Diana’s famous tiara has a fascinating history

Diana, Princess of Wales, wears the Spencer family tiara on April 11, 1983 in Brisbane, Australia ; Diana, Princess of Wales and Prince Charles on their wedding day on July 29, 1981 in London.Credit : Anwar Hussein/WireImage ; David Levenson/Getty

Princess Diana’s wedding tiara had strong ties to her past.

For her July 29, 1981 nuptials to now-King Charles, Diana wore a stunning headpiece that had been passed down through the generations in her family’s own collection. The accessory helped to hold her 40-foot long wedding veil in place.

Diana’s decision to wear the headpiece, which features circular, rose-cut, cushion- and pear-shaped diamonds mounted in gold, over a tiara from Queen Elizabeth’s collection, shone a giant spotlight on the accessory.

“When Diana wore her family heirloom for her wedding day, it became one of the most famous tiaras in modern history,” said Claire Scott, the design and development director for former crown jeweler Garrard, which had a hand in the tiara’s history.

Keep reading to find out everything there is to know about Princess Diana’s wedding tiara, the history behind it and where it is today.

It served as Diana’s “something borrowed”

Diana, Princess of Wales and Prince Charles during their wedding on July 29, 1981 in St. Pauls Cathedral, London.David Levenson/Getty

The Spencer Tiara had been in the late royal’s family for decades before Diana wore it down the aisle.

Made up of several parts, the end pieces were originally designed for Viscountess Montagu Frances Manby sometime before 1767. It then came into Diana’s family as a wedding present to Diana’s grandmother, Lady Cynthia Hamilton.

The tiara was later passed down to Diana’s father, John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer in the ‘70s.

Though Diana was regularly spotted in the tiara, it was only ever on loan from her father, serving as the “something borrowed” for her nuptials.

The tiara remained in John’s possession until his death in 1992.

Both of Diana’s sisters wore it before her

Lady Jane Spencer and Robert Fellowes on their wedding day.PA Images via Getty

The Spencer Tiara was worn by Diana’s two older sisters before she made it famous in the wedding of the century.

Lady Jane Fellowes was the first Spencer sister to wear the piece down the aisle for her April 20, 1978, ceremony to wed Robert Fellowes.

Two years later, Lady Sarah McCorquodale donned the same diadem for her May 17, 1980, wedding to Neil McCorquodale.

Diana wore the tiara just one year later in 1981.

It’s comprised of several pieces of jewelry

Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales on their wedding day on July 29, 1981 in London, England.Anwar Hussein/Getty

While the ends of the tiara reportedly came from a piece belonging to Viscountess Manby, Lady Cynthia brought the tiara to Garrard — the same jeweler behind Diana’s engagement ring — in 1937 for “an extensive remodel.”

Tatler reported that Cynthia had the tiara combined with other pieces from Lady Sarah Spencer’s collection, acquired in the 1870s.

“The remodeling of the Spencer Tiara in our workshop in 1937 resulted in a lovely, cohesive design that is so typical of the period,” Scott said of the accessory, which features star, scroll and trumpet-shaped flower motifs with a heart design at its center.

It gave Diana a headache

The Prince and Princess of Wales on their wedding day July 29th, 1981.Princess Diana Archive/Getty

As pretty as Diana’s family heirloom was, it had an unexpected effect, according to her brother Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer.

He spoke to ET in 2010 about Diana’s big day, saying, “I just remember she had a cracking headache too, because she wasn’t used to wearing a tiara all morning.”

Still, Charles said it was a happy occasion: “In the evening we all went to a semi-private party and she was there and seemed incredibly relaxed and happy.”

Diana wore the tiara many times after her wedding

Diana, Princess of Wales attends a state reception on April 11, 1983 in Brisbane, Australia.Anwar Hussein/Getty

The Spencer Tiara became a highly recognized piece in Diana’s royal rotation.

The philanthropist wore it many times after her wedding, including to the opening of parliament in 1982, to several Australian banquets and a state dinner in 1983, again in Melbourne in 1985, on tour in Germany in 1987, at a state banquet in Bahrain in 1986 and in India and South Korea in 1992.

The last time Diana was seen publicly with the tiara was in 1993 at the London Dorchester Hotel.

It remains in Diana’s family

Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul’s Cathedral on their wedding day on July 29th, 1981 in London.Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty

The tiara is reportedly still in possession of Diana’s brother Charles, who inherited the piece upon his father John’s 1992 death.

He has loaned it out several times since Diana’s death, however.

In 1998, it became part of a traveling exhibit called “Diana: A Celebration,” which contained 150 pieces that were central to her life. “The exhibit puts into context the things she was able to accomplish in the short period of time she lived,” former Arts and Exhibits International President John Norman told the Akron Beacon Journal.

The exhibit ran for more than a decade and helped to raise funds for projects supported by the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund.

In 2022, the tiara went on public display once more as part of an exhibit by Sotheby’s for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee alongside roughly 40 other tiaras.

“The Queen’s Jubilee celebrations have given us the perfect opportunity to put on public display an outstanding selection of tiaras from noble and royal provenance, many of which haven’t been exhibited in decades,” Sotheby’s jewelry specialist Kristian Spofforth told PEOPLE at the time.

It’s only been worn publicly once since Diana’s death

Celia McCorquodale on her wedding day on June 16th, 2018 in Stoke Rochford, UK.Geoff Robinson Photography/Shutterstock

Diana was not the last bride to wear the Spencer tiara.

The headpiece was donned again by Victoria Lockwood, the first wife of Diana’s brother Charles, on their wedding day of Sept. 16, 1989. (The couple later divorced in 1997.)

Since Diana’s death on Aug. 31, 1997, the tiara has only been publicly worn once, however, when the late princess’s niece, Celia McCorquodale, wore the tiara for her own nuptials on June 16, 2018.

The wedding marked nearly 40 years since Cecilia’s mother, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, wore it down the aisle before her.