In April 2015, Queen Letizia of Spain arrived for a special dinner in Denmark wearing something remarkable: a brand-new tiara! Today’s Sparkling Spotlight shines on the modern jewel, which has a complicated and somewhat controversial provenance.
King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain arrived at Christiansborg Palace on April 15, 2015, for a dinner celebrating the 75th birthday of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. For the formal event, Letizia wore a black and white floral gown with a tiered skirt, plus the sash and star of the Order of Carlos III.
She also accessorized with something very unexpected: a new tiara! The existence of the jewel had been rumored for several years, but until 2015, Letizia had never worn the complete piece in public. She’d only worn the detachable central element, a diamond fleur-de-lis, as a brooch on previous occasions.
The diamond and pearl tiara, made by the Spanish firm Ansorena, was originally said to have been a fifth wedding anniversary present from Felipe to Letizia back in 2009. But later, representatives from the jewelry firm clarified that Felipe hadn’t been involved at all in commissioning or purchasing the tiara. Instead, the late head of the company had reportedly dreamed up the idea of making a new tiara and presenting it to Letizia on behalf of the firm. (More details in our previous article on the piece here.) The business of accepting such an extravagant bejeweled gift is a complicated one in the royal world, and perhaps it’s no surprise that Letizia waited until an event on foreign soil to wear the tiara for the first time. (She hasn’t worn it again in public since.)
With the diamond and pearl tiara, Letizia wore additional diamond and pearl jewels. Her earrings feature bezel-set diamond studs, four bezel-set pendant diamonds, and round Australian pearl drops. She secured her order sash with a small diamond brooch.
On her left arm, she wore her diamond and white gold Cartier column bracelet. It’s a little tough to see in these photos from the event, but Letizia wore one more significant piece of jewelry: a ring on her left hand. The white gold and diamond Parenthesis ring, made by Bulgari, was reportedly a gift from the firm to Letizia to celebrate the birth of Infanta Sofia in 2007. Letizia rarely wears diamond rings, not even her engagement or wedding rings, so the choice to wear the Bulgari ring was notable.
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