Even More Glittering Tiaras from Bavaria’s Royal Wedding Gala

Let’s start with the pretenders to the Portuguese throne, the Duke and Duchess of Braganza. Duarte Pio and Isabel arrived in full evening dress for the gala, with Isabel wearing some of the grandest jewels in their collection.

Isabel dazzled in the King Luis Diamond Tiara, a nineteenth-century Portuguese royal heirloom. Her diamond floral necklace (a legacy from the Duke’s mother, Princess Maria Francisca of Orléans-Braganza) can be worn as a bandeau-style tiara as well. She finished off the look with diamond drop earrings and a gorgeous diamond and emerald brooch (which also belonged to Princess Maria Francisca).

The Braganzas were joined by their elder son, Dom Afonso, and their daughter, Infanta Maria Francisca. They’re pictured here with a cousin, Prince Rafael of Orléans-Braganza, and Maria Francisca’s fiancé, Duarte de Sousa Araújo Martins. (Prince Rafael is a grandson of Princess Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria, a granddaughter of King Ludwig III of Bavaria.)

Infanta Maria Francisca was elegant in a blue gown and diamond jewelry borrowed from her mother’s collection.

She wore a diamond floral tiara and matching earrings. The tiara can also be worn as a necklace.

Through the Duke’s mother, the Braganzas are also cousins of the Princess of Ligne, who was born Princess Eleonora of Orléans-Braganza. She married Michel, the 14th Prince of Ligne in 1981. (He’s the head of the princely House of Ligne, and through his mother, he’s also a first cousin of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg.) Princess Eleanora is also a daughter of Princess Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria.

Princess Eleonora wore a gorgeous suite of ruby and diamond jewelry for the wedding, including a diamond and ruby tiara with festoon and star designs.

Prince Michel and Princess Eleonora’s daughter, Princess Alix, was also in attendance at the wedding gala. She wore a diamond tiara from the Ligne family collection. It’s the same one she wore on her wedding day in 2016.

Prince Charles-Louis of Arenberg attended the wedding gala with his wife, Princess Fiammetta. (Charles-Louis is a son of Princess Sophie Marie of Bavaria, the youngest daughter of Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria and Princess Antonia of Luxembourg, who married the 12th Duke of Arenberg.) Fiammetta wore a gorgeous tiara that is set with (I believe) diamonds and aquamarines, plus pearls and a sautoir-length diamond necklace.

Prince François of Orléans (who also uses the courtesy title of Count of Dreux) arrived for the gala with his wife, Princess Theresa. She wore the same tiara that she wore on their wedding day in 2014, plus a lovely diamond and pearl pendant.

Theresa is the daughter of Princess Amelie of Urach, who was escorted by Prince François as the family arrived for the gala. She wore some very interesting emerald jewelry, including a tiara that looks to feature trefoil designs. Princess Amelie is a granddaughter of Duchess Amelie in Bavaria (a sister of Queen Elisabeth of Belgium and of Crown Princess Marie Gabrielle of Bavaria, and a niece of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, who was better known as Sisi).

And speaking of Sisi, the Habsburgs were represented at the wedding, too. Archduke Georg attended with his wife, Archduchess Eilika (who was born Duchess Eilika of Oldenberg), and his sister, Archduchess Gabriela. (Georg and Gabriela are children of Otto, the last Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary. Both tend to use the surname “von Habsburg” rather than their archducal courtesy titles.) No tiaras on either Habsburg lady, sadly—both wore pearls, and Eilika added her large aquamarine pendant (not seen in this photograph).

There was at least one Habsburg in a tiara, however: Archduchess Priscilla, granddaughter of Archduke Carl Ludwig of Austria (the fifth child of Emperor Karl and Empress Zita), wore this interesting gold parure.

Princess Martina von Quadt zu Wykradt und Isny wore a diamond floral tiara and lovely diamond chandelier earrings, plus a diamond brooch. She’s the wife of Prince Alexander von Quadt zu Wykradt und Isny, whose mother was Princess Charlotte of Bavaria, a sister of Prince Franz, Duke of Bavaria and Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria. (We discussed them in more detail in our first article about this gala.)

Prince Heinrich of Croÿ arrived for the gala with his wife, Princess Joana. She wore the same modern, interesting tiara that she wore for their wedding in 2021. Prince Heinrich is a grandson of Princess Gabriele of Bavaria (a daughter of Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria and Princess Antonia of Luxembourg), who married Prince Carl, the 12th Duke of Croÿ.

Prince Albrecht and Princess Angela of the Bavarian noble family of Oettingen-Spielberg also attended the wedding. Princess Angela wore a lovely diamond scroll tiara and a diamond and ruby floral brooch. The tiara was also worn by her daughter-in-law, the actress Cleopatra von Adelsheim, for her wedding to Hereditary Prince Franz Albrecht in 2016. Franz Albrecht and Cleo run in a social circle that includes Pierre Casiraghi and Beatrice Borromeo, Prince Christian and Princess Alessandra of Hanover, Princess Carina of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, and Princess Eugenie.

The Fugger von Babenhausen princely family also hails from Bavaria. Hubertus, the 8th Prince Fugger von Babenhausen attended the wedding gala with his wife, Princess Alexandra, who is the sister of Prince Albrecht of Oettingen-Spielberg. She wore an eye-catching parure that appears to be set with turquoises for the reception.

Hubertus and Alexandra’s son, Count Leopold Fugger von Babenhausen, attended the wedding gala with his wife, Countess Annina. She wore a green headband that coordinated with her gown and an antique pearl choker necklace.

And here are Prince Max and Princess Cristina of Hohenlohe-Bartenstein. Through his mother, the late Princess Franziska of Oettingen-Spielberg, Max is a nephew of Prince Albrecht of Oettingen-Spielberg and of Princess Alexandra Fugger von Babenhausen. Princess Cristina is wearing an extremely interesting tiara that looks to be made of a dark metal.

The Princes of Thurn und Taxis also come from Bavaria. Albert, the 12th Prince of Thurn und Taxis attended the wedding with his sister, Princess Elisabeth. They’re two of the children of the 11th Prince and the famous Princess Gloria (Princess TNT, the “dynamite socialite.”) Many of the family’s possessions were sold by Gloria after the 11th Prince’s death to pay off enormous debts, including jewels, but they do still have a few tiaras in their collection. Elisabeth decided not to wear any of them, selecting a pair of long pendant earrings and a stack of gold bracelets instead.

Here’s Jost-Christian, the 4th Prince of Stolberg-Stolberg, with his wife, Princess Sylvianne, who wears a diamond floral tiara. I think the center stone of the tiara has a distinctly pink hue—perhaps a morganite or a pink topaz?

Countess Verena Moy de Sons, a member of another Bavarian noble family, wore a fantastic diamond floral tiara with a diamond necklace and superb diamond girandole earrings.

And finally, we’ve got Stephanie zu Guttenberg, wife of the politician Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg (who was the center of a famous plagiarism scandal while serving as Minister of Defense). She was born Countess Stephanie of Bismarck-Schönhausen. As her name suggests, she’s a great-great-granddaughter of Otto von Bismarck. She went tiara-less for this wedding gala, opting for a long pair of pendant earrings and a modern diamond and pearl flower brooch instead.

Please join me once more in thanking Stefan, who is on Instagram at @royaltravelevents, for so generously sharing his photographs with all of us!