Romantic Royal Jewels for Valentine’s Day

Royal collections are full of gorgeous jewels with heart shapes. One of the most impressive is the Cullinan V Brooch, set with the heart-shaped Cullinan V diamond. It’s part of Queen Elizabeth II’s personal jewelry collection, and it’s been one of her favorite jewels for seven decades.

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark’s tiara collection includes the Baden Palmette Tiara, whose scrolling diamond palmette elements form heart shapes. It’s no surprise that Queen Margrethe loves to wear this tiara to royal weddings.

The Duchess of Cornwall now wears the Queen Mother’s Amethyst Sautoir Necklace. It was a wedding gift to Elizabeth from her husband’s grandmother, Queen Alexandra. Camilla often pairs the necklace with other amethyst pieces from her extensive collection.

The Dutch royals also have a beautiful antique heart necklace. Queen Juliana’s Heart Necklace is set with turquoises. Queen Máxima made a memorable appearance in the piece during a trip to Australia five years ago.

Lots of other royals own and wear heart-shaped jewels, including Queen Mathilde of the Belgians, who has worn these heart statement earrings. You can read more about additional heart-shaped royal jewels over here!

Royal collections are also packed with sentimental pieces given from royal husbands to their beloved wives. The late Prince Henrik of Denmark loved to give modern, artistic jewels to his bride, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. Her collection is packed with turquoise, ruby, and diamond jewels commissioned by Henrik.

As royal romance goes, there’s really nothing better than a royal wedding tiara—except, perhaps, a royal wedding tiara festooned with hand-carved cameos telling ancient stories of love. It’s no wonder that four Swedish royal brides, including Crown Princess Victoria, have chosen the Cameo Tiara to wear on their wedding days.

Crown Princess Victoria’s great-grandparents, King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden and Princess Margaret of Connaught, had one of the great royal love stories of the last centuries. Among their wedding gifts were several pieces that paid tribute to Egypt, the location of their whirlwind 1905 romance.

Engagement rings are perhaps the ultimate bejeweled symbol of love, and the ladies of the British royal family have worn some fantastic ones. From the Queen and Princess Diana to the Duchesses of Cambridge and Sussex, here’s a look at the fantastic royal rings worn by Windsor brides.

Thanks to Queen Mary, the British royal jewelry collection also includes numerous jewelry pieces that include symbolic representations of love in their designs. One of them, the Persian Turquoise Tiara, is often called the “Triumph of Love” Tiara, as it includes symbols like lover’s knots and lamps of love.

This imposing diamond choker necklace, the Love Trophy Collar, was made by Garrard in 1901 for Queen Mary. It gets its name from its complicated, symbolic design. Each “panel” of the necklace features a specific set of symbolic design elements. The center of the panels features an “amatory trophy”: a burning torch and a quiver of arrows crossed with an archer’s bow, with clear references to Cupid, the god of love. This “love trophy” is surrounded by a wreath of laurel and suspended from a diamond ribbon tied in a bow.

Queen Mary was also responsible for commissioning this Lover’s Knot Tiara, which features pearl drops suspended from lover’s knot designs rendered in diamonds. The tiara has also been worn by Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Diana, and the Duchess of Cambridge.

Queen Mary also owned yet another jewel with a lover’s knot design. Her Lover’s Knot Brooch, now owned and worn by Queen Elizabeth II, was made by Garrard in 1932. It symbolism makes it a natural choice for royal weddings. The Queen wore it for Princess Margaret’s wedding in 1960, and more recently to the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in 2011.

But perhaps my favorite Valentine jewel of all is the Swedish Diamond Arrow Brooch. Crown Princess Victoria cleverly wore the diamond arrow ornament in her hair for the concert held on the night before her wedding in 2010. It was a perfect bejeweled reminder that she’d been struck by Cupid’s arrow—and lost her heart to Prince Daniel.