Gala Jewels: Princess Benedikte

Yesterday, Princess Benedikte of Denmark, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg marked her 71st birthday. To celebrate, let’s have a look at some of her sparkling royal gala jewels, shall we?

1962: Benedikte wears her new eighteenth-birthday gift, her Floral Birthday Tiara, at an Anglo-Danish gala at the Dorchester Hotel in London. She’s also wearing the diamond necklace that was once a part of Queen Alexandrine’s convertible diamond sautoir

1962: Benedikte wears pearls outside the walls of Windsor Castle

1968: As per family tradition, Benedikte wears the Khedive of Egypt Tiara at her wedding to Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg

1995: Nearly thirty years later, Benedikte wears her birthday tiara at the Guildhall in London to commemorate the end of World War II. She’s paired it with Queen Alexandrine’s necklace and a few of the diamond stars that belonged to Victoria of Baden

2000: Benedikte wears the grandest tiara from her husband’s family’s collection, the Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Fringe Tiara, with pearls at the birthday celebrations for her elder sister, Queen Margrethe II

2002: At the costume party held during the silver wedding anniversary celebrations for King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden, Benedikte wears pearls, both real and faux

2002: Benedikte attends the Nobel Prize Banquet in Sweden, wearing the SWB Fringe Tiara and the amethyst demi-parure that she inherited from her mother, Queen Ingrid

2004: At one of the pre-wedding galas held for her nephew, Crown Prince Frederik, Benedikte wears her birthday tiara, pearls, and some intriguing pale blue jewels

2004: For Frederik’s wedding in Copenhagen, Benedikte dons the grand SWB Fringe Tiara, Queen Alexandrine’s necklace, the floral pendant she reportedly received as an eighteenth-birthday gift from her father, and fan-shaped diamond earrings inherited from Queen Ingrid

2004: Benedikte wears Queen Sofia of Sweden’s Star and Pearl Tiara, Queen Alexandrine of Denmark’s necklace, Queen Ingrid of Denmark’s earrings, and Queen Victoria of Sweden’s diamond stars at a dinner celebrating the 70th birthday of her brother-in-law, Prince Henrik

2005: It was pearls for Hans Christian Andersen’s bicentenary celebrations

2006: Benedikte chose her striking multi-colored pearl choker necklace for a state visit from the Bulgarian president

2006: For a dinner at Christiansborg Palace, Benedikte paired her floral birthday tiara with jewels set with diamonds and pearls

2007: When Benedikte’s Swedish royal cousins paid a state visit to Denmark, she wore the SWB Fringe Tiara, Queen Alexandrine’s necklace, and Queen Ingrid’s earrings; she also used her diamond floral pendant as a brooch

2007: The same state visit also provided Benedike to wear jewels from her collection that originated in Sweden: Queen Sofia’s Star and Pearl Tiara and Victoria of Baden’s diamond stars

2008: Benedikte wore the Star and Pearl Tiara, plus Queen Alexandrine’s necklace and Queen Ingrid’s earrings, to Prince Joachim’s wedding. The sapphire brooch that she has pinned to her gown was also inherited from Ingrid; it originally belonged to Princess Thyra of Denmark

2009: For a gala at Christiansborg, Benedikte wore the Star and Pearl Tiara with other pieces of pearl jewelry

2010: At another Christiansborg gala, Benedikte paired the Star and Pearl Tiara with four of Victoria of Baden’s diamond stars, suspending them from a necklace

2010: For the first of the galas celebrating Queen Margrethe’s 70th birthday, Benedikte wore her floral birthday tiara, diamond earrings, and a diamond necklace with Princess Thyra’s sapphire pendant

2010: At Margrethe’s birthday gala at Fredensborg, Benedikte wore the SWB Fringe Tiara with Queen Ingrid’s amethyst necklace

2010: At a dinner celebrating the 70th birthday of her brother-in-law, King Constantine II of Greece, Benedikte wore a pearl necklace and a pendant of gold and pearls with an emerald drop

2010: Pearls for the pre-wedding dinner for Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, elder daughter of Benedikte’s first cousin, King Carl XVI Gustaf

2010: For Crown Princess Victoria’s wedding, Benedikte wore the SWB Fringe Tiara, Queen Ingrid’s earrings, Queen Alexandrine’s necklace, and Princess Thyra’s sapphire pendant (as a brooch)

2011: At the wedding of her younger daughter, Princess Nathalie, Benedikte wore the SWB Fringe Tiara as a necklace, pairing it with her mother’s diamond earrings

2012: For the first of the galas celebrating Queen Margrethe’s Ruby Jubilee, Benedikte wore the Star and Pearl Tiara with a pearl necklace and her diamond floral pendant (as a brooch)

2012: At a second Ruby Jubilee gala, Benedikte paired the SWB Fringe Tiara with Queen Ingrid’s diamond earrings and amethyst necklace

2012: Benedikte welcomed the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall to Denmark wearing diamond earrings, a pearl necklace, and the central brooch from her floral birthday tiara

2013: At the wedding of her goddaughter, Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Benedikte wore Swedish jewels — Queen Sofia’s Star and Pearl Tiara and Queen Victoria’s diamond stars — with pearl earrings and Queen Alexandrine’s diamond necklace

2014: Benedikte suspended the central brooch from her floral birthday tiara from a pearl necklace for the golden wedding anniversary party of King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie

2015: During the Dutch state visit to Denmark, Benedikte wore part of her floral eighteenth-birthday tiara as a brooch; she also wore the SWB Fringe, Queen Ingrid’s earrings, and Queen Alexandrine’s necklace

2015: At a recent Christiansborg gala for Queen Margrethe’s 75th birthday, Benedikte wore the SWB Fringe, Queen Alexandrine’s necklace, Queen Ingrid’s earrings, and her diamond floral pendant (as a brooch)