Meghan Markle apparently wanted to wear Princess Eugenie's tiara on her wedding day
Ever since the new royal biography about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, Finding Freedom, came out, several stories about the royal family have made the headlines. These included Harry and William not talking for two months after the rift, how Meghan sees Prince Charles as a second father, and what happened with the couple's two nannies.
Royal correspondents Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand also shed light on the alleged debacle surrounding Meghan Markle's choice of wedding day tiara.
Apparently, Prince Harry had to step in and have words with the Queen's dresser, Angela Kelly, who 'deliberately dragged her feet'. This then prompted the Queen to tell her grandson that, 'Meghan cannot have whatever she wants. She gets what tiara she’s given by me'.
Whether this did in fact happen or not is debatable, however all signs seem to point to the fact that the Duchess of Sussex has settled on a different tiara to begin with.
She is said to have picked one that featured emeralds, but was refused as no one could really trace its origins. Now according to the Mail Online, that tiara was in fact the very same one chosen by Princess Eugenie for her wedding six months after the Sussexes married in May 2018.
The Greville Emerald Kokoshnik tiara, which Eugenie borrowed from her grandmother, is said to be the most expensive royal wedding tiara in the collection, estimated at £10m.
As the tiara's origins, they aren't as much of a mystery as previously thought. The 93.70 cts cabochon emerald tiara, which was hand made by Boucheron in 1919, originally belonged to heiress Mrs Greville, whose home was Polesden Lacey. It is named after her and after its 'kokoshnik' style, which was popular at the time and inspired by the Russian imperial court.
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Mrs Greville was a long-time friend of Prince Albert and Elizabeth (the Queen Mother). The couple even spent their 1923 honeymoon at Polesden Lacey. Upon her passing, Mrs Greville left some of her jewellery, including this tiara, to the Queen Mother.
When she passed away, her daughter the Queen inherited it, and it is now part of her collection.
According to the book, the row started when Duchess Meghan flew her hairdresser in for a hair and tiara trial, but couldn't access the jewels straight away as she hadn't made an appointment.
An excerpt reads, 'Angela Kelly said she couldn't come to London [from Windsor] and Harry went ballistic. He was furious at the treatment of his then fiancee. Such a snub.'
'Meghan demanded access to the tiara. She didn't make an appointment with Angela, but said, "We're at Buckingham Palace, we want the tiara. Can we have it now please?"
'Angela essentially said, "I'm very sorry, that's not how it works." There's protocol in place over these jewels. They're kept under very tight lock and key. You can't turn up and demand to have the tiara just because your hairdresser happens to be in town.'
Penny Goldstone is the Contributing Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK. She writes about catwalk trends and the latest high street and Instagram sartorial must-haves. She also helms the Women Who Win franchise.
She has worked in fashion for over 10 years, contributing to publications such as Cosmopolitan, Red, Good Housekeeping, and Stylist.
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