PRINCESS DIANA is said to have “politely declined” the Queen’s offer of a wedding tiara. Here’s why.
The ceremony was watched by 3,500 guests and a further 750 million people on television.
Not only did her wedding dress, designed by the Emanuels, become one of the most iconic wedding dresses, but Diana’s wedding tiara was also a fitting and interesting choice.
Topping off her silk taffeta gown and its 25-foot train, was a family heirloom that had been in the Spencer family for nearly a century. 
Diana chose to wear the Spencer Tiara instead (Image: GETTY)
Named the Spencer Tiara, it was a piece created in different elements.
In 1919, the main central part of the tiara was a wedding gift to Lady Cynthia Hamilton, Diana’s grandmother, when she married Viscount Althorp.
It was a present from Lady Sarah Spencer, Viscount Althorop’s unmarried cousin.
Other parts of the bandeau diamond tiara are reported to have been from Lady Sarah’s collection, which she apparently acquired in the 1870s.
It wasn’t until the 1930s that Garrard was commissioned to turn the pieces into what is today known as the Spencer Tiara.
But this wasn’t the only tiara on offer to Diana to wear on her wedding day,
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II suggested Princess Diana wear the Lover’s Knot tiara.
Express.co.uk spoke to the diamond experts at Steven Stone about the tiara.
The Lovers Knot tiara Diana was gifted for her wedding (Image: GETTY)
The experts said: “The dazzling diamond and pearl tiara was originally designed for Queen Mary back in 1913 which passed on for her granddaughter.
“Queen Elizabeth II reportedly presented it to Diana for her royal wedding day in 1981, although she respectfully declined and opted to wear her father’s Spencer’s Family Tiara instead.
“Despite this, the Lover’s Knot became one of her [Diana’s] favourite pieces, although it’s claimed to have been so heavy that it hurt her head.
“The fact that it’s so heavy it hurt Princess Diana’s head indicates that this is a valuable tiara, embellished with the finest quality diamonds and pearls.”
The tiara went back into The Queen’s collection after Diana died in 1997.
Later, the Queen had the top row of pearls removed and wore it frequently.
Now, it has been passed to The Duchess of Cambridge who first wore it in 2016.
Source: EXPRESS CO UK
