The duchess's tiara in a bag

All in One Basket

Loretta reports:

Here's some insight into wearing tiaras, including “the larger of the two Devonshire diamond tiaras [which] is indeed a whopper.”

“My mother-in-law, Mary Devonshire, was Mistress of the Robes to the Queen from 1953 to 1967.  Tall and beautiful, she looked magnificent when dressed for a grand occasion.  The big tiara suited her perfectly and anyone who saw her in close attendance on the young Queen at the coronation in 1953 will remember the perfection of her bearing on that famous day.  In the course of her duties, which included formal banquets for visiting heads of state and other ceremonial occasions, she used to fetch the jewels from the bank stowed in a Marks & Spencer carrier bag.

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“There can be no slouching with a tiara on your head.  It makes you stand and sit up straight.  In spite of combs, hairpins, and Kirby grips, there is always the possibility of it slipping, which makes the most dedicated teetotaler look the worse for wear.”

—Deborah Mitford, the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, All in One Basket.

Image at right is the Duchess of Manchester (standing very straight, indeed) in February 1912, courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA.