Kate Middleton dons heirloom tiara for diplomatic banquet

When the former Kate Middleton needs to go glam, well, she dons a tiara.

Game over for the rest of us wannabe princesses.

The woman now known as Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, was given the royal treatment Tuesday when she wore the Lotus Flower Tiara to a white-tie diplomatic reception at Buckingham Palace, according to the Daily Mail.

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Prince William and his wife, both 31, were photographed while riding to the event in the back seat of a chauffeured Bentley without their baby boy, Prince George. A side-view photo of the vehicle showed the duchess wearing a light-colored Alexander McQueen gown with her hair half-up, half-down under the glittering headpiece, which consists of fanned-out diamonds and pearls. William was seen wearing a tux and a white tie for the state banquet.

Kensington Palace confirmed to the Daily Mail that the bejeweled topper belonged to Princess Margaret, the late sister of Queen Elizabeth II. It is said to currently be part of Queen Elizabeth’s private collection and -- in addition to the chandelier earrings she wore -- was loaned to the duchess for the occasion, E! News reported.

Here’s where our British royal history lesson comes in.

The Lotus Flower Tiara once belonged to the Queen Mother, Elizabeth. It was originally a necklace that was given to her as wedding gift from her husband, King George VI, but they later had it dismantled and turned into a tiara by jeweler Garrard in the 1920s, the Mail said.

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In 1959, the Queen Mother bequeathed the headpiece to her youngest daughter, Margaret, who wore it often. Margaret later loaned it to Serena Stanhope in 1993 when she married Margaret’s son, Viscount Linley.

As for Kate, it’s only the second time that the trend-setting royal has publicly donned a tiara. The first time happened to be during her wedding to Prince William in April 2011, when she wore a Cartier halo loaned to her by the reigning British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. That headpiece dates back to 1936, when Queen Elizabeth II’s father, King George VI (then just the Duke of York) purchased it for his wife, Elizabeth, according to Vanity Fair. It was then passed down to her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, for her 18th birthday when she was still a princess.

Got it? If not, just remember that the royal wedding tiara is old, pretty and has definitely been fit for many queens.

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