Queen Anne-Marie’s Diamond Cross

Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

As we’ve marveled our way through the jewelry box of Queen Anne-Marie this month, I’ve had lots of questions about one piece in particular: her diamond cross pendant.

Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Anne-Marie, who was born a Danish princess, famously wore the cross on the day she married King Constantine II of Greece in September 1964. The diamond ornament was a gift to the eighteen-year-old princess from her parents, King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid of Denmark.

Nikolas Kominis – Pool/Getty Images

Here’s a closer look at the substantial pendant. Note two things in particular: the size of the yellow gold loop at the top of the cross, which allows the pendant to be worn with larger necklaces (including pearls), and the marquise-shaped adornment on that loop, which is also set with diamonds.

Image licensed to The Court Jeweller; do not reproduce

Anne-Marie’s time as Greece’s queen consort was short, lasting less than a decade. During that time, she wore the pendant for important gala occasions, including her royal wedding. But she also used it for formal daytime events, like the Greek royal audience with Pope Paul VI at the Vatican in April 1966. On that occasion, she wore the pendant with Queen Alexandrine’s Diamond Necklace and the Antique Corsage Tiara, both also jewels she received from her Danish family.

Nikolas Kominis – Pool/Getty Images

Today, the cross pendant still resides in Anne-Marie’s jewelry box. She doesn’t wear it often, but it does make occasional appearances. One of the more prominent recent outings for the pendant came in 2010, when her second son, Prince Nikolaos, married Tatiana Blatnik on the Greek island of Spetses.