sarah McCorquodale, which makes her Diana's niece.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were among the guests on the day, just four weeks after their own special day.

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