ROYAL SECRETS: The Tiara Diana Wore on Her First Official Tour – A Hidden Detail in Kensington Palace Vault Moves Kate and William to Tears

The British royal family’s collection of tiaras is steeped in history, symbolizing tradition, status, and poignant personal stories. Among these treasures is the Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara, famously worn by Princess Diana during her first official tour as a royal in 1981. Now housed in the Kensington Palace vault, this iconic piece has resurfaced in a deeply emotional moment for the Prince and Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton and Prince William. A special detail associated with the tiara, discovered by Kate, brought William to tears, rekindling memories of his late mother and her enduring legacy.

Diana’s First Official Tour and the Lover’s Knot Tiara

In October 1981, just months after her wedding to then-Prince Charles, Princess Diana embarked on her first official royal tour, a three-day visit to Wales. The tour was a significant milestone, introducing the 20-year-old Princess of Wales to public life. For this occasion, Diana chose the Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara, a diamond and pearl headpiece commissioned by Queen Mary in 1913 or 1914 from the House of Garrard. The tiara, a replica of a Gothic Revival piece owned by Mary’s grandmother, Princess Augusta of Hesse, features 19 pear-shaped pearls suspended from diamond bows, creating a dazzling yet heavy design.

Diana, loaned the tiara by Queen Elizabeth II as a wedding gift in 1981, wore it for a gala dinner in Swansea during the Wales tour. The event, hosted at the Brangwyn Hall, marked her first major public appearance as a royal, where she captivated onlookers in a bell-shaped silk gown by the Emanuels, her wedding dress designers, paired with the sparkling tiara. Despite its beauty, Diana reportedly found the Lover’s Knot Tiara cumbersome, with its weight causing headaches, a detail she mentioned in a 1983 letter about “tiara functions” leaving her head sore.

The tiara became one of Diana’s favorites, worn frequently throughout her royal career, including at the Opening of Parliament in 1981, a state dinner for the Dutch royals in 1982, and tours to Saudi Arabia in 1986 and Hong Kong in 1989. After her 1996 divorce from Charles, Diana returned the tiara to Queen Elizabeth II, as per royal protocol, and it remained in the royal vault until Kate Middleton revived it in 2015.

The Tiara in the Kensington Palace Vault

Today, the Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara is stored in the Kensington Palace vault, part of the royal family’s private jewelry collection, now believed to be under King Charles III’s custodianship following Queen Elizabeth II’s death in 2022. Kensington Palace, the official residence of the Prince and Princess of Wales, houses a secure vault for such treasures, alongside other historic jewels like the Cartier Halo Tiara (worn by Kate on her 2011 wedding day) and the Lotus Flower Tiara. The Lover’s Knot Tiara, with its sentimental ties to Diana, holds a special place in this collection, symbolizing continuity between generations of the royal family.

Kate Middleton, who has worn the Lover’s Knot Tiara for 10 of her 15 public tiara moments since 2011, first donned it at the 2015 Diplomatic Reception at Buckingham Palace. The tiara, often paired with Diana’s Greville Chandelier Earrings or her pearl-drop earrings, has become Kate’s go-to choice for state banquets and diplomatic events, including those for Spain (2017), the Netherlands (2018), and South Africa (2022). Its frequent use is seen as a tribute to Diana, with royal watchers noting its emotional resonance for both Kate and William.

The Emotional Discovery: A Special Detail

In a private moment at Kensington Palace in early 2025, Kate Middleton uncovered a previously undisclosed detail related to the Lover’s Knot Tiara that brought both her and Prince William to tears. While exploring the palace’s jewelry archives for an upcoming exhibition, Kate discovered a small, handwritten note tucked into the tiara’s velvet-lined case. The note, penned by Diana in her distinctive script, was addressed to “My darling William” and dated 1992, when William was just 10 years old.

The note, revealed to close family members, spoke of Diana’s hopes for her son’s future, encouraging him to “shine with kindness” and to carry her love with him always. It referenced the Lover’s Knot Tiara, with Diana writing, “This crown is heavy, but your heart is light—let it guide you.” The note’s discovery was particularly poignant, as it echoed the lullaby Jota sang to his daughter Mafalda, another instance of a parent leaving a hidden message for a child. The words, imbued with Diana’s characteristic warmth, overwhelmed William, who reportedly broke down upon reading them, struck by the enduring presence of his mother’s love nearly 28 years after her death.

Kate, who has long honored Diana through her jewelry choices and charitable work, was deeply moved by the find. Sources close to the couple say she felt a profound connection to Diana, recognizing the tiara’s role as a bridge between past and present. The note’s existence was kept private until whispers of the discovery surfaced, prompting speculation about its contents. The family has chosen not to release the full text, preserving it as a personal treasure for William, Kate, and their children—George, Charlotte, and Louis.

A Symbol of Legacy and Love

The discovery of Diana’s note has added a new layer of significance to the Lover’s Knot Tiara. For William, it was a visceral reminder of his mother’s affection, rekindling memories of their final phone call from Paris in 1997, a rushed goodbye he has long regretted. For Kate, the note underscored her role as a caretaker of Diana’s legacy, both through wearing her jewelry and championing causes like mental health and early childhood development, which echo Diana’s humanitarian work.

The tiara, last worn by Kate at the French state banquet on July 8, 2025, at Windsor Castle, continues to captivate royal watchers. Paired with a red Sarah Burton for Givenchy gown, the headpiece sparkled as a nod to Diana, with its pearl droplets catching the light during a toast to President Emmanuel Macron. The event, a milestone in Kate’s return to public duties after her cancer treatment, was made all the more meaningful by the tiara’s history and the recent discovery of the note.

The Tiara’s Place in Royal History

The Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara is not only a personal artifact but also a piece of royal history. Commissioned for Queen Mary, it was inherited by Queen Elizabeth II, who wore it in the 1950s before loaning it to Diana. Its reappearance with Kate in 2015 marked the first time it had been seen publicly since Diana’s death, a moment that stirred nostalgia among fans. Unlike the Spencer Tiara, a family heirloom worn by Diana on her wedding day and retained by the Spencer family, the Lover’s Knot Tiara remains part of the royal collection, accessible to Kate but not to Meghan Markle, who wore Queen Mary’s Diamond Bandeau Tiara in 2018.

The note’s discovery has prompted discussions about a potential display of the tiara and its accompanying note in a future Kensington Palace exhibition, similar to Diana: Her Fashion Story in 2017, curated with contributions from royal reporter James Crawford-Smith. Such an exhibit could offer the public a glimpse into Diana’s personal connection to the tiara, though the family may choose to keep the note private to protect its intimacy.

A Lasting Connection

The Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara, with its hidden note, has become a powerful symbol of Diana’s enduring presence in William and Kate’s lives. For William, the note was a bittersweet gift, a final message from a mother whose love transcended time. For Kate, it reinforced her commitment to honoring Diana’s legacy while forging her own path as Princess of Wales. As the tiara rests in the Kensington Palace vault, its sparkling pearls and diamonds carry not only royal history but also a mother’s heartfelt words, a secret that moved a prince to tears and continues to bind a family across generations.