Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World
Unlike many royal brides, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark’s tiara debut wasn’t on her wedding day. She’d already worn a grand tiara–the diadem from the Danish Ruby Parure–during her pre-wedding celebrations. But on her wedding day, Mary Elizabeth Donaldson wore a different tiara for the first time: a romantic, convertible diamond diadem, a special gift from her new parents-in-law.
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| Photo: ARTHUR EDWARDS/AFP/Getty Images |
10. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited YoungMinds, a charity in London dedicated to mental health support, on Thursday. Kate wore her daytime jewelry uniform: Kiki McDonough earrings (the “Lauren” pair), her usual rings, and her Cartier watch.
9. Princess Marie of Denmark wore glittering drop earrings and a pendant with the letter H (and — I think — also the letter A, for her two children, Henrik and Athena) on Sunday at the Copenhagen Jewellery and Watch Show.
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| Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images |
8. For a series of engagements in Luton on Wednesday, Kate wore her trusty sapphire and diamond cluster drop earrings.
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| Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images |
7. Lots of royals popped up in the stands at the Olympics in Rio over the past few weeks. Queen Silvia of Sweden — whose heritage is partly Brazilian — wore pearl stud earrings and a necklace of multi-colored pearls on August 15.
6. Crown Princess Mary of Denmark previewed a Monet exhibition in Copenhagen on Tuesday; she wore large hoop earrings with a blue stone drop.
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| Photo: KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images |
5. As she and Emperor Akihito departed from Tokyo’s train station on Saturday, Empress Michiko of Japan wore a necklace with a blue pendant and coordinating earrings.
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| Photo: PASCAL GUYOT/AFP/Getty Images |
4. The rest of our roundup this week belongs to Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, who was truly in her element jewelry-wise at the Rio Olympics. She wore exaggerated floral earrings on August 19 to watch women’s field hockey.
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| Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images |
3. She wore a rather incredible pair of green statement earrings to watch hockey on August 15.
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| Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images |
2. A pair of huge brown and blue statement earrings, a coordinating cocktail ring, and a stack of bracelets were her chosen accessories at the equestrian center on August 17.
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| Photo: KOEN VAN WEEL/AFP/Getty Images |
1. But Maxima’s best bejeweled look of the week for me was at Wednesday’s reception for Dutch medalists in The Hague. She went full patriotic orange, wearing pieces from the family’s collection of citrine and diamond jewels, including the large drop earrings and the large bracelet. On her left wrist, you can also see the diamond bracelet that features her family’s initials.
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| Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway on their wedding day (Photo: Anthony Harvey/Getty Images) |
It’s hard to believe, but 2001 was a whole 15 years ago! Fifteen years ago today, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway married Mette-Marit Tjessem Hoiby in Oslo’s cathedral. Here’s a look at some of the jewels worn by the bride and her royal guests.
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| Crown Princess Mette-Marit (Photo: All Over Press Norway/Getty Images) |
Mette-Marit wore a bandeau of diamond daisies with her wedding ensemble. The tiara — an antique piece that was made around a century ago — was a gift from her new in-laws, King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway. It isn’t a family heirloom, though; it was apparently purchased specifically for Mette-Marit.
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| Crown Princess Mette-Marit (Photo: All Over Press Norway/Getty Images) |
I love when we get these kinds of images of the back of tiaras — this one is a really good view of the way that the tiara is positioned in Mette-Marit’s hair.
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| Crown Princess Mette-Marit (Photo: Anthony Harvey/Getty Images) |
Mette-Marit kept the rest of her jewels to a minimum: small diamond stud earrings, silver-toned necklace with a tiny diamond pendant, plus (of course) her engagement and wedding rings.
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| Queen Sonja (Photo: Anthony Harvey/Getty Images) |
For her son’s big day, Queen Sonja of Norway wore one of the most important sets of jewelry in the Norwegian royal vaults: the emerald parure, which dates to the early nineteenth century. (Soapbox moment: it’s really a shame that, when worn with the country’s highest chivalric order, the emeralds look like Christmas decorations. Sign.)
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| Princess Martha Louise (Photo: Anthony Harvey/Getty Images) |
Princess Martha Louise, the groom’s elder sister, wore a modern suite of jewelry with her own tiara, which she was given by her grandfather, King Olav V, as an eighteenth-birthday present.
The king’s sisters were both present at the wedding as well. Princess Ragnhild, who has since passed away, wore the tiara of diamond and pearl circles set in platinum, which was made by Boucheron. It was a legacy from her grandmother, Princess Ingeborg of Sweden (who was born a princess of Denmark). Unlike the grand diamond tiara from Queen Maud, which returned to the Norwegian royal family, the Boucheron tiara stayed with Ragnhild’s descendants after her death.
Ragnhild’s younger sister, Princess Astrid, wore her elaborate diamond and turquoise circlet, which originally belonged to Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom. She paired the tiara with other diamond and turquoise gems.
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| Queen Silvia (Photo: Anthony Harvey/Getty Images) |
The Swedish royal family turned out in force for the wedding. Queen Silvia wore the diamond tiara that once belonged to Queen Sofia of Sweden (and which is often called the “nine-prong” tiara). She paired the tiara with other diamond jewels, including a riviere with a pendant and diamond earrings.
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| Crown Princess Victoria (Photo: Anthony Harvey/Getty Images) |
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden wore a tiara that has since become her signature piece: the Baden Fringe. (You can tell that this was one of Victoria’s early appearances in the tiara, because the base of the piece is still wrapped in gray velvet, as it was often worn by the late Princess Lilian.) Also of note: her diamond earrings, which are the pair taken from the stomacher that belonged to Queen Josefina.
