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Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

This Week in Royal Jewels: May 19-25

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May 19-25, 2017
There were lots of royal jewels to choose from this week, including a couple of sparkly tiara events! Don’t forget to vote for your favorites in the poll below.
KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images
10. Princess Mako of Akishino, who has gained press attention recently because of her engagement, wore pearls to visit a natural history exhibition in Tokyo on Monday.

NICOLAS MAETERLINCK/AFP/Getty Images
9. On Saturday, Queen Mathilde of the Belgians wore some of her trademark gold statement earrings for the semi-finals of the Queen Elisabeth Piano Competition in Brussels.
Antony Jones/Getty Images
8. In Cannes, Princess Beatrice of York wore a striking golden cuff bracelet at a fashion-based charity event. (More on the bracelet, plus her mother’s choker necklace, over here!)
Arthur Edwards – WPA Pool/Getty Images
7. The Duchess of Cambridge wore morganites and diamonds from Kiki McDonough for her sister’s wedding in Berkshire on Saturday. (Much more on the earrings and Pippa’s wedding jewels over here!)
Antonio Gutierrez – Pool/Getty Images
6. Queen Letizia of Spain chose edgy floral earrings from SCHIELD to mark the 40th anniversary of the Reina Sofia Alzheimer Foundation — and her own 13th wedding anniversary — in Madrid on Monday. (Read all about Letizia’s wedding jewelry over here!)
KOEN VAN WEEL/AFP/Getty Images
5. On Friday, Sheikha Mozah of Qatar wore pearls and diamonds to The Hague Institute for Global Justice, where she attended a seminar.
KOEN VAN WEEL/AFP/Getty Images
4. Also attending Friday’s seminar in The Hague: Queen Maxima of the Netherlands who wore ribbon brooches and her tanzanite earrings for the occasion.
JULIAN SIMMONDS/AFP/Getty Images
3. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom was out and about several times this week, but my favorite brooch outing of the bunch was the annual appearance of the Chelsea Iris Brooch at the Chelsea Flower Show. (More on this outing over here; and here’s more on other jewels she wore this week!)

2. In Luxembourg, the grand ducal ladies busted out the tiaras for a state banquet in honor of the President of Portugal. Grand Duchess Maria Teresa wore the Belgian Scroll Tiara with diamond and pearl jewelry, while Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie wore her own Diamond Butterfly Tiara.

1. My collective first place vote goes to three royal ladies from the Netherlands, who put on tiaras for the annual diplomatic corps dinner. Queen Maxima wore the grand Wurttemberg Ornate Pearl Tiara with pearl drop earrings; Princess Beatrix wore the Pearl Button Tiara; and Princess Margriet wore the family’s emerald parure tiara.

Creepy-Crawly Royal Jewels

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Queen Maxima wearing a pair of spider brooches (Photo: MARTIJN BEEKMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Halloween is nearly upon us, which means that it’s time to celebrate all of the creepiest, crawliest, slither-iest jewels in royal jewelry boxes. If you like your bugs and snakes better in diamond form, this is the post for you!

Photo: Tim Rooke – Pool/Getty Images

The Duchess of Cornwall often wears a classically-designed serpent necklace at gala events. She’s had this one for years and years, and it’s still slithering on.

Queen Alexandra, then Princess of Wales, wears a snake bracelet

With her snake necklace, Camilla’s just following in the footsteps of another Windsor. Queen Alexandra also famously wore a golden snake bracelet wrapped around her wrist.

Photo: Clive Limpkin/Daily Express/Getty Images

I’ve seen some describe the pearly circle tiara that once belonged to the Kent ladies as a tiara of coiled snakes. Do you see it?

Photo: Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images

Surely the most significant royal snake necklace of all is the enormous serpent worn by Sheikha Mozah of Qatar at a Guildhall banquet in 2010. The piece is reportedly by Cartier. Also: THAT RING!

Photo: Tim Rooke – Pool/Getty Images

Also fond of reptilian jewelry: the Duchess of Cambridge, who wore crocodile earrings by Patrick Mavros in New York in 2014.

Photo: MJ Kim/Getty Images

The Duchess of Cornwall doesn’t only wear reptiles: she also has a growing collection of insect jewelry, including a large stick insect brooch.

Photo: Joern Pollex/Getty Images

The Dutch royal collection also includes numerous insect pieces, including this lovely diamond moth.

Photo: ROBIN VAN LONKHUIJSEN/AFP/Getty Images

But the creepiest jewels in the Netherlands, without a doubt, must be the spider brooches worn by Queen Maxima.

Photo: LOUAI BESHARA/AFP/Getty Images

Sheikha Mozah has also stepped out in a pair of stylized beetle ornaments.

Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

And the Bernadottes in Sweden famously own a necklace of scarab beetles, passed down from Margaret of Connaught to Prince Bertil and Princess Lilian, who bequeathed it to Queen Silvia.

Photo: FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images

But clearly we can’t end a post on buggy royal jewels without a peek at the tiara of diamond and ruby dragonflies worn by Camilla of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Creepy and elegant!

