The Best Royal Jewels of 2016: #8 (Astrid’s Art Deco Debut)

We’re up to number eight in our year-end countdown! Catch up on numbers 9-10 over here!

#8: Astrid’s Art Deco Debut

Until this March, Princess Astrid of Belgium had really only worn one major tiara in public: the Savoy-Aosta Tiara that comes from the collection of her mother-in-law. (More on that one here!) But for a state banquet for the President of Germany in March, Astrid wore a new tiara in public for the first time: her mother’s Art Deco Bandeau.

The diamond tiara has a lengthy history in the Belgian royal family, dating back to Queen Elisabeth. (You can read its full history over here!) Astrid’s mother, Queen Paola, was given the tiara by her father-in-law, King Leopold III. Since then, it’s been worn by two Belgian royal brides: Queen Mathilde and Astrid’s daughter-in-law, Elisabetta. But we’d not seen it on Astrid until this year. I love a good historical tiara debut!