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Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Rose Ball Jewels 2018

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On Saturday, the Grimaldis of Monaco hosted one of their biggest charity functions of the year: the annual Rose Ball, which benefits the Princess Grace Foundation. Here’s a look at the sparkling jewels we saw at the event, which had a “Manhattan” theme for 2018.

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The most senior member of the princely family in attendance was Princess Caroline, who has acted as hostess of this event numerous times, following in her mother’s footsteps.

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She wore an intriguing set of jewels for the ball: diamond and pearl earrings, plus an eye-catching necklace, which appears to made of crystals and lucite in an oversized starfish design.

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A diamond bracelet also sparkled on her right wrist, and diamond rings on her right hand were balanced by a pair of fascinating diamond and pearl drop rings on her left.

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Here’s a look at Caroline’s entire ensemble. Care to guess who was responsible for it? (Lagerfeld is also in charge of the decorations for the ball each year, which look awfully similar regardless of the stated theme, if you ask me.)

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Caroline’s elder daughter, Charlotte Casiraghi, made a dramatic appearance in a black-and-white gown by Yves Saint Laurent at this year’s ball.

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She accessorized with a single earring, featuring two drop pearls, suspended from her right earlobe.

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She was photographed at the ball alongside her partner, Dimitri Rassam. Rumors of the couple’s engagement have been flying in recent days…

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…and Charlotte appeared to perhaps confirm the engagement by wearing a diamond ring on her left hand. The ring was set in yellow gold, echoing the setting of Meghan Markle’s engagement ring.

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Pierre and Beatrice Casiraghi, who are expecting their second child, were also in attendance this year.

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Beatrice has been one of the most exciting jewelry-wearers in Monaco in recent years, and she didn’t disappoint at this Rose Ball. A pair of elaborate diamond and ruby statement earrings were balanced by a simple diamond riviere.

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And on her left wrist, Beatrice fastened a large diamond bracelet. You’ll note the similarity to Queen Mary’s Chain Link Bracelets, which are now owned by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.

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Here’s a look at Beatrice’s entire ensemble for the event, which was reportedly designed by Alberta Ferretti.

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Caroline’s younger daughter, Alexandra of Hanover, jetted back from Peru in plenty of time to attend the Rose Ball. She wore a silver beaded necklace with a pair of witty jacket-style earrings. Note that the pendant portion of the earring is shaped like a dachshund. A German hound design for a Hanoverian princess, perhaps?

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Alexandra’s boyfriend, German basketball player Ben-Sylvester Strautmann, also attended the ball.

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And here’s a look at Alexandra’s entire outfit for the evening, which was designed by Chanel.

A Royal Wedding Tiara in Lima

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On Friday, Christian of Hanover, son of the pretender to the Hanoverian throne, married Alessandra de Osma in a religious ceremony at the San Pedro Basilica in Lima, Peru. The wedding may have been far from Germany, but the family brought one of their heirloom tiaras along for the occasion. Here’s a look at the jewels of this almost-royal wedding.

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Alessandra de Osma, a native of Peru, met Christian in 2005. The couple began dating in 2014, and they married in a civil ceremony in London in November 2017. Christian is the younger son of Ernst August of Hanover, who is the great-great-grandson of the last King of Hanover. Alessandra, who goes by the nickname “Sassa,” is a fashion designer.

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For her religious wedding ceremony, Alessandra wore a tiara from the Hanoverian vaults. This elaborate diamond tiara is made to resemble a floral spray, complete with blossoms, leaves, and berries. Not much is known about the tiara’s provenance, but I think those who have guessed that it’s a nineteenth-century creation are probably right.

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Here’s another close-up of the tiara on Alessandra. This angle shows the elaborate leaf designs of the piece, interspersed with diamond flowers and berries.

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Over the last year, the tiara has become a favored bridal diadem for women marrying into the House of Hanover. In July 2017, Ekaterina Malysheva wore the tiara to marry Christian’s elder brother, Ernst August. Read our post on that wedding over here.

