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Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Archives for 2016

A Closer Look at Kate in the Lover’s Knot Tiara

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Preview footage of a new documentary commissioned for Queen Elizabeth II’s upcoming 90th birthday was released yesterday, including the above image of the Duchess of Cambridge wearing the Lover’s Knot Tiara at last December’s diplomatic reception. Finally, a glimpse of the full tiara on Kate!

This video, posted by Buckingham Palace on Twitter, shows not only Kate wearing the Lover’s Knot but also the Queen wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara. We almost never get images of the Queen’s jewels at the diplomatic reception!


Our Queen at 90 will air on ITV in Britain on Easter Sunday. You can see an excerpt of one of Kate’s interviews from the program above. Here’s hoping we get an even better look at her diplomatic reception jewels, including those bracelets! (In the meantime, you can stop by our post on the tiara’s history!)

Saturday Sparkler: Princess Margaretha’s Floral Tiara

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Princess Margaretha [source]

We’ve talked quite a bit around these parts about the jewels that belonged to a pair of royal sisters, Queen Astrid of Belgium and Crown Princess Martha of Norway. But did you know that there was actually a third princess in the family? Astrid and Martha’s elder sister, Princess Margaretha, is the wearer primarily associated with today’s diamond floral tiara.

Princess Marie of Denmark [source]

The sparkler actually goes back at least one generation further in royal history. It was owned by Prince Axel’s mother, Princess Marie of Denmark (born Princess Marie of Orleans). Some have suggested that its first owner was Marie’s mother-in-law, Queen Louise of Denmark, but to my knowledge, that claim has never been substantiated.

Princess Marie of Denmark (and friend) [source]

Marie wore the tiara with a gorgeous diamond necklace in a series of portraits, including the image above, which is one of my very favorite royal portraits of all time. That dog! Look at that collar! Marie was free-spirited and Bohemian (as much as a princess could be, anyway), and this portrait really encapsulates her wit.

When Marie died in 1909, the floral tiara faded from sight for several years. It reappeared in 1919, when her second son, Prince Axel, married Princess Margaretha of Sweden. Margaretha was the eldest of the four children of Prince Carl of Sweden and his Danish-born wife, Princess Ingeborg. After her wedding, Margaretha began wearing the floral tiara, placing it low across her brow in 1920s-era style.

Princess Margaretha’s extensive family connections to the royals of Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, and Norway meant that she had plenty of opportunities to wear tiaras during her lifetime. She wore the sparkler at the grand royal wedding of her sister, Queen Astrid, in 1926. Above, she also wears the tiara during the Nobel Prize festivities in Stockholm in 1968.

And here, she wears the tiara at an event also attended by her (very pregnant) niece-in-law, Crown Princess Sonja of Norway (who is wearing the grand emerald parure that belonged to Margaretha’s mother). When she died in 1977, Margaretha left the tiara to her elder son, Prince Georg. He did not have (biological) children, and some royal writers noted that the tiara was passed along to the family of his brother, Count Flemming of Rosenborg. Flemming’s (late) wife, Countess Ruth, told royal historian Trond Noren Isaksen that Georg actually sold the tiara. What happened to it after the sale isn’t known. Was it broken up? Is it still hanging around in a private collection today? Yet another tiara mystery…




The Ultimate Collection: Kelly Lynch and Princess Margaret

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It’s been a week of exciting jewel discoveries and debuts, so it feels right that we’re also introducing a new feature! Today, Kelly Lynch — the blogger behind The Duchess Diary — has selected her ultimate collection of jewels from the pieces worn by Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon. I challenged her to choose five of her favorite pieces from Margaret’s jewelry box. 


In turn, I’m guest posting over at The Duchess Diary today, answering some of Kelly’s questions about the history of Margaret’s jewelry. Head over there for more!

Kelly: This was not easy to narrow down, seeing as Princess Margaret’s collection was/is/always will be utterly gorgeous. I never take the opportunity to chat about jewels on my site, so many thanks and advanced apologies to The Court Jeweller and her fantastic readers for indulging me in a bit of gem speak.
Ella: No apologies needed — this is a major challenge, and I think you’ve made some great choices!

