Queen Margrethe Sparkles in Her Grandmother’s Tiara

In June 2012, Queen Margrethe II and the Danish government welcomed China’s President Hu Jintao to Copenhagen for a state visit. The program included a state banquet at Christiansborg Palace, and Queen Margrethe reached into her jewelry box for a tiara to wear at the event. The dinner was a little more casual than some—you’ll note that the Chinese president wore business attire—so it made sense for Margrethe to wear one of her smaller, less extravagant tiaras. This little bandeau, set with diamonds and turquoises, fit the bill perfectly.

The tiara originally belonged to Queen Margrethe’s grandmother, Princess Margaret of Connaught, who was Crown Princess of Sweden through her marriage to Gustaf VI Adolf. The two royal women share a name and a nickname: both were/are called “Daisy” by those closest to them, a play on the French translation of their name. It makes sense, then, that both of them have favored jewelry with daisy designs, and that the younger Margrethe has inherited several pieces of daisy jewelry that belonged to the elder Margaret. This little turquoise and diamond bandeau is one of those pieces.

The tiara was part of a collection of turquoise jewelry owned by Margaret of Connaught. Queen Margrethe appears to have inherited the entire set, and she’s also wearing some of the coordinating jewels here. Her earrings, with their turquoise and diamond cluster drop pendants, belonged to Margaret, as did the large brooch that Margrethe pinned to her gown for the banquet. Turquoise is one of Queen Margrethe’s favorite stones, and she owns a large collection of modern pieces as well as numerous turquoise royal heirlooms.

For the Chinese state banquet, Margarethe rounded off her look with additional jewels set with diamonds, as well as pearls and gold. These included a single-stranded pearl necklace, as well as her gold family bangle bracelet and a gold evening watch. She also wore two toi et moi rings: her massive diamond engagement ring on her left hand, paired with her gold wedding band, and a pearl and diamond ring on her right hand.