It’s Not Easy Being a Royal Because Wearing These Causes Pain and Terrible Headaches
It’s no secret that Queen Elizabeth II has an impressive jewelry collection and some of the most glamorous are the tiaras.
Over the years we’ve seen the monarch as well as plenty of other royal women including Princess Diana, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Princess Eugenie wear these exquisite accessories but remember heavy is the head that wears the crown. Quite literally because tiaras can be downright painful; even the queen thinks so.
This tiara gave Princess Diana splitting headaches
The Lover’s Knot Tiara was a favorite of Princess Diana’s.
The Princess of Wales was photographed several times in the stunning accessory which as Marie Claire noted, was passed down to Queen Elizabeth from Queen Mary of Teck after her death in 1953.
It was made by royal jewelers House of Garrard in 1914 from pearls and diamonds Queen Mary’s family already owned. It’s said to be modeled after one her grandmother, Princess Augusta of Hesse, wore.
It had featured 19 upright pearls and 19 hanging pearls. At some point, the pearls on the top were removed. But the piece was still quite heavy to wear so much so that Princess Diana used to complain of the splitting headaches it gave her.
Kate Middleton wore a lighter tiara for wedding to avoid getting a headache
Like Princess Diana, the Duchess of Cambridge has worn the beautiful Lover’s Knot Tiara on a number of occasions. But we can assume its weight gives her headaches just as it did Diana.
The one time Kate certainly didn’t want to deal with a headache was on her wedding day so the tiara she chose to wear was a strategic move.
When the duchess and Prince William tied the knot on April 29, 2011, she donned the Cartier Halo Tiara. Cartier made it in 1936 for the Queen Mother as a present from her husband, King George VI. It was gifted to Queen Elizabeth II in 1944. The headpiece has 149 baguette-cut diamonds and 739 brilliant-cut diamonds. And according to News.com.au, it’s also “much lighter than other pieces owned by the royal family and less likely to cause headaches.”
Queen Elizabeth II admits that tiaras are a royal pain
Since Queen Elizabeth has been the monarch for more than 65 years and has worn a tiara countless times you’d think they wouldn’t faze her anymore. However, even she admitted that they can be a real pain.
“You can’t look down to read the speech, you have to take the speech up. Because if you did, your neck would break and it would fall off,” Queen Elizabeth said in the BBC documentary The Coronation, adding, “There are some disadvantages to crowns but otherwise they are quite important things.”
The royal family matriarch also talked about the St. Edward’s Crown. She only wore the particular headpiece, which weighs nearly five pounds, one time and that was on her coronation day.
She spoke about how heavy it was and recalled, “It is impossible to tell what is front and back.”