Princess Madeleine of Sweden wore the sparkler that would eventually become her own bridal diadem: the Modern Fringe Tiara. She also used one of the family’s diamond bow brooches to secure her order sash.
One more member of the extended Swedish royal family was present and wearing a tiara: Princess Kristine Bernadotte, wife of Prince Carl Bernadotte, who was the youngest son of Prince Carl and Princess Ingeborg of Sweden. If you’re doing your royal genealogy math, you’ll note that Carl was, therefore, the brother of Crown Princess Martha of Sweden and the uncle of King Harald V of Norway. (He died two years later, in 2003.) His wife, Kristine (who died in 2014), is pictured above on the right (with Flemming and Ruth Rosenborg). She wears a small diamond tiara with arches; you can see a slightly better view of it over here.
Countess Ruth of Rosenborg wore the turquoise star tiara that was given to her mother-in-law, Princess Ingeborg of Sweden, as a wedding present by Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. (Ruth has sadly also since died, as has her husband, Count Flemming.)
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| Queen Margrethe II (Photo: Anthony Harvey/Getty Images) |
The only female guest at the wedding from the main line of the Danish royal family was Queen Margrethe II. She wore the Baden Palmette Tiara, pairing it with other diamond jewels. On her right hand, you get a glimpse of her unique diamond engagement ring.
Margrethe’s younger sister, Princess Benedikte of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, was present at the wedding, as was her entire family. Like Margrethe, she wore a tiara that she had recently inherited from her mother, the late Queen Ingrid of Denmark: Queen Sofia’s Star and Pearl Tiara. She also wore diamond earrings that belonged to Ingrid and some of the diamond stars from the collection of Queen Victoria of Sweden (Ingrid’s grandmother). Benedikte’s necklace is a part of the sautoir that belonged to Queen Alexandrine of Denmark.
Benedikte’s elder daughter, Princess Alexandra of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, borrowed Benedikte’s Floral Birthday Tiara. She wore it with a seed pearl choker necklace. Bjarne Steen Jensen’s book claims that the necklace was one of Queen Ingrid’s christening gifts, given to her by her Swedish grandparents, King Gustaf V and Queen Victoria.
The tiara worn by Princess Nathalie, Benedikte’s younger daughter, is a bit of a mystery. Good close-up photos don’t seem to be available of the piece, so making a certain identification is difficult. I tend to agree with those who think that this is Princess Dagmar’s Floral Tiara, which Nathalie would have borrowed from her aunt, Queen Margrethe.
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| Queen Anne-Marie (Photo: Anthony Harvey/Getty Images) |
The youngest of the trio of Danish royal sisters, Queen Anne-Marie, was also at the wedding. Like her sisters, she also wore a tiara that she had recently inherited from Queen Ingrid: the Khedive of Egypt Tiara, which is also the family’s wedding tiara. Anne-Marie is also wearing an aquamarine pendant that belonged to Crown Princess Margareta of Sweden, plus a square aquamarine and diamond brooch that was a gift from a Greek shipping magnate. Also, note that her bracelets are also taken from the sautoir that belonged to Queen Alexandrine.
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| Princess Alexia (Photo: Anthony Harvey/Getty Images) |
Anne-Marie’s elder daughter, Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark, attended the wedding with her new husband, Carlos. Alexia wore the diamond tiara that many believe is her own personal property, possibly a coming-of-age gift from her parents. She wore her diamond drop earrings at her own wedding two years previously.
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| The Countess of Wessex (Photo: Anthony Harvey/Getty Images) |
From Britain, the Countess of Wessex wore her own diamond wedding tiara to this wedding. She’s also wearing a pearl and diamond necklace given to her by her husband, Prince Edward, as a first-anniversary present.
Queen Paola was the female representative from the royal family of Belgium. (Mathilde was expecting a baby and did not make the trip.) Paola wore the diamond art deco bandeau that belonged to Queen Elisabeth, plus her diamond half-moon earrings and her convertible diamond necklace. Her order sash is secured by a crescent-shaped brooch.
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| Queen Maxima (Photo: Anthony Harvey/Getty Images) |
She’s the Queen of the Netherlands today, but in August 2001, Maxima Zorreguieta Cerruti was still the fiancee of a prince. However, she did wear a tiara to this wedding: the diamond base of the Antique Pearl Tiara. Also notable among her jewels: the family’s diamond and gray pearl brooch and her engagement ring.
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| Princess Laurentien (Photo: Anthony Harvey/Getty Images) |
Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands wore the family’s Ears of Wheat Tiara with glittering diamond (and ruby?) earrings.
Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg (whose husband, Grand Duke Henri, had been enthroned only a year earlier) wore the family’s diamond and pearl choker tiara by Chaumet. She also wore a diamond necklace and diamond and pearl earrings.
Maria Teresa’s mother-in-law, Grand Duchess Josephine Charlotte, wore one of the tiaras that she donned during her own wedding celebrations: the Belgian Scroll Tiara.
One more royal lady from Luxembourg was at this wedding: Princess Sibilla, the wife of Prince Guillaume. She wore her beautiful (and convertible!) diamond art deco tiara with other diamond (and ruby?) jewels.
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| Queen Sofia (Photo: Anthony Harvey/Getty Images) |
Let’s round out this jewel roundup with one more queen: Queen Sofia of Spain, who attended the wedding in the lovely Spanish Floral Tiara, pairing it with diamond jewels (including a diamond bow brooch).