Twenty years ago today, the heir to the Danish throne married his Australian fiancée in a sparkling ceremony in Copenhagen. Now Queen of Denmark, Mary Donaldson became a crown princess that day, wearing a glittering diamond tiara that endures in her collection to this day. In honor of the milestone anniversary, we’ve got a closer look today at Queen Mary’s royal wedding jewels.
In front of family, friends, and royals from around the world, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark married Mary Elizabeth Donaldson at Copenhagen’s Lutheran cathedral on May 14, 2004. Frederik met his Australian-born wife in Sydney during the 2000 Summer Olympic Games. The couple announced their engagement in the autumn of 2003. The royal marriage transformed Mary into HRH The Crown Princess of Denmark.
Such an important moment for the couple and for the nation required a truly regal wedding ensemble. Mary wore a gown by the Danish designer Uffe Frank, who had also made the gown worn by Mary for the gala concert the night before. The dress was made of ivory satin and organza, and it also incorporated antique Irish lace in its design. That lace echoed another special part of the ensemble: Mary’s wedding veil.
The antique lace veil was loaned to Mary by her mother-in-law, Queen Margrethe II. It originally belonged to Margrethe’s maternal grandmother, Princess Margaret of Connaught, who wore it for her royal wedding to the future King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden in Windsor in 1905. The same veil was later worn for royal weddings by Queen Ingrid, Queen Margrethe, Princess Benedikte, and Queen Anne-Marie, as well as their daughters. Mary was the first in-law to be given the honor of wearing the special family veil.
Mary anchored the antique lace veil with a special gift. Her parents-in-law, Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik, gave her this antique diamond tiara as her wedding present. We’ve never learned the specific provenance of the tiara, but we know that is converts to be worn as a necklace. The tiara features fleur-de-lis, festoon, and scroll motifs in its design.
With the antique tiara, Mary wore a new pair of earrings made especially for the wedding day. The Danish jeweler Marianne Dulong created the earrings, which feature diamonds set in platinum surrounding South Sea pearl pendants.
Mary is pictured here with Frederik and his parents, Prince Henrik and Queen Margrethe. (Margrethe wore the Danish Floral Aigrette with diamonds from the Danish crown jewel collection for the wedding.) Sadly, Mary’s own mother had passed away seven years before the royal wedding. To keep her memory close, Mary reportedly wore one more piece of hidden jewelry. Her late mother’s wedding ring is said to have been sewn into Mary’s wedding gown, placed near her heart.
After the wedding, Frederik and Mary were joined by their bejeweled guests for a dinner and reception at Fredensborg Palace. Above, a photographer takes the official group wedding portrait on the palace steps. There were some astonishing jewels on display at this wedding. Ten years ago, I did a deep dive on the tiaras and jewels we saw that day. I’ve refreshed both parts of that series for you to celebrate the 20th anniversary. You can read part one here and part two here!
But, quickly, back to Mary’s wedding tiara and earrings. She’s continued to wear both for gala occasions in the two decades that have elapsed since the wedding day. Above, she wears the diamond tiara and the diamond and pearl earrings for a gala dinner at Christiansborg Palace in January 2010.
In 2011, a second tiara setting for the jewel was created by Marianne Dulong, the maker of Mary’s wedding earrings. The jeweler crafted pearl toppers for the tiara’s small fleur-de-lis elements, plus a row of pearls that can be affixed to the tiara’s base. The result is a larger and more substantial tiara that matches the wedding earrings, creating a miniature suite of coordinating jewels. Because the pearl additions can easily be removed, it also makes the tiara an even more versatile piece.
Mary has continued to wear the tiara in both its all-diamond and diamond-and-pearl settings in recent years. Tonight, on their 20th wedding anniversary, King Frederik and Queen Mary will attend a state banquet at the Royal Palace in Oslo. What do you think: will we see Mary give a little sentimental, bejeweled nod to the anniversary by wearing her wedding tiara and earrings for the dinner?
I’ll see you back here today with a look at the jewels from the Danish state visit to Norway!
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