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Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

The Swedish Aquamarine Kokoshnik

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Princess Madeleine of Sweden wears the Aquamarine Kokoshnik
(Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

March is the month of the aquamarine, and we’ll be celebrating some of the grandest royal aquamarine tiaras each Saturday this month. We’re kicking things off with one of my very favorites: the aquamarine kokoshnik owned by Sweden’s Princess Margaretha.

Princess Madeleine of Sweden wears the tiara at the 2015 Nobel Prize Ceremony
(Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

It’s said that this tiara originally belonged to Margaretha’s grandmother, Margaret of Connaught, who was the first wife of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden. The tiara also has a coordinating aquamarine and diamond brooch. The set was supposedly a later addition to Margaret’s jewelry collection, not one of her wedding gifts. The maker of the tiara is unknown, although I see similarities in the diadem to pieces made by Koch, a German court jeweler. Both the tiara and the brooch feature absolutely enormous aquamarines; the tiara places delicate lattice-like diamond elements in between the large blue stones to form the traditional kokoshnik shape.

Princess Sibylla wears the tiara at her pre-wedding gala in 1932
(Wikimedia Commons)

We’re probably all familiar with the tragic story of Margaret of Connaught’s death, which led to the division of her jewels among her children. If this piece was indeed a part of her collection, it was inherited by her eldest son, Gustaf Adolf, who was expected one day to become king. His wife, Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, debuted the tiara at a ball ahead of their civil wedding in Coburg in 1932. Sibylla wore the aquamarines throughout her lifetime, even after the untimely death of her husband in a 1947 plane crash. She was the de facto first lady of Sweden following the death of Queen Louise, and she was regularly bedecked in jewels.

When Princess Sibylla died in 1972, the aquamarines were inherited by her eldest daughter, Princess Margaretha. She had worn the tiara even before Sibylla’s death; above, you can see her wearing the tiara in 1964. As a young woman, Margaretha wore the tiara on many occasions, including at the wedding of her youngest sister, Princess Christina, in 1974. Margaretha’s daughter, named Sibylla for her grandmother, also wore the heirloom tiara for her own wedding to Baron Cornelius von Dincklage in 1998.

Princess Margaretha wears the tiara at the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria in 2010
(Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

After the 1998 wedding, there was a long stretch of time where the aquamarines were not seen in public. Many feared that they had been sold. And then, in June 2010, Princess Margaretha unexpectedly appeared at the wedding of her niece, Crown Princess Victoria, wearing both the aquamarine tiara and the coordinating brooch.

The tiara was apparently a last-minute choice for Victoria’s wedding; in the press release sent out by the royal court detailing the history of the jewels worn by the king’s sister, Margaretha was noted as wearing the Baden Fringe Tiara. (She did eventually wear the fringe at a Swedish royal wedding — Princess Madeleine’s nuptials in 2013.) There were persistent rumors, however, the the tiara was sold — and that the buyer was Margaretha’s brother, the king. This theory was bolstered in 2014 when her sister, Princess Christina, wore the tiara at the representatives’ dinner in Stockholm.

Princess Margaretha wears the tiara and brooch at the wedding of Prince Carl Philip in 2015
(Ian Gavan/Getty Images)

However, Princess Christina has said publicly that Margaretha does still own the tiara but now keeps it in the vaults in Sweden with the rest of the Bernadotte jewels, where the rest of the members of the family have access to it. As Margaretha lives a quiet life in the English countryside, it certainly makes much more sense for other members of the family to get more use out of the piece. Margaretha only wears gala jewels these days when she visits Sweden, so the tiara is there for her to use when she wants, as she did for Prince Carl Philip’s wedding in June 2015.

Princess Madeleine wears the tiara at the 2015 Nobel Prize Ceremony
(Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

And Princess Madeleine has done just that: since December 2015, she has worn her aunt’s tiara at the Nobel Prize ceremony, at a tea party for sick children, in an official portrait, and for a state banquet.

Note: This is an updated version of an earlier post, with new text and images.

The Bains de Mer Tiara

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STF/AFP/Getty Images

It’s Oscar weekend, which means it’s time for a weekend of posts celebrating the only princess to have won her very own Academy Award! During her tenure as Princess of Monaco, Grace Kelly was no stranger to tiaras. One of the most unusual pieces from her own collection was this one: the Bains de Mer Tiara.

