Queen Elizabeth inherited the Vladimir Tiara after Queen Mary’s death in 1953
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Queen Elizabeth had several crowns at her disposal – but one particular tiara was special enough to be the last one she wore before her death.
The Vladimir Tiara, originally owned by the Grand Duchess of Russia, first became a part of the royal family’s jewelry collection in 1921. Queen Mary initially purchased the headpiece and later passed it down to her granddaughter.
The crown features interlocking diamond circles and was originally designed to hold pendant pearls. However, the piece was adapted over the years to be more flexible and can also hold pendant emeralds.
In 2019, the famous tiara was shown in the movie adaptation of Downton Abbey when the Crawley family received a visit from King George V and Queen Mary. While a replica was used for the film, the real Vladimir Tiara has been put on display at Buckingham Palace a few times over the years.
Here’s everything to know about one of Queen Elizabeth’s favorite crowns, the Vladimir Tiara.
It was originally made for the Grand Duchess of Russia
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The tiara was originally commissioned as a wedding gift for Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in 1874 when she wed Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia, per The Court Jeweller. The diamond and pearl headpiece was made by the Russian imperial court jeweler, Bolin.
Following the Russian Revolution in 1917, the Grand Duchess fled from the Vladimir Palace and left her tiara hidden in her bedroom amongst other jewels. It was later retrieved by Grand Duke Boris, Marie’s son, and British art dealer Bertie Stepford, who disguised themselves as workers to recover the jewelry and later brought it to England.
Queen Mary bought the tiara in 1921
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After Marie died in 1920, the tiara was inherited by her daughter, Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna, who had become Princess Nicholas of Greece and Denmark, per The Court Jeweller.
A year later, Queen Mary purchased the tiara from Elena after she had decided to sell some of her mother’s jewels. Queen Elizabeth then inherited the headpiece from Queen Mary after she died in 1953, and it quickly became one of her favorite crowns.
The tiara can be worn three ways
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The Vladimir Tiara was damaged during transit from Russia to England, so Queen Mary had jewelry company Garrard make repairs to the frame after purchasing the piece, per The Court Jeweller.
In 1924, Mary had Garrard work on the piece again to allow for the original 15 pendant pearls to be swapped with pendant emeralds from the Cambridge family collection. While Queen Elizabeth would wear the tiara in both styles, she also wore the headpiece with no pendants at all, which is known as the “widowed” style.
It was the last tiara Queen Elizabeth wore in public before her death
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Queen Elizabeth wore the Vladimir Tiara for the first time four months after her coronation at the Royal Command Film Performance of Rob Roy in October 1953, per The Court Jeweller. She went on to wear the crown on several occasions, including at state dinners and galas.
The Vladimir Tiara was also the last crown Queen Elizabeth wore in public before her death in September 2022. She wore it with the pendant emeralds for the Diplomatic Reception at Buckingham Palace in December 2019, and paired it with the Gremville emerald earrings and matching drop necklace.
In honor of the first anniversary of her death in September 2023, King Charles also shared an unreleased photo of Queen Elizabeth in the Vladimir Tiara on the royal family’s website.
“In marking the first anniversary of Her late Majesty’s death and my Accession, we recall with great affection her long life, devoted service and all she meant to so many of us,” he wrote.
The tiara is part of the British royal family’s private collection
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The Vladimir Tiara hasn’t been worn since Queen Elizabeth’s death in 2022, but it is still part of the royal family’s private jewelry collection.
The headpiece was put on display at Buckingham Palace in 2006 in celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s 80th birthday. Most recently, the Royal Collection Trust had it displayed for the exhibit Platinum Jubilee: The Queen’s Accession in 2022.
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