Treasured Turquoises for Queen Margrethe

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Queen Margrethe II of Denmark was busy with diplomatic engagements in Copenhagen on Friday, and she reached into her jewelry box for pieces set with one of her favorite stones: turquoise!

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The Queen received Daniel Guenther, premier of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, and his wife, Anke, at Amalienborg on Friday. They were accompanied during the meeting by Denmark’s Minister of Culture and Church, Joy Mogensen. Schleswig-Holstein has a long and complicated history with Denmark; the former Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein belonged to Denmark at various points in history, and the question over which parts of the area belonged to which country wasn’t finally settled until 1920. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the plebiscites which officially established the border between Denmark and Germany.

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For the meeting, Queen Margrethe wore some of her favorite jewels. The Queen has an extensive collection of pieces set with turquoises. Some are heirlooms from her British-Swedish royal grandmother, Princess Margaret of Connaught, while others are more modern jewels given to her by her late husband, Prince Henrik.

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The brooch she wore for the audience, her mirrored turquoise brooch, is one of the pieces that belonged Margaret of Connaught. Crown Princess Margareta, as she was better known during her marriage to King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden, received a whole set of turquoise jewels as a wedding present in 1905. This brooch was among those items. The turquoises passed to her daughter, Queen Ingrid of Denmark, who in turn gave them to her daughter, Queen Margrethe. In the image above, Queen Margrethe wears the brooch for a luncheon hosted for the President of the United States at Fredensborg in 2005.

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While Margrethe often pairs the brooch with her classic turquoise button earrings, she’s also worn the jewel with earrings from her modern turquoise collection. These earrings, worn with the brooch in August 2018 for a welcome ceremony at Amalienborg during the French state visit, were made by Torben Hardenberg. They were a 60th birthday gift to Margrethe from Henrik.

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Margaret of Connaught’s turquoise collection also included all of the pieces worn by Queen Margrethe above, during a state dinner for the Chinese president in 2012. The design of the Turquoise Daisy Bandeau and that of the mirrored turquoise brooch definitely share some similarities. The diamond and turquoise earrings and brooch seen here were also among Margaret of Connaught’s wedding gifts.

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But back to those turquoise button earrings worn by Queen Margrethe on Friday — they’re simple, classic, and she’s worn them for lots of different kinds of occasions. In 2004, she was photographed wearing them during her summer holiday with Prince Henrik at their French home, Château de Cayx.

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She’s also worn the button earrings with another of Margaret of Connaught’s brooches, the fantastic Devonshire Turquoise Brooch. It was also one of the elder Margaret’s wedding gifts, given to her in 1905 by the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. Above, Queen Margrethe wears the earrings and brooch together for the welcome ceremony during the 2012 Chinese state visit to Copenhagen.

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For Friday’s audience in Copenhagen, Queen Margrethe also wore one more piece of turquoise jewelry: her turquoise and gold ring. You’ll also spot three more very important pieces of jewelry in this image: Margarethe’s spectacular toi et moi engagement ring, her gold wedding ring, and her golden bracelet, worn by all female descendants of Queen Ingrid.