Royal Jewel Rewind: King of Thailand’s Diamond Jubilee, Part 2

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The Sultan of Brunei, the King of Thailand, and the King of Sweden at the reception (Photo: Pool/Getty Images)
Yesterday, we marveled at the jewels worn during the first evening reception celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of the late King of Thailand in 2006. Today, here’s a look at the second reception, held at the Royal Palace, tiaras and all!

Photo: Pool/Getty Images
Queen Sirikit of Thailand glittered in diamonds from the top of her head to the tips of her fingers at the reception. The tiara is convertible and can also be worn as a necklace. She wears the sash and star of the Order of the Royal House of Chakri. King Bhumibol Adulyadej also wears the sash, star, and collar of the Order of the Royal House of Chakri, along with numerous other decorations.
Photo: Pool/Getty Images
Here’s a look at the back of Queen Sirikit’s tiara, visible as she and her husband greet King Abdullah II of Jordan. Because Abdullah does not have a Thai order, he wears the sash of his highest Jordanian order, the Order of al-Hussein bin Ali.
Photo: Pool/Getty Images
Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, who is the equivalent of a princess royal in Thailand, does not wear tiaras, but she managed to sparkle quite effectively anyway. She wears the collar and sash of the Order of the Royal House of Chakri. Over the top of the yellow order sash, she has layered an ornamental chain — I think this is the “chaing” that forms a part of traditional Thai costume. (Please correct me if I’m wrong about that.) Also: that “brooch” on her shoulder is the star of the Order of the Nine Gems.
Photo: Pool/Getty Images
The Sultan of Brunei attended the reception, wearing the Order of the Rajamitrabhorn. His wife, Queen Saleha, wore major, major diamonds, including a tall tiara. Like many royal consorts (and other royals who weren’t heads of state at the time), she also wore the Order of Chula Chom Klao.
Photo: Pool/Getty Images
Queen Saleha’s tiara is also visible in the photo above; she’s speaking with the woman who was Queen of Malaysia in 2006: Tuanku Fauziah, wife of Sirajuddin of Perlis. She’s wearing major diamonds, plus Malaysia’s Order of the Crown of the Realm. In the foreground is Queen Nothando, one of the wives of King Mswati III of Swaziland. She’s wearing the Royal Household Order of Swaziland.
Photo: Pool/Getty Images
King Mswati wore the Military Order of Swaziland. On his right, King Letsie III of Lesotho wears the Order of Moshoeshoe.
Photo: Pool/Getty Images
The Duke of York wore the sash of the Order of the Garter. He’s also wearing the stars of the Order of the Garter and the Royal Victorian Order, plus the badge of the RVO around his neck. Also, interestingly, if you look at the right-hand side of his row of medals, you’ll find the small ribbon and badge of one of his only foreign orders: the Norwegian Order of St. Olav.
Photo: Pool/Getty Images
Also wearing the Order of St. Olav: Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway. Mette-Marit wore the tiara and earrings from the family’s amethyst parure; on her left hand, she’s also wearing a ring with a large blue stone.
Photo: Pool/Getty Images
The Duke and Duchess of Brabant (now King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians) also lack a Thai order, so they wore the Order of Leopold. Mathilde sparkled in her laurel wreath tiara, plus diamonds at her ears and on her wrist. Behind them, Prince Henrik of Denmark wears the Order of Chula Chom Klao.
Photo: Pool/Getty Images
The Prince of Orange (now King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands) also wore the Order of Chula Chom Klao. Princess (now Queen) Maxima wore the family’s enormous diamond bandeau with one of the Dutch East Indies Bracelets. She wore her highest Dutch order, the Order of the Netherlands Lion.
Photo: Pool/Getty Images
Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg wore his highest Luxembourgish order, the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau.
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Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein wore the sash and star of the Order of Merit of the Principality of Liechtenstein. He’s walking here with Sayyid Shihab bin Tariq Taimur Al Said, nephew of the Sultan of Oman, and Crown Prince (now King) Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan.
Photo: Pool/Getty Images
King Norodom Sihamoni of Cambodia wore the Royal Order of Cambodia.
Photo: Pool/Getty Images
Emperor Akihito of Japan wore the sash, collar, and star of the Order of the Rajamitrabhorn, plus the star of the Order of the Chrysanthemum. Empress Michiko wore the sash and collar of the Order of the Royal House of Chakri with the Japanese Honeysuckle Tiara (the same tiara she wore for the previous reception).
Photo: Pool/Getty Images
Prince Albert II of Monaco attended, but camera angles don’t clearly show which (if any) decorations he wore.
Photo: Pool/Getty Images
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, then the Emir of Qatar, attended with his wife, Sheikha Mozah. She wore a glittering diamond ring on her right hand.
Photo: Pool/Getty Images
Queen Silvia of Sweden wore the tiara, earrings, and necklace from the Napoleonic Amethyst Parure for the reception, along with the sash and star of the Order of Chula Chom Klao, the star of the Order of the Seraphim, and her husband’s family order. King Carl XVI Gustaf wore the sash, star, and collar of the Order of the Rajamitrabhorn, plus the star of the Order of the Seraphim and the necklet and badge of the Order of the Sword.
Photo: Pool/Getty Images
Queen Sofia of Spain nearly stole the entire show, wearing La Buena and the diamond earrings from the joyas de pasar collection. She’s also wearing the sash and collar of the Order of the Royal House of Chakri.