Why was Sarah Ferguson allowed to keep her wedding tiara while Kate wasn’t?

Sarah Ferguson, 59, married Prince Andrew, also 59, in 1986.

The pair made their vows at Westminster Abbey, while Sarah wore her stunning ivory duchesse satin dress.

The Duchess of York also wore an incredible diamond tiara on her head, and many wondered where it had come from.

It was revealed the Queen had commissioned the piece herself for the big day.

But Sarah is not the only royal bride to wear a gorgeous diamond tiara, in fact, all royal brides wear a tiara.

Kate Middleton’s wedding tiara was the Cartier Scroll tiara, which later become known as the Cartier Halo tiara. It has 149 baguette-cut diamonds as well as an astounding 739 brilliant cut diamonds of varying weights, with biggest in the middle.

However, the diamonds in this piece are relatively small compared to Meghan Markle’s wedding tiara.

Meghan wore the Queen Mary bandeau tiara, which has large brilliant cut diamonds.

However, these two women were not able to keep their wedding tiaras like Sarah Ferguson did, why is that?

The tiaras Kate and Meghan wore were borrowed from the royal jewellery vault. As such they are not their property, but are the property for the Queen.

However, Sarah Ferguson’s wedding tiara was a personal gift from the Queen. 

The piece is named the York tiara, and the Queen gave it as a wedding gift to the wife of her second son. The tiara has delicate scrolls and a large, central diamond on top.

The Duchess of York wore it to the White Tie and Tiara Ball hosted by Elton John at his house in Windsor on 5 July 2001.

Perhaps the Queen did not repeat this gesture after seeing Andrew and Sarah divorce.

Another royal bride was able to keep her royal tiara and that was Princess Diana.

According to reports, it was planned that Lady Diana Spencer would wear a piece from the royal collection, the Cambridge Lover’s Knot tiara. However, the piece was made from platinum and was very heavy.

Therefore Diana wore the Spencer tiara, which belonged to her own family.

Sophie Countess of Wessex, on the other hand, did not own her wedding tiara. She wore a piece created from jewels owned by Queen Victoria.

As such Sophie Wessex’s wedding tiara belongs to the Queen. 

Royal weddings: Meghan, Kate, Eugenie and Diana

Meghan Markle

Who: His Royal Highness Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (now the Duke and Duchess of Sussex)

Where: St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle

When: 19 May 2018, Berkshire

Dress: Meghan wore a dress designed by Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy. The white dress was made of silk and had a boat neckline. The veil was an incredible 16 feet long.

Tiara: The Duchess of Sussex chose the Queen Mary diamond bandeau tiara, made in 1932, with a flower brooch in the middle from 1893.

Cake: The cake was a made by Claire Ptak, based in London. It was lemon and elderflower cake, decorated with peonies and buttercream icing.

Notable guests: A-list guests included James Corden, tennis player Serena Williams, the Beckhams, Sir Elton John, George and Amal Clooney and Carey Mulligan and Marcus Mumford.

Princess Eugenie

Who: Princess Eugenie of York and Jack Brooksbank

Where: St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, Berkshire

When: 12 October 2018

Dress: Eugenie’s dress was made by Peter Pilotto and Christopher de Vos and had a full skirt, long sleeves and was ivory in colour. The dress has a low back designed to show Euegnie’s scar from scoliosis surgery, a cause she has spoken out about in the past and since the wedding.

Tiara: She wore the stunning Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara, lent to her by the Queen. It has a huge emerald in the middle.

Cake: The cake had five tiers and was a red velvet and chocolate cake made by London-based cake designer Sophie Cabot.

Notable guests: Famous faces at the wedding included Robbie Williams, Naomi Campbell, Kate Miss, Jack Whitehall and Liv Tyler.

Kate Middleton

Who: Prince William and Kate Middleton

Where: Westminster Abbey, London

When: 29 April 2011

Dress: Kate wore a dress made by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen. The satin gown featured long lace sleeves. It had a nine foot train and the lace featured roses, daffodils, thistles and shamrocks.

Tiara: Kate borrowed the Cartier Scroll Tiara, now known as the Halo tiara. It bought by the Queen’s father, the future King George VI, for his wife Elizabeth.

Cake: William and Kate opted for a traditional fruit cake with eight tiers. It was decorated with sugar flowers. William also had an additional chocolate biscuit cake was made from a Royal Family recipe.

Notable guests: Guests included family and friends of the couple, as well as members of the military and people who work with charities the pair support.

Princess Diana

Who: Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer

Where: St Paul’s Cathedral, London

When: 29 July 1981

Dress: Diana’s gown was designed by the Elizabeth and David Emanuel and had an enormous 25-foot train. The dress was ivory and featured lace. In typical 80s style the rather large dress had huge sleeves. The dress was badly creased during the carriage ride to the ceremony, as it was so large.

Cake: Diana and Charles had a number of cakes including a five-foot-tall layered fruitcake. Another cake was made by Belgian pastry chef S. G. Sender and another by Chef Nicholas Lodge.

Notable guests: Guests includes foreign royals from Spain and Greece, as well as First Lady Nancy Reagan who represented the United States.