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And in 2004, the tiara was worn in Denmark by Princess Caroline of Monaco during the pre-wedding gala for Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary. Caroline has been married to Christian’s father, Ernst August, since 1999, but the couple have been estranged for about a decade. (Caroline did not attend this wedding.) There are also photos of Christian’s mother, Chantal Hochuli, wearing the tiara during her 16-year marriage to Ernst August.

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Caroline wore the tiara with floral earrings that appear to match the diadem, while Ekaterina chose to wear no earrings at all with the sparkler. On her wedding day, Alessandra wore small diamond stud earrings with the tiara, adding a bit of extra sparkle to her ensemble that didn’t compete with the immense wattage of the diadem.

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Here’s a look at Alessandra’s entire wedding ensemble, which was made of lace and featured a long train and veil. A Spanish designer, Jorge Vázquez, made the gown. She was accompanied by her father, Felipe, as she walked down the aisle of the basilica, and Christian’s younger sister, Alexandra of Hanover, was one of her attendants.

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Christian’s mother, Chantal, attended the wedding wearing a bright red dress and jacket, accessorizing with golden bangles and a large golden brooch.

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She wore a variation on the same outfit, including the same brooch, for Ernst August’s wedding in July.

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Ernst August escorted Alessandra’s mother, Elizabeth, to the ceremony. She wore large pearl earrings with diamond accents. Ernst August’s wife, Ekaterina, didn’t make the trip to Peru, but she had a very good excuse: she gave birth to the couple’s first child, a daughter named Elisabeth, in February.

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But there was one rather surprising member of the family who did make the trip to Peru: the elder Ernst August. He didn’t attend his eldest son’s wedding in July, following a very public family feud, but he was on the guest list for these nuptials.

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Alexandra, Christian’s sister, is eighteen, and she’s begun wearing large pieces of jewelry, including the diamond earrings she chose for her brother’s wedding. (The dress looks like one of the Chanel pieces favored by her mother, Princess Caroline.) For those keeping track of the relationships of the Hanoverian/Casiraghi kids, Alexandra attended the wedding with her boyfriend, German basketball player Ben-Sylvester Strautmann.

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Two more princesses were also among the guests: Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of York, granddaughters of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. As per usual, neither wore large pieces of jewelry, instead selecting delicate necklaces for the occasion. Princess Eugenie may have been especially attentive to the details of this wedding — don’t forget that she has a wedding of her own scheduled for this autumn.

But look what the two of them wore for the reception! Both are wearing earrings — including Beatrice! How about that?

Princess Benedikte’s Amethysts

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One of the prettiest, most wearable sets of royal amethysts belongs to a very bejeweled Danish princess. Here’s the history behind Princess Benedikte’s gorgeous amethyst demi-parure.

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The set, which includes a necklace, a bracelet, a pair of earrings, and a brooch with a detachable pendant, originally belonged to Benedikte’s mother, Queen Ingrid of Denmark. In his book on Denmark’s royal jewels, Bjarne Steen Jensen speculates that the set was made in the late nineteenth-century, but it was only acquired by Ingrid in the 1970s.

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Here’s a closer view of the necklace. Although Jensen states that the stones in the suite are cabochons, this view shows that they are indeed faceted. Small diamond-set spacer elements sit between each gorgeous purple amethyst. The gold setting helps bring out the violet color of the gems.

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And here’s a good view of one of the earrings, which have diamonds set on the stud portion of the pair.

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During Queen Ingrid’s lifetime, Benedikte often borrowed the amethysts from her mother. After Ingrid’s death in 2000, she inherited the jewels. Two years later, she wore the amethysts with the Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Fringe Tiara at the Nobel Prize banquet in Stockholm; on this occasion, she added the brooch pendant to the necklace.

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Benedikte also wore the necklace and the tiara with a deep purple gown during the celebrations for Queen Margrethe II’s Ruby Jubilee in January 2012. On this occasion, she chose to wear her mother’s diamond fan earrings with the necklace instead of the matching amethyst earrings.