#1: The Grima Lichen Brooch

Kelly: I don’t normally wear them, but I love brooches and the way they pull an outfit together without making too much of a splash. The Lichen Brooch might be one of my favorite pieces owned by Her Royal Highness, who had a vast collection of glittering brooches.
Ella: This really is a cool brooch, and I love its backstory — in 1967, Margaret literally found a piece of lichen, sent it to Andrew Grima, and asked him to make a brooch using that piece as a prototype. I only wish I had the power to pick up a random natural object, send it to an important jeweler, and have it basically cast in gold and diamonds!

Kelly: Looking through photos of Princess Margaret through the years, you’ll notice that she loves color (I will also covet photos of her wearing caftans in Mystique).  I haven’t seen this tiara until now, when I stumbled upon it via Pinterest.   I can just imagine her selecting the Flames of Love parure to wear to the Italian State Dinner thinking, “oh, they’re going to love this.”

Ella: I love the idea that royals select jewels to please/impress their hosts, and from interviews that various royal ladies have given, I know they definitely plan their jewels that way. This is a really great complete parure of turquoise jewels. It’s set with diamonds and Persian turquoises, which is connected to the name I usually use for it, but the “Flames/Lamps of Love” name is also really evocative of the symbolism that Garrard built into the tiara. I am really hoping that Margaret decided to return this one to the royal vaults, as she (apparently) did with the Lotus Flower Tiara. Fun fact: the tiara was once a kokoshnik, with a thin, curved upper row of diamonds, but the Queen Mum removed that piece of the tiara.

#3: Queen Mary’s Pearl Necklace with Diamond Art Deco Clasp

Kelly: The strands of pearls worn by royal women is often overlooked, mainly because it’s become a wardrobe staple we’ve come to expect each and every time they’re photographed. However, zooming in on the details and history of the pearls makes the necklace that much more enchanting. This strand (five graduated rows, it appears) of pearls with a diamond clasp was given to Margaret by Queen Mary on her 18th birthday, and sold at Christie’s for over $500,000! I would love to know more details about the clasp!

Ella: How many of us get a birthday present from our grandmother worth a cool half million? Mary commissioned the necklace herself in 1925, hence the design element of the diamond and platinum clasp. It’s both classic and modern. No wonder Margaret wore it in so many portraits! (And in the picture above, which is one of my absolute favorites. Those sunglasses!)

#4: The Aquamarine and Diamond Cluster Ring

Kelly: This is strikingly similar to Diana/Kate’s ring, save for the setting and the color of the stone. Admittedly I don’t look at Margaret’s hands as much as I look at her neck/head area (naturally) as those are where the most prominent jewels are, but this ring is gorgeous. Was it made for Margaret? I know her engagement ring was ruby.

Ella: I haven’t been able to track down much information on the provenance of the ring. The notes from the 2006 auction don’t give any clues, which means it probably wasn’t a gift from Margaret’s parents or grandparents. Or maybe her children weren’t sure? Jewel lovers: be like Queen Mary and keep meticulous records about when/where you got important pieces. You never know when you’ll become famous and someone will need those notes!

#5: The Snowden Floral Tiara



Kelly: According to your site, the tiara was made up of brooches given to Margaret from her new husband in 1960.  What a fantastic idea. I don’t believe it was actually fashioned into a tiara until Lady Sarah Chatto’s wedding, correct? Sarah wears her mother’s brooches at several occasions, and it’s rather nice to see the next generation properly representing what – in time – will become priceless heirlooms.

Ella: I believe that is correct — Wartski, I think, was the firm responsible for fitting the brooches as a tiara. Margaret wore them in her hair, but they weren’t used in tiara form until Sarah’s wedding. Very fitting that she inherited them, and very sweet that she loaned them to her half-sister, Lady Frances, to wear at her own wedding.

Which five pieces from Margaret’s jewelry box would you pick for your Ultimate Collection?