Our second post on the jewels worn for the Duke of Edinburgh’s memorial service, held today at Westminster Abbey in London, covers the pieces worn by foreign royals and family members in attendance. (If you missed our first post, on the British royal jewels worn to the service, you can find it here!)
King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians attended the service together. The Belgian and British royal families are cousins, both descendants of the German House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
Queen Mathilde wore a gorgeous choker necklace made of seven rows of pearls with diamond spacers, plus the classic diamond and pearl drop earrings that belonged to the late Queen Fabiola.
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark traveled from Copenhagen to attend the service. She’s a cousin of the British royal family through her grandmother, Princess Margaret of Connaught. She’s also related several times over to the former royal family of Greece. For the service, she wore the jewel she generally always wears for funerals/memorials: a heart-shaped brooch made of gold set with diamonds and enamel.
The new Heidi Laura book on Denmark’s royal jewels tells us that the brooch was made in 1917 in memory of Queen Ingrid’s maternal grandmother, Princess Louise, Duchess of Connaught. As she has often done, Margrethe wore the brooch with modern earrings made of black onyx and silver for today’s memorial service.
Grand Duchess Maria Teresa represented Luxembourg at the memorial service. She wore a pair of long earrings that look to be set with diamonds.
Prince Albert II was on hand to represent the principality of Monaco.
And there were three royal representatives from the Netherlands: King Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima, and Princess Beatrix.
Máxima wore a necklace and earrings set with black pearls and diamonds for the service.
Beatrix selected gold jewels, including floral earrings and her mixed-metal necklaces.
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia attended from Spain. Felipe and Philip, who share a name, were cousins. Felipe’s mother, Queen Sofia, was the daughter of King Paul of the Hellenes, one of Philip’s first cousins. Felipe is also descended from the British royal family through his paternal great-grandmother, Queen Ena.
For the service, Queen Letizia wore two small earrings in each ear, set with diamonds and emeralds.
King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden were joined by his sister, Princess Christina, for the service. The Swedish royals have close ties to the late Duke. Philip’s aunt, Louise Mountbatten, was Queen of Sweden from 1950 to 1965. King Carl Gustaf is also a cousin of the British royals through his grandmother, Princess Margaret of Connaught.
Both Silvia and Christina wore pearls for the service. Silvia also added a modern gold and diamond brooch.
The late Duke of Edinburgh was born Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark, so naturally there were several members of the former Greek royal family in attendance. Queen Anne-Marie wore pearls and a diamond anchor brooch, an appropriate choice to honor a naval veteran.
Crown Prince Pavlos and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal were in attendance as well. She wore small gold earrings for the occasion.
And here, in a slightly fuzzy screenshot, you’ll spot Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark and his new wife, Princess Nina. Philippos was one of Philip’s namesakes, and the late Duke was also one of his godparents.
You’ll also spot a few other royals in this image: the Crown Prince of Bahrain, plus Prince Hassan and Princess Sarvath of Jordan.
Margareta, the Custodian of the Crown of Romania, attended with her husband, Prince Radu. Her paternal grandmother, Queen Helen, was one of the Duke’s first cousins, and her mother, Queen Anne, was a cousin through the Danish royal family. For the service, Margareta wore pearls with a diamond daisy brooch, much like the one owned and worn by another royal cousin, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. (The word for “daisy” in French is marguerite.)
Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia (who wore pearls) were on the guest list as well. Alexander was born in London and raised largely in England, and the Queen is his godmother. He’s also a cousin of the late Duke through his mother, Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark.
You’ll spot a few more royals and family members in the background of this photo as well, including Prince Kyril of Bulgaria, the Countess Mounbatten of Burma, and Hereditary Prince Bernhard of Baden.
Penny Mountbatten, the granddaughter-in-law of Lord Mountbatten, wore classic jewels set with diamonds and amethysts for the service.
Penny was seated in the Abbey with other members of the late Duke’s extended German family, including descendants of his sisters. From left to right in this screencapture, you’ll see Hereditary Princess Stephanie and Hereditary Prince Bernhard of Baden (who is Philip’s great-nephew), Lady Mountbatten, Princess Saskia and Prince Philipp of of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (who is also Philip’s great-nephew), and Princess Floria and Prince Donatus of Hesse (a distant cousin and representative of the family into which two of Philip’s sisters, Cecilie and Sophie, married).
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