When she was married to Prince Charles, Princess Diana wore several items from the royal jewellery collection for important state occasions. And on one such occasion in Australia in 1985, Diana was particularly innovative in how she wore an emerald jewel.
The Delhi Durbar Emerald Choker was believed to have been gifted to Diana by the Queen to mark her marriage to Prince Charles in 1981.
The Art Deco piece previously belonged to the Queen’s grandmother, Queen Mary, and it is a redesigned version of a jewel Mary received during the Delhi Durbar in 1911.
Instead of wearing it around her neck as intended, Diana opted to wear the bejewelled piece as a headband during her high-profile outing in 1985.
While getting ready for the event, Diana reportedly tried to get it on normally to wear as a choker.
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But when it became stuck around her head, she opted to wear it as a headpiece instead.
Steven Stone’s leading diamond expert, Maxwell Stone, commented: “When it came to wearing jewellery, Princess Diana knew exactly how to make each piece stand out.
“From remodelling brooches into necklaces, to wearing chokers as headbands, she set some huge trends and was always showcasing her jewels in unique ways.
“Whether it was an accident or not, wearing the Dehli Durbar Emerald Choker as a headpiece was a wonderful choice by the Princess and certainly supported her trendsetter reputation.”
While Diana seemed pleased with her fashionable look in photos from the event, the Queen was reportedly less impressed.
But this didn’t stop Diana from being creative with her jewellery again, and she wore another jewel as a headband during a visit to Japan the following year.
The Princess reportedly had the jewels that originally comprised a watch in her Saudi sapphire suite reset into a headband.
Over the years, Diana was spotted wearing the beautiful piece both as a choker and as a headband.
