Hello my lovelies! 

I'm back with another post, this time as a suggestion from my fellow StarBlog colleague Brooke. She thought it would be nice for me to explain the differences between a tiara and a crown, and I liked the idea, especially because many people don't know and I must be honest, it makes me cringe and maybe even become a little bit triggered when people call a tiara a crown.  A crown and a tiara have many differences in their appearence. Let me put it this way:

A sandal and a boot are both shoes, right? Both have the same basic denifition: shoes. And you wear them both on your feet. But both have evident different characteristics and are worn in different situations. The same goes for a crown and a tiara. I should start by saying that Diadem is a Latin term for ornament around the head. So this means a crown, a coronet and a tiara (and a diadem) are all in the same family, much like sandals, boots and heels are in the shoe family of words. Now onto the differences:

A crown not only is exclusively worn by Kings and Queens in one of the most formal and most important moment of a monarch: the coronation, but it features several characteristics that tell them immediately apart form the rest of the head ornaments mentioned above. The general appearence of a crown usually features a sold structure, (most commonly gold), has several precious stones different in color, cut and size, and is usually lined at the base with ermine fur. On the inside, a a velvet cap which can either be red, purple, blue or green (depending on the country) serves as the lining of the crown. 

The crown also features arches, usually 4, but they can have more -- for example, the Crown of Portugal has 8 and the Imperial Russian crown is very unique, having only one arch sided by two basket-like covers. Crowns are usually toped with a Christ's cross to symbolize a Monarch's relationship to God. In ancient times, monarchs were considered God's messager on Eath and that's whey are crowned in a religious bulding, not a gonerment one, and that's also why they are annointed, not appointed. 

Now, moving on to a coronet, which I displayed on the photo right under the crown. A coronet is usually worn by a monarch's consort, but there can be exceptions where a consort wears not a coronet but a less elaborate crown. In the British Royal Family, there are several coronets. Coronets can be like crowns, made of gold or totally made of diamonds, except they don't have the arches, nor the velvet cap and sometimes not even the ermine fur base. Queen Mary wore a coronet to her son King George VI's coronation, as she was the previous queen. In this case, the coronet marks her status as Queen Emerita. Unike crowns, coronets can be worn by anyone else in the family that isn't the monarch or the monarch's spouse. This is the case of the then Princess Elizabeth, future Queen Elizabeth II, and her sister Princess Margeret. Both wore solid gold coronets for their parents' coronation.

And then we have the most famous piece I'm showcasing, the Queen Mary's bandeau tiara, worn by Meghan, now Duchess of Sussex, for her wedding to Prince Harry in 2018. A tiara differs completely from a coronet and a crown by the fact that is a semi-circular ornament and the focus of the ornament is on the front, but it can go all the way to the sides.

Tiaras in ancient times were used only by married wealthy, aristocratic or (most commonly) royal women to symbolize their social power, not only as a high-society woman but as a married one. Now, tiaras are the most commonly used by the general public, especially in weddings. Most of us can wear plastic fake ones, or maybe afford a tiara made with crystals, but there are still rich families that actually possess a real diamond family tiara and those are always worn by the family's women. Royal brides usually wear tiaras. The general idea is usually choosing a delicate, pretty tiara, as big, ostentatious tiaras are frowned upon and considered inapropriate for weddings.

Nowadays, tiaras are almost exclusively worn by royals, simply because they have the means to.  A tiara can also be a diadem, considering it has the following requirement: going all around the head or at least, almost all the head. I usued this Game of Thrones diadem as an example, as it encircles all the head and still looks like a delicate tiara. But the most famous real examples would be the Swedish amethyst tiara, Queen Victoria's sapphire coronet (wich classifies both as a coronet for the upright motifs and because it encircles the head, but also as a diadem) and then we have the case of almost-closed tiaras that fit into the diadem category, the Empress Alexandra diamond and pearl diadem, and the much-loved-by-me diadem of King D. Luis, given in 1886 to the future Queen Amélia of Portugal upon her marriage to the future King Carlos I. It survived the republic, because it went with Queen Amélia to exile in England, and was inherited by her godson the Duke of Braganza in 1951, when she died. It is now worn by his wife, Duchess Isabela of Braganza, in the most formal occasions, so it's very rarely worn, as she usually sticks to smaller tiaras.

Speaking of formal, tiaras are only worn in the most formal occasions possible, meaning white tie events, such as galas, state dinners and openings of parliament (UK only). I think it's also interesting to add that tiaras usually come with a set of earrings, necklace, brooch(es), bracelet(s), ring(s), hairpins, and some even go as far as having a Devant de Corsage which is a massive brooch worn on the chest.

I sincerely hope this blog post helped shed some light in your doubts and helps you in future situations when talking about this theme.