The royal history of Meghan Markle’s tiara

Meghan Markle reached 125 years back into the British monarchy’s vault to choose her wedding tiara.

The diamond bandeau Markle wore was made for Queen Mary, who was crowned with husband King George V in 1911. The tiara was specifically designed to accommodate a brooch that was given to Mary in 1893 to commemorate her engagement to the then-Prince George.

Queen Elizabeth II inherited the pieces in 1953. The grandmother of groom Prince Harry has hundreds of tiaras stored in locked vaults. Royal tradition holds that the queen would let Markle borrow one of the sparkly heirlooms.

In the months before Saturday’s wedding, there had been speculation over whether Markle would continue the tiara tradition and if so, whether she would choose one that belonged to Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana.