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Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Queen Elisabeth’s Cartier Bandeau

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Queen Elisabeth wears her Cartier Bandeau in a portrait (Grand Ladies Site)

In some royal families, jewels can be both beautiful and contentious. Today’s tiara is a magnificent royal tiara with a rather complicated and even difficult story: the Cartier tiara owned by Queen Elisabeth of Belgium.

Elisabeth was born a Bavarian duchess; she married Albert, the future king of the Belgians, in 1900. The two ascended to the Belgian throne nine years later, so by the time she acquired this tiara in 1912 from Cartier, she was already a queen. The sparkler, which Elisabeth wore low across her forehead in the then-fashionable bandeau style, is made of diamonds set in platinum. Some have refered to the piece as a “foliated” tiara, and indeed, you can see leaf motifs interspersed with the scrolling elements that dominate the tiara.

Photo copyright blog reader Nancy. Do not reproduce.

Queen Elisabeth retained the tiara even after the unexpected death of her husband in a 1934 mountain-climbing accident. She chose it for some of the most public occasions held during her lifetime in Belgium, including the religious wedding of her son, Crown Prince Leopold, and Princess Astrid of Sweden in 1926, and the ball held during the wedding celebrations for her grandson, King Baudouin, in 1960.

When Elisabeth died in 1965, she left the Cartier tiara to her son, Leopold. He had reigned in Belgium as Leopold III until 1951, but in the wake of controversy about his sympathies during the war (and immediately after a general strike), he had abdicated in favor of his eldest son, Baudouin. The next wearer of the tiara after Elisabeth was Leopold’s second wife, Lilian, the Princess of Réthy. Lilian actually had connections of her own to the Cartier family: her sister, Lydia Baels, was married to the head of Cartier’s London branch, Jean-Jacques Cartier.

Elisabeth wears the tiara with an extra pear-shaped diamond at the peak in a portrait by Richir

Whether or not that family connection had an impact on what eventually happened to the tiara is unclear. Leopold died in 1983, and in 1987, Lilian sold Elisabeth’s tiara back to Cartier. Leopold had left the tiara to his wife, so it was Lilian’s personal property to dispose of as she wished. There are reports that the sale caused controversy in the family, as Lilian apparently sold the piece without consulting King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola.

Really, the bottom line is that we don’t know precisely what the circumstances were in the family surrounding the sale of this diadem, and we probably never will. Today, the tiara remains in the archives of Cartier, and it is frequently exhibited. We may not be able to see the tiara glittering on Belgium’s royal ladies these days, but at least we can see it in person.

Princess Alexia’s Diamond Tiara

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Anthony Harvey/Getty Images

Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark may not be a member of a reigning royal family now, but when she was born, she was heir to the throne of a kingdom. Even now, she’s related to numerous reigning royals, so she needs plenty of jewels for grand gala occasions. Today, we’re looking at the diamond tiara from her collection.

The tiara is a classic, all-diamond sparkler. The curving shape of the piece almost resembles a kokoshnik, but it rises to a distinctive peak at its center point. The lacy design is busy, featuring elipses and navettes punctuated by round stones, giving the piece an almost solid appearance from a distance.

If you’re going to have one tiara, as Alexia apparently does, this one is a decent choice. It pairs well with lots of different gemstones, and its design is generic enough that it won’t clash with other styles of jewels — it can work with both traditional and modern pieces. Alexia often wears the tiara with pieces set with diamonds, pearls, and rubies.

Exactly how and when Alexia acquired this diamond tiara is a matter of debate. Some assume that her mother, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, followed family tradition and gave Alexia the tiara on her eighteenth birthday. She’s had the piece for years, so that theory is certainly possible. We also don’t know when the tiara was made or who made it. My guess would be that it’s a recent creation, but that’s only a guess, based on the design and setting of the stones.

Alexia has worn the tiara at some of the biggest family celebrations she’s attended, including the wedding of her first cousin, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, and her second cousin, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden. She’s also worn it for other family weddings and milestone events, including birthday celebrations for her aunt, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

But she’s also generously loaned the tiara to her younger sister, Princess Theodora, on at least one occasion. Above, Theodora wears the tiara at the wedding of another cousin, Princess Madeleine of Sweden, in 2013. Unlike the more traditional, floral earrings that Alexia usually pairs with the tiara, Theodora chose a pair of modern diamond and pearl drop earrings for her appearance in the sparkler.

The Chaumet Emerald Tiara

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Grand Duchess Charlotte wears the Chaumet Emerald Tiara, ca. 1920

Not all royal families have a tiara in their collections that’s fit for a superhero, but I think Wonder Woman could borrow the Art Deco-style emerald tiara from Luxembourg in a heartbeat. (I assume superheros attend more white-tie events than we mere mortals do, of course. Can you tell I saw the new Wonder Woman film this week?)

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

The tiara, which was made by Chaumet, is a quintessential Art Deco piece. Its intricate diamond scroll work is interrupted by an absolutely enormous cabochon emerald at the center of the tiara, which is anchored by a large square-cut diamond. From afar, it takes on a rather solid appearance, but up close, you can see how complicated the design actually is.

Charlotte wears the tiara in a portrait, ca. 1921 (Wartenberg Trust)

The first Luxembourg royal pictured in the tiara was Grand Duchess Charlotte, the grandmother of the current grand duke; it’s possible that the piece was a gift to Charlotte from her husband, Prince Félix. Charlotte sometimes supplemented the base of the tiara with extra diamonds, making the piece slightly taller. Charlotte’s daughter-in-law, Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte, was also photographed in the tiara.

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

But the current grand duchess, Maria Teresa, is the one who has gotten the most use out of the tiara. She wears the piece regularly at events both in Luxembourg and abroad and, I assume, while she’s secretly saving the world.