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Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

This Week in Royal Jewels: March 6-12

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March 6-12, 2015
This week’s royal jewelry includes a load of brooches, a passel of earrings, and one very interesting beaded demi-parure. Be sure to vote for your favorites!
10. The Duchess of Cambridge wore a familiar pair of earrings — her Annoushka pearl drops with her Kiki McDonough hoops — to Margate on Wednesday, but earlier in the week, she also debuted a new pair of Kiki McDonough morganite drops.

9. The Duchess of Cornwall wore her favorite diamond and pearl earrings to Cheltenham on Wednesday. On Monday, she wore the same pair at Westminster Abbey with a diamond and pearl choker.

8. The Queen repeated her round gold brooch with a purple ensemble for a reception on Commonwealth Day.

7. At the Vatican, Queen Mathilde of the Belgians exercised the privilege du blanc — the right of a Catholic queen to wear white when meeting with the Pope — on Monday. She kept her jewelry simple, wearing a watch and a bracelet on her left arm.

6. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden chose dangling earrings to celebrate her name day on Thursday. As always, however, adorable Princess Estelle was the real star of the show.

5. Queen Rania of Jordan and Princess Lalla Salma both wore distinctive earrings during the beginning of a state visit in Morocco on Wednesday.

4. On Tuesday, Queen Elizabeth II christened a new ocean liner, the Britannia, while wearing her Pearl Trefoil Brooch.

3. Queen Letizia of Spain chose dramatic gold earrings for a visit to the National Library on Wednesday.

2. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands wore an interesting set of black beaded jewelry — necklace earrings, and ring — to visit a school on Monday.

1. The Queen brought one of her lesser-seen brooches, a floral piece given to her during a 1981 visit to Sri Lanka, on Wednesday; it was an extremely appropriate choice for a private audience with Sri Lanka’s president.

Queen Alia’s Cartier Tiara

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It’s hard to find a more collectively glamorous group of royal women than the ladies of the Jordanian royal family. Today’s tiara, the Cartier tiara that belonged to the late Queen Alia, has been worn by three of the country’s queens and princesses.

Alia and Hussein of Jordan at their wedding, 1972

Alia Baha Ad-Din Touqan was the third of the four wives of King Hussein of Jordan. (The first was Princess Dina; the second, Princess Muna, is the mother of the current king, Abdullah II; and the fourth is the American-born Queen Noor.) Alia was the daughter of a Jordanian diplomat and had lived and studied all over the world before marrying King Hussein in 1972.

Rania wears Queen Alia’s tiara, 1999

The diamond Cartier tiara that Alia wore was given to her by the king. It’s reminiscent of a fringe tiara, but really the design is quite abstract and very modern, more linear than floral. (The Jordanian royals seem to favor this kind of contemporary design; Queen Noor also has a tiara that is similar to this one.) The tiara is also intriguing in that it has an exceptionally tall base, requiring serious tiara hair.

Hussein and Alia of Jordan with President Ford, 1974

Just like her tiara, Alia was a rather modern Jordanian queen; she supported women’s suffrage and was a great supporter of children’s charities and the arts. Unfortunately, her tenure as queen consort was short. In 1977, she died in a helicopter crash in Amman. To celebrate the late queen’s life, the country’s international airport was named for Alia — in fact, it’s one of only a few international airports named for a woman.

Princess Haya of Jordan, Sheikha of Dubai ca. 2005

Alia’s only daughter, Princess Haya, inherited her mother’s tiara. (Here’s a portrait of her wearing the sparkler.) The Jordanian royal family doesn’t have a crown jewel collection, and all of their jewels are apparently personal property, generally handed down from mother to daughter rather than retained for the use of future queens.

Rania wears the tiara at a gala dinner in Madrid, 1999

However, this tiara has been worn several times by a subsequent queen consort. Haya, who is now married to the Sheikh of Dubai, loaned the tiara on various occasions to her sister-in-law, Queen Rania, shortly after she became queen. Rania even wore the tiara at her husband’s coronation in 1999, linking Alia’s heirloom tiara with the next generation of Jordanian royals. Rania’s jewel collection has since grown to include other sparklers, but the images from the coronation provide a lovely connection between the country’s past and its future.

This Week in Royal Jewels: September 19-25

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September 19-25, 2014
With royals from around the world descending on North America this week, we’ve got plenty of royal jewelry to discuss. Enjoy!
10. On Monday, American-born Queen Noor of Jordan attended the UN Equator Prize Gala at Lincoln Center, wearing turquoise earrings, a geometric necklace, and a pair of gorgeous bracelets.

9. The Danish crown princely couple finished their visit to Canada on Friday with a visit to the Hudson’s Bay in Toronto, where Crown Princess Mary wore delicate earrings, a coordinating bracelet, and bejeweled rings, including her engagement and wedding set.

8. On Sunday, the Swedish court released a new portrait of Crown Princess Victoria, linked with her work in support of Cancerfonden. In the photo, she wears large earrings and a ribbon supporting the cause.

7. Princess Charlene of Monaco wore understated pearl stud earrings to the meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative in New York on Monday.

6. In Antwerp on Wednesday, Queen Mathilde of the Belgians paired a pair of large modern gold earrings with her floral dress.

5. While visiting a school in New York on Wednesday, Queen Letizia of Spain eschewed her usual small stud earrings for a pair of elegant pendant drops.

4. Catching up with an event held last week, Queen Rania of Jordan wore delicate jewelry, including a set of thin bangles, while attending a dinner with her husband and President Hollande in Paris.

3. A pair of earrings, bangle bracelets, and a small brooch were the choice accessories for Queen Maxima of the Netherlands as she met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday.

2. Crown Princess Victoria’s earrings and outfit both glittered in Stockholm on Monday at an event for the Pontus Schultz Foundation.

1. A service honoring those who fought in the Battle of Britain brought the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall to Westminster Abbey on Sunday. The Duchess wore pearl and diamond earrings, a pair of diamond RAF wings on the lapel of her jacket; she also wore a three-stranded pearl necklace with a distinctive sapphire and diamond clasp — possibly a new addition to Camilla’s collection?

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