Our sparkling week of state visits in Europe continued on Wednesday, when Queen Margrethe II and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark arrived in Germany. Today, we’ve got a look at all the jewels from the first day of the visit—including a special tiara.
Queen Margrethe and Crown Prince Frederik arrived at the airport in Berlin on Wednesday morning to begin the state visit. Denmark and Germany are geographical neighbors, but more than that, they’re important strategic partners, and this visit is designed to underscore those connections.
The official welcome ceremony for the royals took place at Schloss Bellevue in Berlin, where they were greeted by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife, Elke Buedenbender.
Queen Margrethe chose blue, one of her favorite colors, for her arrival ensemble. She added even more blue with an array of jewels in various shades of the same color.
Her earrings, designed in a textured disc shape, appear to be made of blue and white enamel.
She pinned a lovely little trefoil brooch to her jacket. The jewel is set with sapphire cabochons and small diamonds.
Beneath her jacket, she wore a piece from her extensive collection of modern jewelry. Suspended from a sautoir-length chain necklace, she wore a modern gold pendant set with milky blue cabochon gemstones.
The first day of the visit included a range of engagements. Above, the Queen lays a wreath at Berlin’s Neue Wache Memorial, which is dedicated to victims of war and tyranny.
At the Chancellery, Queen Margrethe shared a laugh with longtime Chancellor Angela Merkel, who will retire at the end of her current term.
And the Queen and the Crown Prince posed for a photograph together in front of Berlin’s iconic Brandenburg Gate. Margrethe added a white coat to her outfit as the day transitioned to evening.
On Wednesday night, the royals were back at Schloss Bellevue for a state banquet, hosted by the president and the first lady. They posed for an official photograph on the steps outside the castle before the event.
Queen Margrethe wore an evening gown made of dark teal-green lace for the banquet, and she accessorized with important diamond and pearl jewels. You’ll also spot the miniature ribbon of her German order, the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, pinned to her dress.
For a state banquet in Germany, Margrethe naturally chose a royal tiara with German heritage. The Pearl Poiré Tiara was made for Princess Louise of Prussia in the 1820s. It passed down through her royal descendants in the Netherlands and Sweden before arriving in the Danish royal collection in the 1860s with Queen Lovisa of Denmark. Lovisa created a married parure of pearl and diamond jewelry by pairing the tiara with a grand diamond and pearl necklace that she received as a wedding present from the Khedive of Egypt. In her will, Lovisa placed all of the diamond and pearl jewels in trust, allowing them to pass directly from monarch to monarch.
The earrings from the set were created by repurposing a pair of pendants from the necklace. The suite also includes a large diamond and pearl brooch, which Queen Margrethe pinned at the center of her bodice for this banquet. The brooch was also made for Princess Louise of Prussia around 1825, to match the pearl drop tiara. You’ll note that one of the brooch’s pearl pendants apparently went MIA between Margrethe’s arrival at the banquet and the moment when this photograph was taken. I hope her royal staff members were paying attention and picked it up!
We got a lovely view of the necklace’s pearl and diamond cluster clasp during the banquet as well.
Elke Buedenbender dressed in two of Germany’s national colors, red and gold, for the banquet. She wore a major modern gold statement necklace with her elegant gown. I’d imagine that Queen Margrethe, who is a major connoisseur of modern jewelry pieces, must have really enjoyed discussing the first lady’s necklace during dinner!
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