During Queen Beatrix’s three-decade reign in the Netherlands, one of her favorite royal tiaras was this spectacular ruby sparkler from the family collection.
Today, she’s Princess Beatrix, but in these photos, she’s the Queen of the Netherlands, hosting the King and Queen of Sweden for a state banquet at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague in April 2009. Beatrix and Carl Gustaf are third cousins, both great-great-grandchildren of George Victor, 3rd Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont.
For the dinner, Beatrix wore a deep red evening gown with diamond and ruby accessories. She wore the tiara and earrings from the Mellerio Ruby Parure, which was made for Queen Emma in the 1880s. The earrings can be worn at various lengths, and I believe Beatrix is wearing the stud version of the ruby and diamond clusters here.
Beatrix wisely chose not to wear a necklace on this occasion, given the eye-catching ruffled neckline of her gown and the large order insignia she wore. This is the collar and badge of the Order of the Seraphim, Sweden’s highest order of chivalry. She also pinned the star of the order to the bodice of her dress.
You’ll also spot a sparkling diamond bracelet on Beatrix’s right wrist.
Interestingly, Beatrix wore the same two-piece evening ensemble in Stockholm a little more than a year later, for the wedding of her goddaughter, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden. She wore the sash and star of the Order of the Seraphim on this occasion rather than the collar, but she wore the same tiara and earrings from the Mellerio Ruby Parure, plus a diamond necklace and diamond and ruby bracelets on both wrists.
Here’s one more bonus glimpse from the April 2009 banquet: Queen Silvia of Sweden, wearing the grand and gorgeous Leuchtenberg Sapphires.
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