Today’s tiara flashback to the 2006 Nobels features a beloved member of the Swedish royal family in one of her final major bejeweled appearances. Here’s a closer look at the tiara and jewels worn by Princess Lilian of Sweden for the celebrations.
Princess Lilian, Duchess of Halland, was the widow of the King’s uncle, Prince Bertil of Sweden. Bertil and Lilian’s royal romance is a famous one. The two met in the ’40s, and although they fell in love, Bertil faced losing his place in the royal family if he married a divorced commoner. Bertil decided to stay with the family, largely to help and support his young nephew, Carl Gustaf, who had become heir to the throne after his father’s untimely death in a plane crash. After King Carl XVI Gustaf ascended to the throne, he granted permission for his uncle to marry Lilian and keep his royal title. Lilian became a princess, and she also served as a sort of honorary grandmother to Carl Gustaf and Silvia’s three children.
Princess Lilian received several pieces of important royal jewelry on her marriage, and she also wore numerous other pieces from the Bernadotte collection over the years. For the 2006 Nobels, she wore the Boucheron Laurel Wreath Tiara, which Prince Bertil had inherited from his mother, Crown Princess Margareta of Sweden. The convertible jewel, which can also be worn as a necklace, was one of Margareta’s royal wedding presents in 1905. It was given to her by Queen Sofia of Sweden, her new husband’s grandmother.
Lilian died in 2013 after living for several years with Alzheimer’s disease. In her will, she bequeathed the laurel wreath tiara to her great-niece, Crown Princess Victoria, who now wears it for gala occasions.
For this Nobel ceremony, Lilian paired the tiara with a pair of sparkling earrings and a necklace from the royal vaults. The dramatic high collar of her evening gown provided a beautiful frame for Queen Josefina’s Diamond Stomacher Necklace. As the name suggests, the necklace was made by converting a diamond stomacher that belonged to Queen Josefina.
She finished off the look with the family’s diamond zig-zag bracelet, an evening watch, several rings, and her orders: the sash and star of the Order of the Seraphim and King Carl XVI Gustaf’s Royal Family Order.
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