The Princess Brides and Their Diamonds: What Jewelry Do Royal Women Wear on Their Wedding Day?

Look closely to the left of the central diamond spike on the tiara, and you'll see that the gap is bigger than the one on the right . . . This is because the tiara broke on the then-Princess Elizabeth's wedding day and was raced across London with a police escort to be mended by the royal jeweler. Queen Mary's Fringe Tiara was originally made from a necklace that Queen Victoria gave to her granddaughter-in-law Mary on her wedding day. Mary then passed it on to her daughter-in-law the Queen Mother who lent it to her daughter Elizabeth as her 'something borrowed.' The diamond and pearl cluster earrings had also belonged to Queen Mary, and originally featured detachable pearl and diamond drops. However Mary made the separation permanent when she gave the top clusters to her granddaughter Elizabeth when she was 19, keeping the drops for herself to be made into another pair of earrings.

The tiara-tastrophe wasn't the only jewelry drama on the future queen's wedding day. The pearls were a wedding present from her parents and had been displayed along with the rest of her gifts at St James's Palace, so an aide had to borrow the King of Norway's limousine to fetch them. The two separate necklaces are among the oldest in the royal collection. The shorter is made of 46 pearls and was worn by Queen Anne in the early 18th century, and the longer is made of 50 pearls and belonged to George II's wife Queen Caroline in the late 18th century.

For the civil service part of her wedding to Prince Charles, Camilla was decked in meaningful jewels. The diamond and gray pearl brooch features her husband's emblem, The Prince of Wales Feathers, and was apparently a gift from him when they first went public with their relationship.

The pearl and diamond earrings had belonged to the Queen Mother and were therefore another gift from her new husband.

For the church blessing part of her wedding day, Camilla wore a pair of diamond flower pendant earrings, which she then lent to her daughter Laura on her own wedding day the following year.

Who needs other jewelry when you've got this crowning glory on your head? Princess Margaret had bought the Victorian Poltimore Tiara for herself, and it was the perfect accompaniment for her towering wedding day beehive. Elaborate and whopping, the tiara can be broken down into a necklace and 11 brooches.

Margaret also wore a substantial diamond collet necklace, which had belonged to her grandmother Queen Mary.

It was the first time Kate has worn a tiara, and she chose the Cartier Halo as her 'something borrowed' from the queen. Made up of diamond scrolls, the piece was a gift from George VI to his wife (the Queen Mother), who then passed it onto their daughter Elizabeth for her 18th birthday.

The diamond earrings by Robinson Pelham were Kate's 'something new' and a gift from her parents. Inspiration was taken from the tiara's scroll design, and they also feature diamond oak leaves and acorns in a nod to the famous oak trees of her home county Berkshire.