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Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Royal Wedding Jewels: François d’Orléans and Theresa von Einsiedel

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On Saturday, the city of Straubing, Germany hosted a wedding between a prince of the former royal family of France and a descendant of several German royal houses.

Prince François d’Orléans (shown here wearing an ill-advised top hat) is the younger son of Prince Michel of Orléans, Comte d’Évreux and his estranged wife, Béatrice. He is a member of the House of Orléans, one of the royal houses that claims to be the rightful ruling dynasty of France via their descent from King Louis Philippe I of France. François’s grandfather, Henri, was the Orléanist pretender to the throne until his death in 1999; his uncle, also named Henri, is the current claimant and uses the title “Comte de Paris.” Through his paternal grandmother, François is also a descendant of the former imperial family of Brazil.

The bride, Theresa von Einsiedel, also has significant royal ties. Her maternal grandmother, Princess Iniga von Thurn und Taxis, was the daughter of Princess Elisabeth of Luxembourg, a sister of Grand Duchesses Marie-Adelaide and Charlotte.

The tiara chosen by Theresa as a bridal diadem appears to be something of an unknown quantity. It’s always hard to keep track of the jewelry owned by various noble families, and this one apparently belongs to the bride’s mother, not the Orléans collection.

Perhaps this was one of her “something blue” items? Stefan, writer of the Royal Travel blog, was present at the wedding; he reports that the center stone in the tiara was changed (presumably from a diamond) to a sapphire specifically for the wedding. It’s a shame that the tiara is set so far down in her hair, as there’s no way for the gems to catch the light. I’d love to see this piece showcased a bit more, but alas, weddings are one of the only chances we have to see these pieces from noble collections in public.

What’s the verdict on the bridal jewels and ensemble from this royal wedding, dear readers?

Belgian Royal Wedding Jewels

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Yesterday in Rome, Prince Amedeo of Belgium married his longtime girlfriend, Elisabetta Rosboch von Wolkenstein. Amedeo is the son of Princess Astrid of Belgium (daughter of King Albert II and Queen Paola) and her husband, Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este. Lili, as the bride is known, is the daughter of Ettore Rosboch von Wolkenstein and Countess Lilia de Smecchia.

Although Lili is related to several Italian noble families, she chose to borrow a bridal tiara from her new husband’s grandmother. The diamond tiara, made in the Art Deco style, originally belonged to Queen Elisabeth of Belgium. She passed the tiara along to her daughter-in-law, Queen Astrid; after Astrid’s death, it was worn by King Leopold III’s second wife, Princess Lilian. Queen Paola, who now owns the tiara, began wearing it in the 1960s. And this isn’t the first time it’s been used as a bridal tiara.

It was also worn by the groom’s aunt, Queen Mathilde, on her wedding day in 1999.

The media revealed during the ceremony that Lili’s wedding gown was made by Valentino.

She also added a set of pearl and diamond pendant earrings to her bridal ensemble, which was topped off by a veil edged in lace.

Princess Astrid, the mother of the groom, is known for her sometimes-kooky outfits and hats. For her son’s wedding, though, she wisely kept things rather toned down, though she added a whimsical pearl necklace and pearl earrings to her soft blue dress and headpiece.

Amedeo’s uncle and aunt, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians, posed with three of their four children outside the basilica.

Mathilde wore the diamond and pearl earrings she wore at her own royal wedding, plus a diamond bracelet and a burlap bag wrapped ’round her head.

Mathilde’s elder daughter, the Duchess of Brabant, also attended the wedding. You can’t see Elisabeth clearly in this photograph, but she was among the bridesmaids in the wedding party, as was her cousin, Princess Louise. (Here’s a clearer picture of Elisabeth in her bridesmaid attire.)

The groom’s grandmother, the Italian-born Queen Paola, wore a necklace of five strands of pearls, plus pearl and diamond earrings and a really interesting dragonfly brooch.

Another of Amedeo’s aunts-in-law, Princess Claire, kept her jewelry simple for the occasion, choosing a pair of small earrings and a wristwatch.

The eldest of Prince Amedeo’s three sisters, Princess Maria Laura, went with a monochrome look for her older brother’s wedding. I love the dramatic silver and green earrings she added to her green lace dress and green floral headpiece.

