NEED TO KNOW

Kate Middleton has made Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot her signature sparklerThe Princess of Wales has worn the timeless tiara 13 times over the last 14 yearsPrincess Diana also wore the diamond and pearl headpiece multiple times when she was the Princess of Wales

Kate Middleton‘s go-to tiara was also a favorite in the rotation of her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana.

The Princess of Wales, 44, has made Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara her signature sparkler, wearing it 13 times during the 14 years that she has been a working royal. 

The headtopper has an interesting history, as Queen Mary commissioned the pearl and diamond design from Garrard in 1913 as a replica of an ancestral jewel. 

The diamond and pearl piece was inspired by the Cambridge’s Lover’s Knot Tiara, which was produced in the early 19th century for Princess Augusta of Hesse Cassel, Duchess of Cambridge, Christie’s said. Taken with its design, her granddaughter Queen Mary had a copy made, and that is the version that passed to a young Queen Elizabeth in 1953.

Queen Elizabeth at the premiere of the film “Dunkirk” in London on March 20, 1958.

NCJ – Kemsley/NCJ Archive/Mirrorpix via Getty

The royal family expanded when the future King Charles married Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, and Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara became a staple in her rotation. 

According to The Court Jeweller, Queen Elizabeth gave her new daughter-in-law use of the timeless tiara, and it became one of two tiaras that the newly minted Princess Diana wore as the Princess of Wales.

Princess Diana attends a dinner at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C. in November 1985.

Terry Fincher/Princess Diana Archive/Getty

Princess Diana was last pictured in Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara around 1991, the year before she and Prince Charles separated. The royal couple finalized their divorce in 1996, and she died in 1997 following a car accident in Paris at age 36.

The fairytale tiara then went unseen for many years, until Princess Kate dusted it off for a triumphant return 24 years later.

In December 2015, Prince William‘s wife brought it out of the archive for the Diplomatic Reception at Buckingham Palace. Princess Kate was then popularly called the Duchess of Cambridge, and the tiara inspired by the Cambridge Lover’s Knot was a thoughtful tribute to her title then.

Kate Middleton attends the annual Diplomatic Reception at Buckingham Palace on Dec. 8, 2015.

Julian Parker/UK Press via Getty

Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more! 

Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot has since become Kate’s trademark tiara, and she has worn it with chignons, loose curls and even brought it abroad for a royal wedding in Jordan.

Despite her status as future queen, Princess Kate has only worn five different tiaras during her 14 years as a working royal.