Lady Louise Windsor's extra sparkly 172-year-old bridal tiara she's set to inherit

It's not unusual for sparkling royal diadems to make their way down the bloodline, passing from one generation to the next for key events such as weddings.

While most British royals have made their tiara debut, such as Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, Lady Louise Windsor has yet to step out in a meaningful royal accessory. This is down to royal protocol, which dictates that only married royal women can wear tiaras.

So, which one will the Duchess of Edinburgh's 21-year-old daughter inherit? Sophie has only made a handful of outings in a tiara since marrying Prince Edward in 1999, but the one headpiece that she is most consistently seen with is her wedding tiara.

Sophie's redesigned tiara

© WireImage,

Made up of antique pieces from the late Queen Elizabeth II's collection, the Anthemion tiara features fleur-de-lis and Maltese cross toppers, which were thought to originally be part of Queen Victoria’s Regal Circlet made by Garrard in 1853.

It's clear that this is Sophie's favourite, since she also wore it to Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway's big day in 2001, Princess Martha Louise of Norward's nuptials with her late ex-husband Ari Behn in 2002, and King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark's royal wedding in 2004.

© Anwar Hussein

The headpiece has since undergone a redesign, with Sophie showing off the new row of jewels along the band at the hairline in 2019.

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The late Queen Elizabeth II's dresser Angela Kelly confirmed in her book The Other Side of the Coin: the Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe that the headpiece was redesigned by jeweller Harry Collins for Sophie to wear at the State Banquet with the President of the United States, Donald Trump.

© WPA Pool

Perhaps this would be a meaningful one for Sophie to pass down to Louise when she gets married in the future. 

Royal headpieces

Perhaps the most memorable case of recycled royal jewels was Princess Beatrice's wedding in 2020, where she borrowed her grandmother Queen Elizabeth II's wedding tiara. 

© David Fisher/Shutterstock

Elizabeth first wore Queen Mary's diamond fringe tiara, passed down from the Queen Mother and her grandmother, Queen Mary of Teck, on her wedding day to Prince Philip in 1947.

Meghan Markle's 2018 bridal tiara was also passed down from Queen Mary, while the Princess of Wales stepped out in 2011 in the Cartier Halo tiara given by the Duke of York to the Duchess of York before they became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.