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Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Swedish Royal Wedding: The Guest List

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Photo: Mattias Edwall, Kungahuset.se
Here’s a list of the royals who have confirmed that they will be attending the wedding of Prince Carl Philip of Sweden and Sofia Hellqvist on June 13 in Stockholm. I’ll be updating the list as more confirmations come in!

THE SWEDISH ROYAL FAMILY
Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, groom
Sofia Hellqvist, bride
King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, father of the groom
Queen Silvia of Sweden, mother of the groom
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, sister of the groom
Prince Daniel of Sweden, brother-in-law of the groom
Princess Estelle of Sweden, niece of the groom
Princess Madeleine of Sweden, sister of the groom
Christopher O’Neill, brother-in-law of the groom
Princess Leonore of Sweden, niece of the groom
Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler, aunt of the groom
Princess Birgitta of Sweden and Hohenzollern, aunt and godmother of the groom
Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld, aunt of the groom
Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson, aunt of the groom

FOREIGN ROYAL GUESTS
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, godmother of the groom [x]
Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark [x]
Crown Princess Mary of Denmark [x]
Prince Joachim of Denmark [x]
Princess Marie of Denmark [x]
Queen Sonja of Norway [x]
Crown Prince Haakon of Norway [x]
Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway [x]
Princess Märtha Louise of Norway [x]
Ari Behn [x]
Queen Mathilde of the Belgians [x]
The Earl of Wessex [x]
The Countess of Wessex [x]
Princess Takamado [x]

Swedish Royal Wedding: Reading of the Banns

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Yesterday, Prince Carl Philip of Sweden and Sofia Hellqvist took another big step toward marriage: their marriage banns were officially read in Stockholm, and the entire family gathered for the event.

Queen Silvia wore pearls for the service, which was held at the Royal Chapel in Stockholm. You can read the program from the service (in Swedish) here.

Crown Princess Victoria wore a diamond necklace she’s had in her jewelry box for more than a decade, diamond stud earrings, a brooch, and a rather extravagant Philip Treacy hat.

Princess Madeleine wore a pair of earrings that I’d love to see a bit closer, plus bracelets and a bit of birthday wrapping perched atop her head.

After the church service, the bride and groom met with government officials and received wedding presents. Carl Philip and Sofia are officially ready to paddle a marital canoe, it seems.

They’re also ready to start a rock band. This photo gives a better look at the major pieces of visible jewelry Sofia wore: a glittering bracelet, along with her usual green Project Playground bracelet.

Photo: Kungahuset.se

After the service, the Swedish royal family and the Hellqvists posed for a large family picture. Click here to view a high quality version.

Photo: Mattias Edwall, Kungahuset.se

The Marshal of the Realm also used the occasion to make the official announcement: after the wedding, the bride will officially become HRH Princess Sofia, Duchess of Värmland.

Photo: Mattias Edwall, Kungahuset.se

Want more info about June 13’s Swedish royal wedding? Read our previous posts here!

Queen Máxima’s Wedding Tiara

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The year is 2002, and our Magpie of the Month, Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti, is preparing to marry the heir to the Dutch throne. If you’re a royal bride, you can play the wedding tiara game a few ways: you can opt for a safe choice (like the Duchess of Cambridge), you can wear an heirloom tiara (like Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden), you can go for no tiara at all (never something I’d personally advise), or you can go big. Máxima, being Máxima, went for major sparkle.

Máxima chose something of a frankentiara — a piece that features elements of two different items of jewelry mixed together to make a new tiara — for her wedding day. First, she selected the base of one of the Dutch royal family’s existing tiaras: the Pearl Button Tiara. There’s a debate about the actual age of the Pearl Button: some think that it was made in the twentieth century, while others argue that its base was a part of a coronet worn by Queen Sophie of the Netherlands, which would make it an earlier creation.

Rather than wearing the tiara with the pearl buttons, Queen Máxima chose to wear it on her wedding day with five of the diamond stars that belonged to Queen Emma. Emma had been given two sets of diamond star brooches when she married King Willem III in 1879. One set has stars with ten points; the other has stars with twelve.

Máxima chose the ten-pointed stars for her wedding tiara. On occasion, she also wears the twelve-pointed stars in other ways, including as pins on order sashes.

So far, only two members of the Dutch royal family have worn the star version of this tiara: Máxima and her husband’s aunt, Princess Margriet. It’s not a tiara that every princess could pull off — you need an element of pizzazz about you to make the stars work. But it’s practically perfect for Máxima, who absolutely oozes joie de vivre.