Princess Beatrice's something borrowed from her wedding day was the very same item that disrupted her grandmother's big day decades before.
In July 2020, Princess Beatrice tied the knot with property developer Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in a secret ceremony at Windsor Castle. The couple kept the ceremony small because of the COVID-19 virus and invited only close friends and family, including the Queen and Prince Philip, and Beatrice’s parents Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York.
For this splendid but small event, the bride opted for one of her grandmother’s previously worn gowns for her wedding dress, with a poignant story behind her choice. Princess Beatrice also decided to wear the same tiara on her special day that the Queen wore for her wedding back in 1947 to Prince Philip.
The Royal Family revealed that Princess Beatrice wore "the Queen Mary diamond fringe tiara, both belonging to Her Majesty The Queen. The tiara was worn by Her Majesty on her wedding day in 1947."
While the small event was a lovely day and went off without a hitch, the tiara was a source of mayhem for Her Majesty the Queen when she wore it for her own wedding.
During a visit with her granddaughter-in-law Catherine, the Princess of Wales to see an exhibition on Catherine’s wedding dress in 2011, the Queen revealed her wedding day disaster. On the day, the Queen proudly wore the Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara, which was the perfect selection as her 'something borrowed' - as it belonged to her grandmother, Queen Mary, at the time. This beautiful piece of jewellery was originally a fringe necklace that belonged to Queen Mary, who later had it re-fashioned into a tiara.
However, disaster struck when just two hours before the wedding was due to start, the tiara reportedly snapped as the hairdresser was fixing the then-Princess Elizabeth’s veil in place.
As reported by The Mirror, the Queen revealed while viewing Kate's dress, "The catch, which I didn't know existed, it suddenly went. And I didn’t know it was a necklace, you see. I thought I'd broken it." She added, "We stuck it all together again, but I was rather alarmed."
According to the publication, the Queen Mother was completely calm and told her daughter, "There are still two hours and there are other tiaras."
Of course, the tiara was whisked away and quickly repaired before the iconic weddding. Fortunately Princess Beatrice didn't have to face anything like this on her wedding day and was able to wear this magnificent piece with such sentimental value.
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