Cambridge Lover’s Knot Tiara

CAMBRIDGE LOVER'S KNOT TIARA

A common misconception surrounding the Cambridge Lover's Knot Tiara is that the true, original tiara is that which belongs to the British royal family; though, in fact, it is not. The real Cambridge Lover's Knot Tiara currently belongs to the family of Georg and Marie Gabrielle von Waldburg zu Zeil.

The Cambridge Lover's Knot Tiara was gifted to Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel upon her 1818 union to the Duke of Cambridge, King George III's seventh son. After frequently wearing the tiara to most important royal events during her lifetime, the Duchess of Cambridge passed the royal jewel to her daughter, Princess Augusta, on her wedding day to Grand Duke Friedrich Wilhelm of Mecklenburg-Strelitz in 1843.

The tiara, named for its design, is comprised of diamond encrusted arches decorated with lover's knot bows, featuring beautiful white, drop-shape pearls sitting both above and below these diamonds arches.

In 1899, the tiara was then presented to Duchess Jutta of Mecklenburg-Strelitz to mark her marriage to crown Prince Danilo of Montenegro. Mary of Teck, Duchess Jutta's cousin and future Queen of the United Kingdom, favored the tiara so that she commissioned a copy in 1913 — this copy is the Lover's Knot Tiara worn by numerous women of the British royal family, including Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Diana and the Duchess of Cambridge.

In 1918, Montenegro's monarchy was officially abolished; Jutta then spent the rest of her life in exile. It is unclear exactly what she did with the true Cambridge Lover's Knot Tiara; though, it is rumored Jutta privately sold the jewel at some point thereafter.

The original tiara publicly resurfaced in May 1981 at a Christie's Geneva auction where it was sold to Georg and Marie Gabrielle von Waldburg zu Zeil. Though Georg has since died, his family is still in possession of the Cambridge Lover's Knot Tiara.