Like his new wife, both of Amedeo’s grandmothers were born in Italy. His paternal grandmother, Archduchess Margherita of Austria-Este, was born a Savoyard princess. Most of her elaborate jewels are worn today by Princess Astrid, and she appears to have gone jewel-free to her grandson’s wedding. No matter, though — that rather amazing walking stick adds a good bit of shine!

Through his great-aunt, the late Grand Duchess Josephine Charlotte, Amedeo is related to the royal family of Luxembourg, too. Two of his Luxembourgish cousins, Prince Guillaume (on the right) and Prince Jean, both attended the wedding, as did Jean’s wife, Countess Diane de Nassau (who wore very dramatic earrings).

Princess Margaretha, Jean and Guillaume’s sister, attended the wedding with her husband, Prince Nikolaos of Liechtenstein. She wore golden earrings, a bracelet, and a simple necklace; I’m not sure if the piece on the front of her blouse is a brooch or a part of the garment itself.

Also on the guest list from Liechtenstein were Prince Philipp and Princess Isabelle, who wore a pair of earrings that I’d love to get a better look at, plus a hat that doubles as the prow of various ships.

Another Luxembourgish princes, Marie Astrid, is related to Amedeo through the Belgian royals; Marie Astrid’s husband, Archduke Carl Christian, is a Habsburg like Prince Lorenz. Like many of her fellow attendees, Marie Astrid selected pearls for the day, wearing pearl earrings, a pearl necklace, and a lovely pearl bracelet.

Carl Christian and Marie Astrid also brought along their children and their spouses, increasing the cousin total considerably.

Carl Christian’s sister, Archduchess Maria Constanza, attended with her husband, Franz Josef von Auersperg. Love the necklace.

And finally, there was a surprise Yorkie appearance at the wedding! Not sure whether Princess Beatrice knows the couple personally or was there representing another member of the Windsor clan, but she was a rather low-key guest either way. A bit of jewelry would have helped to spice up this blush-colored dress, but alas, there doesn’t seem to be any piece of visible bling here. Help, British jewelry industry: can’t any of you please recruit this British princess to be your spokesperson? She needs sparkle!

Royal Jewel Rewind: The Wessex Wedding (1999)

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The Earl and Countess of Wessex depart St. George’s Chapel after their wedding

Fifteen years ago today, a rather different British royal wedding was held at St. George’s Chapel inside the walls of Windsor Castle. The ceremony joined together the newly-minted Earl of Wessex, youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II, and Sophie Rhys-Jones. No balcony kiss, no enormous guest list, no London cathedral or abbey on the menu for this royal wedding, but the guests still managed to sparkle — especially the bride! Enjoy this Royal Jewel Rewind, featuring the jewels worn by the Windsors at the last royal wedding of the last millenium!

The Countess of Wessex

Ahead of the royal wedding, the same questions were asked that are always posed about a royal bridal tiara: will it be something borrowed or something new? Diana had something borrowed (from her family); Fergie had something new, purchased for her (eventually) by her parents-in-law. Sophie’s tiara, however, was something sort of in between. It’s made of four antique elements meshed into a new tiara. The official word from the palace on the piece is that it was from the private collection of the Queen, but that it had been altered by the crown jeweller.

Sophie Rhys-Jones arriving at her wedding, wearing a veil dotted with crystals

That’s all that’s ever been said by the palace about the piece. Jewelry sleuths on the internet, however, found a piece of evidence that suggests that the four elements of the tiara were originally a set of detachable diamond anthemions that could be worn on Queen Victoria’s Regal Circlet, which dates to 1858. A photograph was uncovered that showed empty places in the storage box for Victoria’s circlet that matched the shape of the anthemions on Sophie’s wedding tiara. None of the portraits or photographs of Queen Victoria wearing the circlet show the anthemions. Instead, she wore the circlet with alternating fleur-de-lys and Maltese cross elements. The circlet is no longer used at all; its diamonds were removed in the 1930s to make a new crown for Queen Elizabeth’s coronation, and the empty frame of the piece is in the Museum of London.

Queen Victoria wears the circlet in 1861 (source)

If the theory is true (and it hasn’t been either confirmed or denied), then Sophie Wessex received a new bridal tiara that had serious heirloom roots. It also meant that the Queen, who had already lost two daughters-in-law by 1999, was not handing over a significant tiara that could potentially leave the family later. And bonus: she was reusing pieces in the collection that had essentially gone unused since they were created a century and a half before. Canny!