AFP/Getty Images

Made by Cartier, this tiara gets its name from the company who gave it to the Monegasque princess: the Société des Bains de Mer. SBM owns some of the most important institutions in the principality, including the casino in Monte Carlo and the Hôtel de Paris, seen in two James Bond films. The government of Monaco owns 35% of SBM; the Grimaldi family owns another 35%. Not at all surprising that they’d want to offer a tiara as a wedding gift to the famous actress who was becoming their new first lady!

Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images

The tiara itself is made of three ruby and diamond elements set on a thin diamond-studded frame. The three upright elements can be removed and worn as brooches or as pendants on a necklace. Supposedly the rubies can be swapped out for diamonds, making the piece even more adaptable. I’ve said it once, and I know I’ll say it again: if you’re not going to have a large tiara collection, you need to have one that is versatile and innovative.

In the photo above, Grace wears the brooches at the neckline of her gown. At some point, a pair of ruby and diamond earrings and a ruby and diamond ring were added to the set to make it into a small parure. Many think that Grace’s husband, Prince Rainier, was the person who supplied the extra pieces. The Grimaldis retained possession of the tiara after Grace’s untimely death in 1982, although Grace remains the only person to have been photographed wearing the piece as a tiara. Today, you’re much more likely to see her daughters, Caroline and Stéphanie, wearing the brooches in various configurations. I’m crossing my fingers that one day we’ll see the current Princess of Monaco, Charlene, wearing this particular tiara.

Hulton Archive/Getty Images; John Shearer/Getty Images

But the tiara — or, to be more precise, a copy of the tiara — has made another splashy appearance in recent years. It was prominently featured in Grace of Monaco, the biopic starring Nicole Kidman as the late princess. Cartier actually made an exact reproduction of their original tiara especially for the film. But although the famous jeweler signed on to the production, the Grimaldis themselves were less invested in the project; in fact, they have publicly denounced the film, calling it “pure fiction.” (I’ve seen the film, and I have to say — it wasn’t anything to write home about!)

The Russian Pearl Bandeau

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The Russian Pearl Bandeau (Clive Limpkin/Daily Express/Getty Images)

They may not sit on the British throne, but of all the branches of the Windsor family tree, it’s actually the present-day Kents who can boast of the greatest royal ancestry. This is thanks to Princess Marina, who was descended from the Greek, Danish, and Russian royal families. Today’s tiara, the Russian Pearl Bandeau, also made its way into the Kent collection through Marina’s regal connections.

Princess Nicholas of Greece and Denmark wears the tiara, ca. 1910

The tiara, which can also be taken off its frame and worn as a necklace, allegedly originated in the collection of Marina’s grandmother, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna (the Elder) of Russia. (You’ll probably recognize Maria Pavlovna under another name: Grand Duchess Vladimir.) Geoffrey Munn says that the tiara was probably given by Maria Pavlovna to her daughter, Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna, on the occasion of her marriage to Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark in 1902.

Princess Nicholas wears the tiara, ca. 1910 (Grand Ladies Site)

This tiara is sometimes called the “pearl swirl” tiara, and each “link” of the piece does indeed feature diamonds curled around a central pearl. I’ve also seen this designed referred to as the “snake” necklace, with the diamond elements representing snakes and the pearls representing their eggs. However you want to interpret the design, at some point, two of these swirl elements were removed from the piece to make a pair of earrings. The maker of the tiara is apparently unknown.

In 1934, the tiara once again served as a wedding gift. Princess Nicholas bestowed the tiara on her daughter, Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, who was marrying the Duke of Kent, one of the younger sons of King George V. Marina wore the pearl tiara on multiple occasions, including during a tour of Asia in 1952. In the photograph above, she wears it on a trip to the theater with Queen Mary in 1935.

Princess Alexandra wears the tiara, December 1967 (Clive Limpkin/Daily Express/Getty Images)

Marina’s only daughter, Princess Alexandra, wore the tiara several times as a young woman. But unfortunately, this was one of the items of jewelry that the family was forced to sell to pay the estate tax after Marina’s death in 1968. The tiara/necklace and earrings was photographed for Geoffrey Munn’s tiara book in 2002, but the piece was attributed merely to a “private collection.”