Why Princess Beatrice Can't Wear a Tiara, but Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton Can

A tiara isn’t exactly an everyday accessory — even when your name is preceded by a title like “Princess,” “Duchess,” or “Queen.”

Though the royals of our Disney-inspired fantasies slap on a diamond-encrusted topper first thing every morning, in reality, the piece is reserved only for very special occasions. In Kate Middleton’s eight years as the Duchess of Cambridge, she’s donned a tiara fewer than a dozen times (in public, that is — she probably brushes her teeth in one daily). The most notable tiara moment for Middleton was of course at her 2011 royal wedding, upon which she wore the Cartier Halo Scroll tiara (an 18th birthday present to Queen Elizabeth from her father, King George VI).

The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, most famously wore her first tiara not too long ago: at her May 2018 wedding to Prince Harry. She opted for the Queen Mary Diamond Bateau, which was passed down to Queen Elizabeth from Queen Mary in 1953.

But as for Princesses Beatrice, who, like her sister, was born into royalty as opposed to marrying into the family as Kate and Meghan did, it is not customary to wear a tiara (flamboyant hats are fine, though). The reason? Tiaras are traditionally reserved for married members of the British royal family. Eugenie wore her first tiara to her October 2018 wedding to Jack Brooksbank, and Beatrice will likely wear her first during her upcoming wedding to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.

Though this is the traditional approach, there have been exceptions to the rule throughout history. Queen Elizabeth’s only daughter, Princess Anne, wore one at the state opening of Parliament years before she wed her first husband, Mark Phillips.

The Queen’s sister, Princess Margaret, also donned the accessory ahead of her marriage to Antony Armstrong-Jones — in fact, she wore one often.

UPDATED: This story has been updated from a previous version on 9/27/2019.