Floral gowns and gala jewels were all the rage at yesterday’s representation dinner in Stockholm, which was attended by several members of the Swedish royal family (and, most importantly, by three royal tiaras).
King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia led the royal party at the Representationsmiddag at the Royal Palace in Stockholm on Wednesday, wearing white tie, gala gowns, and jewels and decorations. UFO No More tells us that Queen Silvia’s purple-hued floral gala gown comes from the brand Alexis and has been in her wardrobe for almost a decade. The sash and star of the Order of the Seraphim and the King’s Royal Family Order were pinned to the dress for the occasion.
With the gown, Silvia wore jewelry pieces from the family’s Napoleonic Amethyst Parure. The suite of jewelry is said to have first been owned by Empress Joséphine, the first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. It’s thought that, in 1806, she gave the jewels to her new daughter-in-law, Princess Augusta of Bavaria, who later passed them on to her daughter, Princess Joséphine of Leuchtenberg, the wife of King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway.
The versatile set features a number of jewelry pieces that can be worn in different settings and configurations. For Wednesday’s dinner, Queen Silvia wore the piece’s circlet, which was originally a large necklace. She also wore the earrings and one of the brooches from the set, plus the secondary necklace from the suite, which is made by linking the parure’s bracelets. She finished off the necklace look by attaching the pendant from the set.
Crown Princess Victoria also opted for a bright embroidered floral gown for the dinner, wearing a dress from the designer Frida Jonsven. This dress has also been in Victoria’s closet for several years. She memorably wore it for her 10th wedding anniversary portraits, and then again during the Spanish state visit to Sweden in November 2021. For Wednesday’s dinner, she attached the sash and star of the Order of the Seraphim and her father’s Royal Family Order to the dress.
For the representation dinner, Victoria accessorized with diamonds, including two pieces associated with her late great-uncle and great-aunt, Prince Bertil and Princess Lilian. Lilian bequeathed the Boucheron Laurel Wreath Tiara, a family heirloom, to Victoria in 2013, and the diamond rosette pinned to Victoria’s Seraphim sash was a gift from Bertil and Lilian as well. Victoria finished off the look with a delicate necklace and the family’s gorgeous diamond floral earrings.
Princess Madeleine had a prior engagement on Wednesday evening, and Princess Sofia is currently on maternity leave, so the royal party was rounded out by the King’s sister, Princess Christina, and her husband, Tord Magnuson. Christina got the floral memo, wearing a black gown with a long floral evening coat. Her decorations included the Seraphim sash and star, her brother’s Royal Family Order, and the King’s Medal.
Like Victoria, Christina also wore a mixture of jewels from the royal vaults and her own personal collection. Her tiara, the Diamond Four Button Tiara, was made in the 1960s by placing a quartet of antique diamond buttons from the Bernadotte collection on a simple tiara frame. Christina paired the tiara with modern diamond and sapphire jewels from her jewelry box, including a necklace with a cross pendant and coordinating earrings. I’m also very intrigued by that diamond floral brooch peeking out from under the edge of her coat!
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