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When Emperor Naruhito ascended to the Chrysanthemum Throne last week, Japan also gained a new crown princely family. The Akishino household, headed by the emperor’s brother and heir, Crown Princess Fumihito, includes a trio of jewel-wearing imperial princesses. Today, we’ve got a look at the family’s growing collection of tiaras.
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When Prince Fumihito and Kiko Kawashima married in 1990, Emperor Akihito granted them their own household and the titles of Prince and Princess Akishino. Kiko also gained her own imperial symbol, the iris setosa. Her diamond wedding parure, which includes the Akishino Tiara, incorporates iris flowers in its complicated design. For three decades, the Akishino Tiara was the only diadem that Kiko wore for gala events, including state banquets and the family’s annual New Year audience. (Learn more about the tiara here!)
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Fumihito and Kiko have two daughters, Princess Mako and Princess Kako, and a son, Prince Hisahito. Per Japanese tradition, Mako and Kako received parures of diamond jewelry when they turned twenty. Both of their parures also feature design inspiration from the iris. Princess Mako debuted her mirrored parure in October 2011. (More on the suite here!)
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The iris flower design is even more prominent in the diamond parure given to Princess Kako in December 2014. Like most imperial parures, this set includes a tiara with a coordinating necklace and brooch. (Learn more about the tiara and jewels here!)
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When Kiko became Japan’s crown princess on May 1, she debuted a second suite of jewels. The Japanese Crown Princely Wedding Parure takes its name from its apppearance on a pair of Japanese imperial brides: Michiko Shoda, who married Crown Prince Akihito in 1959, and Masako Owada, who married Crown Prince Naruhito in 1993. Kiko is the third imperial crown princess to wear the tiara and its coordinating jewels in public. (Learn much more about the parure here!)
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