Princess Kate’s Favorite Tiara Has a Painful Side Effect

Kate Middleton in the Lover's Knot Tiara

(Image credit: Getty)

published 6 June 2023

The Princess of Wales had a tiara first last week, wearing a crown outside of the U.K. for the very first time at the Jordanian royal wedding last Thursday. She opted to go with her favorite tiara, the Queen Mary Lover’s Knot Tiara, one also worn numerous times by her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana, The Mirror reports. The diamond-and-pearl headpiece dates back to 1914 and was made for Queen Mary by royal jeweler Garrard.

And, as beautiful as it is, royal fashion expert and celebrity stylist Miranda Holder says that the crown is so heavy it can be a painful experience to wear—as it was for Diana: “Apparently because it was so heavy, she used to get terrible headaches from wearing it,” Holder said.

Princess Diana in the Lover's Knot Tiara

The Queen Mary Lover’s Knot Tiara is the tiara Kate most gravitates towards, but she also sports the Lotus Flower Tiara from time to time. She also wore Queen Elizabeth’s Cartier Halo Tiara for her wedding day, when she married Prince William on April 29, 2011.

And speaking of Kate, while heavy may be the head that wears the crown for work engagements, she’s got a new hobby she’s obsessed with in her personal life, apparently. She and William reportedly get “fiercely competitive” with one another playing padel tennis, according to The Mirror. Padel tennis—billed as one of the world’s fastest-growing sports—is a cross between traditional tennis and squash, played on a small court and using a solid padel rather than a racquet made of strings. The Sun reports that William and Kate have been seen having regular doubles matches with friends, although the couple is on opposing teams.

“I had to look twice as it seemed surreal, but they were having a great time,” a witness says. “William was on one team with a male friend and Kate was on the other team with a male friend and there was lots of banter and a lot of laughing, but both sides fought every point. They looked good at it and did not come across as beginners.”

From tiaras to tennis—Kate runs the gamut!

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.

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