This Royal Wore Over $12 Million in Jewels on Their Wedding Day and No One Noticed
Weddings for members of Britain’s royal family are grand affairs. Who can forget Prince William and Kate Middleton’s royal wedding in 2011 or when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tied the knot in 2018? But some weddings are grander than others.
Another royal who got married after the duke and duchess didn’t receive the same fanfare, in fact, it wasn’t even televised despite the bride wearing one of the most expensive pieces of jewelry in the royal collection. Here’s who that was and what they wore that cost $12 million.
The royal lady who donned one accessory that cost an eye-popping $12 million
Just five months after the Sussexes said “I do,” Princess Eugenie got married. Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s youngest daughter wed her longtime partner, Jack Brooksbank, on Oct. 12, 2018, in St. George Chapel at Windsor Castle, the same place where millions watched Harry and Meghan’s nuptials. But William and Harry’s cousin’s big day wasn’t on the same scale. However, the princess did wear some stunning jewelry.
When photos of Eugenie’s wedding were published, fans couldn’t help but notice her beautiful emerald green tiara. The diamond experts at the U.K. jewelry retailer Steven Stone took a closer look at the striking tiara and its value.
“When Princess Eugenie tied the knot with Jack Brooksbank, she wore a multitude of beautiful jewels – including the most valuable royal tiara, a pair of diamond and cabochon emerald drop earrings and her stunning engagement ring,” Maxwell Stone noted. “Loaned to the princess by her grandmother, [the late] Queen Elizabeth II, the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik tiara is made of rose-cut pave diamonds set in platinum and is adorned with six emeralds. The center features a 93.7-carat cabochon-cut emeralds, which is what makes it so valuable.
“We previously estimated the distinctive diamond and emerald headpiece to be worth £10 million [$12 million USD), making it the most expensive of all the tiaras we’ve studied.”
The princess’s earrings and ring aren’t part of the royal collection
Many fans assumed that Eugenie’s emerald green-drop earrings were also part of the royal collection, but those were actually a gift to the princess from Brooksbank.
“Eugenie’s earrings were a gift from her new husband. Made of diamond and emerald, they were a perfect match for Eugenie’s tiara,” Stone said. “Featuring a 1.5-carat cabochon green emerald and seven round brilliant diamonds, the glamorous drop-style earrings are worth approximately £7,000.”
The expert added: “Following family tradition, Princess Eugenie’s wedding ring was made from a piece of Welsh gold given by Queen Elizabeth II and is worth just £1,000 ($1200 USD).
“Visible on her right hand was her padparadscha sapphire and diamond engagement ring, which is worth the much larger price of £120,000. Incredibly rare, padparadscha sapphires are strikingly beautiful with unique shades of pink and orange that often resembling the colors of a sunset. The stones are set on a Welsh yellow gold band, which is a custom for royal brides, with two stunning tapered diamonds at the shoulders of the yellow gold shank.”
