The Princess Royal celebrates her 75th Birthday this week! The only daughter of the late Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, and one of the most hardworking members of the family, Princess Anne has amassed quite a large jewellery collection, which includes this Aquamarine Suite!
In 1938, King George VI gave Queen Elizabeth this striking Cartier Tiara, featuring clusters of Aquamarine Pineflowers and large rectangular Aquamarines, which was believed to have been given to celebrate their Silver Wedding Anniversary in 1948, but has recently revealed to have been acquired a decade earlier.
Queen Elizabeth was pictured wearing the Tiara on only a few occasions publicly, for a Royal Gala Performance of Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’ in 1950 and Gala Performance of Frederick Ashton’s Tiresias by the Sadler’s Wells Ballet at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden in 1951.
In 1973, the Queen Mother gave the Cartier Aquamarine Pineflower Tiara to Princess Anne ahead of her wedding to Captain Mark Phillips in 1973, when it was displayed with the other Wedding Gifts, which included a Diamond Bow Brooch from the then Prince of Wales, and a series of jewels from her mother, the Queen, which included Empress Maria Feodorovna’s Sapphire Choker, a pair of Diamond Cluster Earrings, and striking Gold and Diamond Stalactite Brooch.
The Tiara was first worn at the the Farewell Banquet following the X Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1974, just a few weeks after the Wedding. While not worn as often as her Festoon Tiara or Princess Andrew’s Meander Tiara, it was regularly worn though the 1970s and 80s.
At some point in the 1990s, Princess Anne remodelled the Cartier Aquamarine Pineflower Tiara, removing the central flower, which was turned into a Brooch, and two of the aquamarines, one used to make a new centre and another to make a pendant which Princess Anne has usually worn with a strand of pearls, which have often been worn for Royal Ascot and the Garter Day Procession as well as for Gala Dinners.
Princess Anne has worn the Cartier Aquamarine Pineflower Tiara with the Suite for numerous State Banquets over the years, from the Jordanian State Banquet at Windsor Castle in 2001 to the Spanish State Banquet in 2017 and the American State Banquet at Buckingham Palace in 2019, as well as for some Official Portraits taken in 2010.
Princess Anne has regularly worn the Aquamarine Suite in recent years, mot notably for a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace in 2019 and for Royal Ascot in 2023.
The Cartier Aquamarine Pineflower Tiara and Aquamarine Suite were last worn by Princess Anne for the Qatari State Banquet at Buckingham Palace last year.
The Cartier Aquamarine Pineflower Tiara is currently on display in the Cartier Exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London until November 2025.
However, Princess Anne wore the Aquamarine Pineflower Brooch for Royal Ascot a few weeks ago and there is no doubt we will continue to see the Aquamarine Suite worn for years to come!
The Cartier Aquamarine Pineflower Tiara and Aquamarine Suite were also highlighted when the Royal Mint revealed the first UK coin to celebrate The Princess Royal to celebrate her 75th birthday, marking her remarkable lifetime of service.
The Royal Family has shared a new Official Portrait of the Princess Royal and Sir Timothy Laurence ahead of her 75th Birthday, which was taken by Getty Images Photographer Chris Jackson ahead of the State Banquet held by the British Royal Family for French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron at Windsor Castle last month.
The Princess Royal wore her Diamond Festoon Tiara, with her Diamond Festoon Necklace, and Diamond Bow Brooch along with the Sash and Star of the Order of the Garter, the Royal Family Order of King Charles III, and the Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II.
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