Queen Alexandrine’s Diamond and Sapphire Pendant

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Our peek into the jewelry box of our Magpie of the Month, Princess Marie of Denmark, continues with a jewel worn by four generations of Danish royal women: Queen Alexandrine’s Diamond and Sapphire Pendant.

Crown Princess Alexandrine wears the pendant

Queen Alexandrine, who was born Duchess Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, was the first known owner of this jewel, which can be worn as either a brooch or a pendant. Above, you can see the jewel pinned to the front of Alexandrine’s dress; this portrait was taken between 1906-12, the period when Alexandrine was Denmark’s crown princess. The piece was later worn by Alexandrine’s daughter-in-law, Queen Ingrid, and her granddaughter, Queen Margrethe II.

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The current wearer of the jewels is Queen Margrethe’s daughter-in-law, Princess Marie. She has been photographed in the brooch/pendant since the early years of her marriage to Prince Joachim. Above, she wears the piece as a pendant in April 2010 for Queen Margrethe’s 70th birthday celebrations.

Marie also wore the pendant in January 2010 for the annual New Year’s Levee in Copenhagen. This was a fairly rare instance when Marie wore a necklace for an event which also required her to wear the collar of the Order of the Elephant.

Like Queen Alexandrine, Marie has also used the jewel as a brooch. Here, she uses the brooch to secure the sash of the Order of the Crown during a state banquet for King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands in March 2015.

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One of her most recent important outings in the piece came during Queen Margrethe’s 75th birthday celebrations in April 2015. On this occasion, Marie wore the pendant with a dark blue gown, which made the sapphires in the jewel recede into the background color-wise.