The Earl and Countess of Wessex

The tiara wasn’t Sophie’s only accessory on her wedding day. She also wore a necklace and earrings designed for her by her new husband, Prince Edward. Both the pieces combine white and black pearls, and the necklace features a cross pendant. Her wedding ring was also new and, like the tiara, was also made by the man who was then the crown jeweller, David Thomas.

After the bride, the most important woman at any British royal wedding is, of course, the Queen. She and the other female guests had some rather interesting territory to navigate jewel-wise at this particular wedding. The wedding was at five o’clock in the evening — a time when day attire is still worn, including hats — but Edward and Sophie requested that women wear formal evening gowns and no hats instead. So what do you wear, jewel-wise — the diamonds you’d normally wear with your evening gown, or the pearls you’d wear at 5 PM?

The Queen struck a compromise by wearing her customary pearl-necklace-and-earrings daytime combo — except that they were the same pearls she wore to her own wedding 50 years earlier. And for evening flair, she added one of the blingiest diamond brooches she owns, the Williamson Brooch. (She also cheated and wore a feather fascinator. Paul Burrell, that problematic royal butler, reportedly sniffed that there was absolutely no way that HM “would appear in public before 6 without something on her head.”)

The Queen Mother arriving inside St. George’s Chapel for her grandson’s wedding (source)

The Queen and her mother obviously had a bit of a confab about the dress code, because the Windsor matriarch showed up wearing roughly the same jewel combination (and verboten hat) as her younger daughter. Three strands of pearls are paired with the diamond drop earrings from the Greville bequest. The stunning sapphire and diamond brooch, which features two pendant drops, was a wedding gift to the Queen Mum in 1923 from her mother-in-law, Queen Mary. The entire ensemble is recycled from her 80th birthday celebrations.

The public mainly glimpsed the Queen Mum at the wedding via the television coverage; just shy of her 100th birthday at this wedding, she sensibly skipped the group pictures on the steep steps of the chapel. (So did Princess Margaret, who was recovering after scalding her feet in the bath. You can glimpse her pearl earrings here.) Even so, the best story of all from this wedding involves the Queen Mum tossing aside her walking sticks to do the twist on the dance floor, much to the exasperation of the Queen. The woman knew how to party.

Princess Anne leaves the chapel, along with other royals and Sophie’s family

Looking through the photographs from this wedding reminds you how few senior royal women there were in Britain in 1999. Post-Diana, pre-Camilla and Kate, the other major senior royal lady at the wedding was Princess Anne. With her green ensemble, she wore a pearl choker with a bejeweled clasp (though apparently not the famous Marie Feodorovna choker from her collection), plus pearl earrings and a diamond floral brooch. Behind her, you can see her daughter, Zara, who wore a necklace with a diamond cross pendant.



The Duchess of Kent, Princess Beatrice, Prince William, and Prince Harry

One of the other royal ladies who you can spot in the photographs on the steps is the Duchess of Kent, wearing simple pearl jewelry and standing beside the precious tiny royal grandchildren, Beatrice, William, and Harry. You can just see Eugenie’s jacket on the right side of the photo. She might have been cropped out because she kept doing this:

Beatrice, William, Harry, and Eugenie

Royal weddings are rough.

Other guests are visible in photos that I’m not able to include here. Princess Michael of Kent wore THIS MAGNIFICENCE. The Duchess of Gloucester was elegant in old-fashioned pearls. Lady Gabriella wore a more modern twist on the pearl choker necklace. I’ve still not managed to spot either Princess Alexandra or Princess Alice, both of whom attended. And two foreign royal guests — Princess Alexandra of Denmark and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece — apparently snuck past photographers entirely.

But I’ll leave you with this rather charming photo of the families waving off Edward and Sophie as they embarked on their carriage ride through the streets of Windsor. This royal wedding may not have had the same amount of pomp and circumstance as the big London shindigs, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the weddings of the Queen’s remaining royal grandchildren (Harry, Beatrice, and Eugenie) look a bit more like this wedding. And that’s ultimately okay with me — as long as we still get to see a little bit of bling!