Their magical royal weddings also included a very special and symbolic moment!

Meghan Markle and Princess Eugenie shared one symbolic and very special moment in common when it came to their wedding days.

Surprisingly, the two royals both did something for the very first time on their big days – they both wore a tiara for the very first time in public!

Let’s unpack why that was a significant moment for the two women…
Meghan Markle’s tiara sparkled in the May sunshine (Credit: David Fisher/Shutterstock)

Meghan Markle and Princess Eugenie’s wedding day shared something in common

Both Meghan and Eugenie wore tiaras publicly for the first time on their wedding days in 2018.

The two women stunned in twinkling bandeau tiaras from Queen Elizabeth’s collection, just months apart.

Meghan wore Queen Mary’s Diamond Bandeau Tiara when she said ‘I do,’ with Prince Harry at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in May of 2018.

The former Suits actress looked stunning in the distinctive geometric piece, with an eye-catching detachable floral brooch as the tiara’s focal point.

At the same venue in October, Princess Eugenie made jaws drop as she wore the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara when she wed Jack Brooksbank.

Paired with her flowing, white gown, featuring a low back and an elegantly folded neckline to showcase her scar from childhood scoliosis surgery, the vivid green emerald at the centre of the diadem really stole the show.

The significance of wearing tiaras

The royals typically only don tiaras for the most formal occasions, like state banquets.

These moments for Meghan and Eugenie weren’t only their firsts. They were also the last occasions the two women sported tiaras.

Princess Eugenie is not a full-time working royal, meaning she is not usually in attendance at state banquets. Therefore, a tiara isn’t really a suitable part of her usual attire.

And of course, Meghan and Harry stepped away from The Firm and fulfilling royal duties in 2020. Meaning, no more royal tiaras for Meghan, unless things change.

In his bombshell memoir Spare, Prince Harry wrote about how Meghan chose her tiara from Queen Elizabeth’s collection.

He explained that his aunts were eager for Meghan to wear Princess Diana’s Spencer tiara and her veil was designed to match that headpiece.

Queen Elizabeth II’s plans for Meghan Markle’s wedding tiara

However, Harry’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, had other plans.

“Shortly before the wedding, however, Granny reached out. She offered us access to her collection of tiaras. She even invited us to Buckingham Palace to try them on. Do come over, I remember her saying,” Harry penned.

The prince described the morning as “extraordinary”.

“One was all emeralds. One was aquamarines. Each was more dazzlingly stunning than the last. Each took my breath,” he stated.

“Granny said to Meg quite tenderly: Tiaras suit you. Meg melted. Thank you, M’am.”

Princess Eugenie looked incredible on her big day (Credit: Shutterstock)

The story behind Princess Eugenie’s wedding tiara

Princess Eugenie’s emerald tiara also held a very special place in Queen Elizabeth’s collection.

The Greville Emerald Kokoshnik tiara was named because it was originally created by Parisian jewellery house Boucheron for British socialite Dame Margaret Greville in 1919.

Greville was close with the royal family, according to reports. So much so, she left the bandeau tiara to Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, then known simply as Queen Elizabeth, upon her death in 1942.

When The Queen Mother sadly passed away in 2002, she bequeathed the show-stopping diadem to her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II.

Thus, it was handed down for Eugenie to wear on her special day.