Happy Birthday to Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden! Victoria celebrates her 45th birthday today, and we’re joining in the fun with a retrospective of the royal tiaras she’s worn so far.
The Diamond and Sapphire Tiara
This petite sparkler, set with diamonds and sapphires, was Crown Princess Victoria’s 18th birthday present from her parents, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, in July 1995. She wore the tiara for the first time in Denmark later that year, and she made a memorable appearance at the Nobels in the jewel in December 1995 (pictured above). Today, she’s moved on to bigger and more substantial jewels, but the tiara remains in her personal jewelry collection.
When Crown Princess Victoria branched out to other tiaras from the family collection, an early favorite was the Four Button Tiara. This sparkler is made of four antique diamond buttons that once belonged to Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden. It was later set on a simple tiara frame, and it has been worn by most of the princesses of the family, especially during their younger years. Victoria wears it here for the wedding of Prince Joachim and Princess Marie of Denmark in May 2008.
Victoria has also worn the Four Button Tiara‘s more substantial companion, the Six Button Tiara, on numerous occasions. This tiara was made using the diamond buttons that once adorned the coronation crown worn by Victoria’s Bernadotte ancestors. It was made into a tiara in the 1970s, with additional rows of diamonds on its base. Victoria wears the tiara here with pieces from the Amethyst Parure at the Nobels in December 2009.
The Napoleonic Cut Steel Tiara
Crown Princess Victoria also added this impressive heirloom tiara to her repertoire early on. The imaginative tiara manages to sparkle without a single diamond—it’s made of highly-polished steel and gold. The diadem is around two centuries old, and it reminds us all of the Bernadotte family’s extensive ties with the court of Napoleon Bonaparte. Victoria wears it here with pieces from the Cameo Parure at the Nobels in December 2016.
The Napoleonic Cut Steel Bandeau
The family’s collection of cut-steel jewelry also includes this petite bandeau, also made of carefully faceted, highly polished steel. The bandeau has a matching comb, and Victoria wore both pieces (plus additional diamond jewels) in Luxembourg during the wedding celebrations for Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie in October 2012.
The Napoleonic Amethyst Parure Tiara
The family’s collection of Napoleon-related jewelry also includes an astonishing parure of diamonds and amethysts. Queen Silvia had the large necklace from the set placed on a tiara frame in the 1970s, and it’s been worn that way ever since. One of Victoria’s most successful appearances in the challenging tiara came in April 2013, when she wore it during the abdication/inauguration celebrations in the Netherlands.
Early on in her tiara-wearing career, Victoria became especially fond of this diamond sunburst fringe tiara, and it’s remained one of her signature pieces ever since. The tiara is a legacy from Queen Victoria of Sweden, who was born a princess of Baden. Here, Crown Princess Victoria wears the tiara with additional diamonds at the Nobels in December 2019.
The Modern Fringe Tiara (Necklace)
Though she’s never worn the jewel in its tiara setting, Crown Princess Victoria has also taken the family’s Modern Fringe Tiara out for a spin in necklace form. The tiara originally belonged to her mother, Queen Silvia, who later gifted it to Princess Madeleine. Victoria wears the necklace setting of the piece here in December 2002 for a charity gala at the Palace of Versailles.
On her wedding day in June 2010, Crown Princess Victoria wore the tiara that has become a traditional bridal diadem for several Bernadotte brides: the Cameo Tiara. The antique jewel once belonged to Empress Joséphine of France, who is one of Victoria’s direct ancestors. It’s also been worn as a wedding tiara by two of Victoria’s aunts and by Queen Silvia. Victoria also wore the earrings and bracelet from the parure with her wedding gown.
The Boucheron Laurel Wreath Tiara
When Victoria’s great-aunt, Princess Lilian, passed away in March 2013, she bequeathed this heirloom diamond tiara to Victoria. It had originally belonged to Victoria’s great-grandmother, Princess Margaret of Connaught. It’s one of only two tiaras that we know Victoria owns personally, and she’s worn it often in the years since inheriting it. Here, she wears it with Queen Josefina’s Diamond Stomacher Necklace at Princess Madeleine’s wedding in June 2013.
In recent years, Victoria has worn two more tiaras that belonged to Margaret of Connaught. This dazzling, convertible diamond tiara was one of Princess Margaret’s wedding gifts in 1905. It later became a favorite of Victoria’s grandmother, Princess Sibylla. Here, Victoria wears it with the family’s sensational diamond floral earrings at the Nobels in December 2018.
The Swedish Aquamarine Kokoshnik
Crown Princess Victoria has also sparkled in the spectacular diamond and aquamarine tiara from Margaret of Connaught’s collection. The kokoshnik-style tiara now belongs to her aunt, Princess Margaretha, who has thoughtfully housed it in the royal vault in Stockholm so the rest of the family can use it. Victoria wears it here with the floral earrings and the Diamond Lozenge Brooch at the Nobels in December 2017.
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