The jewels passed down by Margaret of Connaught to members of the Swedish, Danish, and Greek royal families include spectacular, glittering pieces—but perhaps the most important of them all are the slim gold bracelets worn by the descendants of her daughter, Queen Ingrid of Denmark.
Throughout their lifetimes, Princess Margaret of Connaught and her sister, Princess Patricia, both wore slender gold bracelets on their left wrists. The bracelets were open bangles, not complete circlets, with a small space visible between the gold ends of the pieces. You’ll see the bracelets present in portraits of the sisters from their youth to their dotage. Here, Margaret wears hers in a photographic portrait taken around the time of her wedding to Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden in 1905.
Later in her short life, Margaret could still be seen wearing the ever-present bracelet. It’s on her left wrist here in a portrait taken shortly before her untimely death in 1920.
And here’s a portrait of Princess Patricia, also wearing her bracelet, in her youth. To my knowledge, it’s never been made clear where Margaret and Patricia got their gold bracelets, but I would wager that the tokens were gifts from their parents, the Duke and Duchess of Connaught.
Margaret passed down the gold bracelet tradition to her only daughter, Princess Ingrid, who was born in 1910. This picture, taken a few years later, shows both Margaret and Ingrid wearing their bracelet. By family tradition, young princesses receive their gold bracelet on their fifth birthdays, which would suggest that this photograph was taken around 1915. The child-sized bracelets received by these little princesses are later exchanged for a larger size.
Like her mother and aunt before her, Princess Ingrid continued to wear her gold bracelet throughout her lifetime. Here’s a portrait of a young Ingrid wearing her bracelet in the 1920s, following her mother’s death. About a decade later, Ingrid would marry the future King Frederik IX of Denmark.
The gold bracelet is visible on Queen Ingrid’s wrist in this photographic portrait, taken some four decades later.
King Frederik and Queen Ingrid had three daughters, and Ingrid used jewelry to help keep her mother’s memory alive for all three of them. That included the use of one of Margaret’s tiaras as a family bridal diadem, and it also included gifting them with gold bracelets on their fifth birthdays. Margrethe, Benedikte, and Anne-Marie have all worn their gold bracelets regularly since childhood. In this 1955 portrait of Ingrid and her daughters, Margrethe and Benedikte’s gold bracelets are both visible on their left wrists. (Both Ingrid and Anne-Marie are wearing theirs, too, but their arms aren’t visible in the image.)
Today, you’ll still see all three of the Danish royal sisters wearing their gold bracelets. They wear them for all occasions, from casual holiday moments to the grandest gala events. Here you’ll spot Queen Margrethe’s bracelet on her left wrist during one of her summer visits to France in 2008. (Naturally, your eyes are likely also drawn to her incredible diamond engagement ring—you can learn more about that here!)
The open bangle bracelet is visible in this photograph from a 2010 state dinner as well. Margrethe often stacks hers with another gold bangle, and on this occasion, she’s also wearing spectacular gala jewels, including the Baden Palmette Tiara and diamonds from the crown jewel collection.
And here, in a picture taken in Oslo in 2016, Margrethe wears her gold bracelet stacked with another gold bangle. She’s also wearing Queen Alexandrine’s Sapphires.
Margrethe’s sisters can be seen wearing their gold bracelets in photographs taken throughout their lives as well. A young Princess Benedikte wears hers alongside a gold watch in this portrait.
And here, she wears the bracelet on her left wrist during Queen Margrethe’s 2009 visit to Germany.
Queen Anne-Marie, the youngest sister and the wife of the last King of Greece, wears her bracelet regularly as well. You’ll spot it beside her watch in this photograph from an IOC session in the summer of 2012.
And here, she wears it with diamonds (including Queen Alexandrine’s Diamond Necklace and her lovely diamond clips) for the pre-wedding dinner for her nephew, Felipe of Spain, and Letizia Ortiz in 2004. At one point, Anne-Marie’s gold bracelet broke and had to be repaired. Anne-Marie has stated that she was “deeply unhappy” when the bracelet broke, underscoring the sentimental importance of these simple pieces to the women of the family.
Both Princess Benedikte and Queen Anne-Marie have passed the bracelet tradition on to their daughters, too. Here’s Princess Alexandra of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg wearing her gold bracelet at her sister’s wedding in 2011.
And here’s Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg wearing her gold bracelet in September 2022, at a church service celebrating Queen Margrethe’s Golden Jubilee.
Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark, the elder daughter of Queen Anne-Marie, frequently wears her bracelet as well. Here’s a casual appearance of the piece from 2004.
And here’s Anne-Marie’s younger daughter, Princess Theodora, wearing her gold bracelet in Greece in 2010.
Queen Margrethe had only sons, but she’s now begun passing the bracelet tradition on to her granddaughters. (Only direct female descendants participate in the tradition, so while you’ll see Crown Princess Mary and Princess Marie wearing other pieces of Queen Ingrid’s jewelry, you won’t see them wearing one of these bracelets.) Here’s Princess Isabella of Denmark wearing her gold bracelet during her grandmother’s Golden Jubilee festivities in September 2022.
And here’s little Princess Josephine of Denmark wearing hers during the Golden Jubilee church service held the same weekend. Other eligible wearers now include Countess Athena of Monpezat (daughter of Prince Joachim and Princess Marie); Countess Ingrid von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth (daughter of Princess Alexandra of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg); Louisa Johannsmann (daughter of Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg); Arrietta, Anna Maria, and Amelia Morales y de Grecia (daughters of Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark); and Princess Maria Olympia of Greece and Denmark (daughter of Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece).
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