Zara Tindall's £4million royal tribute to Princess Anne on wedding day to Mike

10 March 2024 , 23:00

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Zara and Mike Tindall on their wedding day in 2011 (Image: Getty Images)

Zara Tindall paid tribute to her mother, Princess Anne, by wearing a tiara worth up to £4million on the day she married her husband Mike.

Tiaras are what symbolically give the Royal Family their regal status but women are not allowed to wear them until their wedding day. This does not just apply to those born in the Royal Family, such as Zara, but also to women who marry into the Firm, such as Prince William's wife Kate and Prince Harry's wife Meghan Markle.

Zara and Mike Tindall married at Canongate Kirk on Edinburgh's Royal Mile on July 30, 2011. On her special day, Zara's tiara choice left royal fans confused as they were expecting her to wear something else.

Princess Anne on her wedding day with her husband Mark Phillips, her younger brother Prince Edward, and cousin Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones (Corbis via Getty Images)

Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips leaving Westminster Abbey on their wedding day (PA)

It is a tradition in the Royal Family that Princesses will wear the same wedding tiara that their mother wore. For instance, when Princess Anne walked down the aisle to marry Captain Mark Phillips in 1973, she wore Queen Mary's Fringe tiara, the same diadem worn by Queen Elizabeth II in 1947.

As Zara is The Princess Royal's daughter, many assumed she would also wear Queen Mary's Fringe tiara. However, this was not the case, and many fans had never heard of the tiara that Zara wore because it belonged to her great-grandmother.

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But, as a jewellery expert points out, this tiara did give a special nod to Princess Anne. Deborah Papas from Prestige Pawnbrokers of Channel 4’s Posh Pawn, told the Express that the tiara Zara wore could be worth up to £4million. The expert said: "This is the most glamorous piece from Princess Anne's stunning jewellery collection. The stunning tiara belonged to her great-grandmother (Prince Philip’s mother, Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark).

The couple depart after the wedding (Getty Images)

Zara and Mike kiss after their wedding ceremony at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland (AFP/Getty Images)

"It was lent to Zara on her wedding day by her mother, Princess Anne." Ms Papas explained that Princess Anne's mother, Queen Elizabeth - then Princess Elizabeth - received the tiara as a wedding gift in 1947 from Princess Alice of Bettenberg.

She added: "She originally acquired it after she married Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark in 1903. She was never photographed wearing it as she went on to other grander pieces."

Talking about the design of the tiara, Ms Papas said: "It has a centre laurel and honeysuckle decoration on either side. It is studded with diamonds set in a white precious metal more likely to be platinum because of the era in which it was made. It is perceived to be made by Cartier in France."

The jewellery expert gave a rough estimate of how much Zara's wedding tiara is worth. Ms Papas said the real value is not known but said she estimates it to be worth over £1million, adding: "If it is a Cartier piece, it could be as much as £2million to £4million."

Dorothy Reddin