Queen Sonja’s Elegant American Reception Jewels

In the autumn of 1995, King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway embarked on a lengthy tour of the United States, visiting Washington, Seattle, and New York, and making stops in Norwegian-American communities in the Midwest.

During the ten-day official visit, the royal couple were hosted for a dinner at the Norwegian ambassador’s residence by Ambassador Kjeld Vibe.

The trip was something of a homecoming for King Harald. This was his first official visit to the United States as monarch, but he’d spent much more time in America than most monarchs. During World War II, he lived with his mother, Crown Princess Märtha, and his sisters in exile in the United States. Above, they’re photographed with Crown Prince Olav outside their home in Bethesda, Maryland. The Norwegian government purchased their home, Pook’s Hill, and then sold it in 1946 after the war had ended.

For the black-tie dinner at the ambassador’s residence, Queen Sonja wore an elegant red evening gown with diamond, pearl, and emerald accessories.

If the dress looks particularly familiar, it’s because Queen Sonja is known for wardrobe recycling, often re-wearing her gowns for other gala occasions. She wore this red dress again in London in April 2011 for a gala on the night before the wedding of the present Prince and Princess of Wales.

For the 1995 dinner, Queen Sonja wore pearl drop earrings with a four-stranded pearl choker necklace that has a distinctive emerald and diamond clasp.

The jewel was given to Crown Princess Märtha of Norway in 1949 when she christened the Oslofjord, a Norwegian America Line ship. Here, Queen Sonja wears the necklace (stacked with another single strand of pearls) in 1993.

The Oslofjord Necklace’s emerald and diamond clasp can also be worn with a seed pearl bracelet. That’s the way that Crown Princess Märtha was pictured wearing it, in the brief years before her death in the early 1950s. Queen Sonja wears the bracelet setting on her right wrist, paired with the grand Norwegian Emerald Parure, above at the Swedish royal wedding in June 2010. When she was crown princess, Sonja even occasionally used the piece as a small bandeau style tiara.

For the 1995 dinner, Queen Sonja finished off the look with a sparkling floral ornament in her hair.