I think the reporters are hinting that it was Eugenie’s tiara. I think she wanted Di’s emeralds as an engagement ring and the same thing happened. She ended up with a generic version.
Queen Elizabeth lent Princess Eugenie the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik tiara for her wedding day on October 12, 2018.
Margaret Greville gifted her jewels to the Queen Mother when she passed away, who then left them to Queen Elizabeth when the Queen Mother passed away in 2002. The tiara was never worn by the Queen Mother or Queen Elizabeth.
Princess Eugenie’s simple and elegant wedding dress was designed by Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos of British-based label Peter Pilotto.
The dress was developed layer-by-layer during several fittings. The designers began with the corset and complex underskirt before moving on to the fitted bodice and full pleated skirt. It features a neckline that folds around the shoulders to a low back that drapes into a flowing full-length train.
The low back of the dress was included in the design at the request of Princess Eugenie, who had surgery, aged 12, to correct scoliosis. The condition causes the spine to bend to one side, and can make the back appear rounded and the shoulder blades more prominent. Before the wedding, the princess said “I think you can change the way beauty is, and you can show people your scars and I think it’s really special to stand up for that.”
The fabric was designed by Mr Pilotto and Mr De Vos at their studio and includes a number of symbols that are meaningful to Princess Eugenie as motifs. A thistle representing Scotland acknowledges the couple’s fondness for Balmoral, and a shamrock representing Ireland is a nod to the bride’s Ferguson family. The other symbols used including the York Rose – a nod to the princess’s family name of York – and ivy, which represents the couple’s home, Ivy Cottage, in Kensington Palace.
Princess Eugenie wore the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara, lent to her by the Queen. The tiara was made by the jeweller Boucheron for British society hostess Dame Margaret Greville in 1919. It was created in the fashionable “kokoshnik” style popularised in the Russian Imperial Court.
On her death in 1942, the tiara was bequeathed to the Royal Family.
The wedding bouquet consists of lily of the valley, stephanotis pips, hints of baby blue thistles, white spray roses, trailing ivy and myrtle. Myrtle has traditionally been used in Royal bouquets since Queen Victoria.
The engagement ring consists of 14 solitaire diamonds surrounding a 12-carat oval blue Ceylon sapphire set in 18-karat white gold. It was created by jeweler Garrard and cost at the time, 28,000 pounds sterling. Diana’s selection of this ring was unusual. It was neither custom-made nor unique and was, at the time of her engagement to Charles, featured in Garrard’s jewelry collection and available to anyone for purchase.
The Spencer Tiara for me is the most lovely and perfect tiara for a wedding, with it’s “heart” shaped scroll of diamonds, it’s romantic and feminine. Lady Diana Spencer wore this to her marriage to The Prince of Wales on July 29, 1981, the day she became The Princess of Wales.
She chose this above the Cambridge Tiara that had been “given” to her by the Queen. She often wore the Cambridge, but I read many times, the Spencer Tiara was her favorite.
I believe I’ve heard that the Spencer tiara is lighter in comparison to the Cambridge Lover’s Knot Tiara. (But I also agree on the look of the Spencer Tiara.)