The George IV Diamond Diadem

There are tiaras in the British royal collection, and crowns, and then there’s today’s jewel, which is sort of a hybrid of both. Let’s take a closer look at the grand Diamond Diadem that originally belonged to King George IV.

Although the diamond diadem is today worn exclusively by British queens, it was actually made for a British king. George IV ordered the crown from Rundell, Bridge, & Rundell in 1820. The jeweler finished the diadem that May, constructing it out of silver, gold, diamonds, and pearls. The diadem was charged to a special account set up for costs related to George’s coronation, which took place the following year.

At the time, it was common practice for the British royals to rent gemstones for major events like coronations. After the coronation was over, the stones were simply removed from various crowns and diadems and sent back to the jeweler. (This stopped after Queen Victoria’s coronation in 1837.)

For George IV’s diadem, the stones were initially rented—a fee that ended up being charged a second time when the controversy over Queen Caroline delayed the coronation—but Rundell & Bridge ended up simply selling the stones to the royal family rather than removing them from the delicate settings of the diadem. The 1,333 diamonds set in the diadem, including a rare pale-yellow stone in the center of one of the crosses, are the original stones from 1820.

George IV wore the diadem, which features English roses, Scottish thistles, and Irish shamrocks, on his way to Westminster Abbey for his coronation. On that occasion, the diadem was worn with a large purple velvet cap, which was adorned with an ostrich feather. Reportedly the cap was so large that it obscured most of the brilliant diamonds of the diadem.

George’s reign was a relatively short one. The diadem was inherited by his sister-in-law, Queen Adelaide, only a decade after it was made. Since then, the diadem has been in the jewel collection of every British queen, both regnant and consort: Queen Victoria, Queen Alexandra, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother), Queen Elizabeth II, and Queen Camilla. The diadem has also been altered slightly three different times over the past two centuries: for the coronations of Victoria (1838), Alexandra (1902), and Elizabeth (1937).

Queen Elizabeth II wore the diadem for the first time in public at her very first state opening of parliament in 1952. She then followed in George IV’s footsteps when she wore it on the way to her own coronation in 1953. The late Queen wore the diadem regularly over the years, and many people strongly associate it with her memory. She mostly reserved the jewel for travel to and from the State Opening of Parliament, but she also occasionally wore it for other state occasions as well.

Now, the diadem is worn by her daughter-in-law, Queen Camilla. She made her debut in the jewel at the state opening of parliament in November 2023.