Tiaras: Crown Jewels of London’s Fashion, History, and Culture

When you think of tiaras, a ornamental headband, often jeweled, worn by women as a symbol of status, beauty, or royalty. Also known as crownlets, it has been worn by queens, brides, and style icons across centuries—not just in palaces, but on London’s streets, runways, and gala nights. In London, tiaras aren’t just relics of the past. They’re living pieces of culture, worn at royal weddings at Westminster Abbey, seen on the red carpet at the BAFTAs, and even rented for prom nights in Hampstead. You don’t need to be royalty to wear one—but you do need to understand what makes them matter.

Tiaras connect to deeper threads in London’s identity. They’re tied to the royal family, the British monarchy, whose ceremonial attire includes historically significant tiaras passed down through generations, like the Cambridge Lover’s Knot or the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara. These aren’t just jewelry—they’re heirlooms with stories. Then there’s the wedding tiara, a specific type of tiara chosen by brides for its elegance and symbolic weight in formal ceremonies, a trend that exploded after Princess Diana’s iconic tiara in 1981. Today, brides in Chelsea or Notting Hill are renting them from designers like Asprey or Garrard, or commissioning modern versions with sustainable stones. And don’t forget the London fashion scene, the city’s global influence in style, where designers blend historical motifs with avant-garde silhouettes. Tiaras appear on runways during London Fashion Week, styled with streetwear, or layered over braids at underground art parties in Shoreditch.

It’s not just about looking pretty. Tiaras carry meaning—power, heritage, rebellion. In 2023, a young artist in Peckham wore a recycled metal tiara to a protest, turning a symbol of aristocracy into one of empowerment. Meanwhile, the V&A Museum keeps tiaras on display not as trophies, but as artifacts of craftsmanship and social change. You’ll find them in exhibitions about women’s roles, in documentaries about royal weddings, and even in the back rooms of antique dealers in Mayfair, where a 19th-century diamond tiara might cost more than a flat—but still gets passed down like a family secret.

What you’ll find below isn’t a list of where to buy tiaras. It’s a curated look at how they live in London today—through theatre costumes, luxury events, heritage displays, and unexpected fashion moments. Whether you’re curious about the history behind a royal tiara, planning to wear one for your big day, or just love the way light catches on crystal in a West End theatre, these stories show how a small piece of metal and gems can hold a whole city’s soul.