Zara Tindall shared a very close relationship with her late grandmother Queen Elizabeth, even choosing to wear a special heirloom from Her Majesty on her wedding day.
Princess Anne's daughter tied the knot with Mike Tindall on 30 July 2011 at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh, stepping out of the car with her father Captain Mark Phillips wearing a gown by Stewart Parvin, one of her grandmother's favourite couturiers. The long ivory silk dress featured a Duchess satin trim and a chevron pleated corseted bodice, which she teamed with a fine tulle veil secured in place with a precious Greek tiara known as Princess Andrew's Meander Tiara.
But did you know the headpiece, estimated to be worth £280,000 ($350,000), had a special meaning?
Zack Stone from Seven Stone explained: "It’s a particularly sentimental piece as Princess Alice gave it to Queen Elizabeth II as a wedding present in 1947, who later passed it on to Zara’s mother, Princess Anne.
© Getty"Made of diamonds, the tiara's Greek key design is punctuated by a central laurel wreath element and two honeysuckle elements. The design suggests an early twentieth-century creation, with the earliest photos of Princess Alice wearing the tiara having been taken around 1914.
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"I’d estimate the striking piece to be worth £280,000 ($350,000)."
The honeysuckles on the 'something borrowed' piece from Prince Philip's mother Princess Alice of Battenberg are said to symbolise pure happiness, while the laurel wreath design was used as a Greek symbol of triumph – both fitting for Olympic equestrian Zara's big day.
For the royal wedding, mother-of-the-bride Princess Anne looked striking in a peach pleated dress, cream and pink embroidered jacket and an elaborate lace and flower detail fascinator, while the Queen also chose a pastel pink ensemble accessorised with a beautiful diamond lapel brooch.
© GettyZara wasn't the only member of the royal family to turn to Queen Elizabeth's jewellery collection for her wedding day. Princess Anne borrowed Queen Mary's Fringe Tiara – worn by her mother in 1947 – for her nuptials in 1973, which was then loaned to Princess Beatrice for her low-key pandemic wedding with Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in 2020.
Meanwhile, Princess Eugenie wore the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik tiara, and the Duchess of Sussex wore Queen Mary's diamond bandeau tiara – a last-minute change after originally being offered the late Princess Diana's glittering headpiece.
It is not known who inherited the accessories after the Queen passed away in September 2022. It's possible they will continue to be passed down and may now belong to Princess Anne, who already loaned tiaras to her daughter Zara and former daughter-in-law Autumn Phillips.
Look back at Zara and Mike's wedding day...
© Getty
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