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Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Royal Jewel Rewind: The Belgian Royal Wedding (1999)

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Fifteen years ago today, Belgium hosted its biggest royal wedding of the generation. Prince Philippe, heir to the throne, married speech therapist Mathilde d’Udekem d’Acoz on December 4 in Brussels. Today, they have four children, and they’re King and Queen of the Belgians. Let’s have a look back at the jewelry worn on their wedding day, shall we?

Mathilde borrowed her wedding tiara from her new mother-in-law, Queen Paola. It’s a diamond bandeau that once belonged to Queen Elisabeth of Belgium; Paola owns the piece personally. With her Edouard Vermeulen gown, Mathilde also wore a pair of diamond and pearl earrings. She regularly wears the earrings at major royal events. (At this summer’s Belgian royal wedding, the bandeau tiara was worn by the bride, and Mathilde wore her wedding earrings.)

The mother of the groom, Queen Paola, wore pearl earrings and a diamond and pearl choker, plus a gorgeous floral brooch. King Albert II, who is having a really great time in the back, is wearing Belgium’s highest order of chivalry, the Order of Leopold. You’ll see the distinctive purple sash on lots of the men in the wedding photos.

Pearls were also the jewel of choice for the groom’s aunt, Queen Fabiola, although they’re a bit obscured by her jacket and fur. The hat is enormously glorious, perfect for Fabiola, whose hair has always been a little larger than life.

Princess Astrid, the groom’s sister, kept her jewelry fairly minimalist — it was 1999, after all — but I think I spy a brooch securing her fur wrap. Here’s a better view of her earrings.

Here are a few more ladies from the extended Belgian royal family — that’s King Albert’s sister-in-law, Princess Lea, on the left, and his younger sister, Princess Esmerelda, wearing the fur hat. Esmerelda isReally digging Esmerelda’s gold necklace.

King Albert II and the late Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte of Luxembourg were also siblings, so of course, the family jetted over from the grand duchy for the day. Josephine-Charlotte wore pearls, including the double-drop brooch that’s one of my favorite pieces from the Luxembourg jewel collection.

Maria Teresa of Luxembourg, then the Hereditary Grand Duchess, went with large gold earrings and a major fur stole.

Because King Albert’s mother, Queen Astrid, was born a Swedish princess, the Belgians also have major family ties to the Scandinavian royals. Queen Silvia of Sweden wore pearls…

… and so did Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, although she also added a pair of interesting earrings and a molting bird.

You can sneak a peek of Queen Sofia of Spain here between Albert and Paola; she clearly also got the pearls-and-feathers memo.

Constantine and Anne-Marie of Greece also attended; Anne-Marie added a pearl bracelet to her outfit.

Kardam and Miriam of Bulgaria were there, too. It’s tough to tell, but it looks like Miriam’s wearing delicate gold jewels.

Princess Martha-Louise of Norway is an especially close cousin; her namesake grandmother and the groom’s grandmother were sisters. She’s on the ’90s minimalism train with her jewels, too.

The couple had a huge bridal party, wearing LOTS of red velvet.

Royals and family (and some of both)…

And the traditional giant royal wedding guest photo!

Tiara Timeline: The Leuchtenberg Sapphire Tiara

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With the Bernadottes on a state visit to France this week and then hosting the Nobel Prize Ceremony in Stockholm next week, there are going to be plenty of grand jewels on display. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Queen Silvia decides to wear today’s tiara, the diadem from the Leuchtenberg sapphire parure, at one of the events. Since the Bernadottes are currently visiting Paris, let’s have a look at how a tiara created in imperial France made its way to the shores of Sweden, shall we? To do that, we have to travel back in time to the grand and tumultuous court of Napoléon Bonaparte…

 

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1806: On January 14 in Munich, Princess Augusta (pictured above ca. 1820), the eldest daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, marries Eugène de Beauharnais. The groom is the only son of Joséphine de Beauharnais. Two days before the wedding, Eugène was officially adopted by his mother’s husband, Napoléon Bonaparte. Augusta’s father — who has only been king for two weeks — is one of Napoléon’s most important allies in Germany, a relationship reinforced by this royal marriage.

Among Princess Augusta’s wedding gifts is an elaborate diamond and sapphire parure that was almost certainly made by Marie-Étienne Nitot, the French imperial court jeweler. The most likely giver of the sapphires is Napoléon, who had engineered this marriage and within weeks would position Eugène and Augusta as heirs of the throne of Italy. The tiara, which features an elaborate diamond base topped by sapphires, is so flexibly constructed so that it lays flat in its case. The sapphires can also be interchanged with a set of upright pear-shaped pearls.

1817: With Napoléon finally deposed and exiled, it is clear that Eugène and Augusta’s future will be as a part of the extended Bavarian royal family, not as the Italian king and queen. On November 14, King Maximilian I Joseph bestows the style and title of His Royal Highness the Duke of Leuchtenberg on Eugène (pictured above). Because of this title change, the sapphires will become known to history as the Leuchtenberg sapphire parure.

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1823: Eugène and Augusta’s eldest daughter, Joséphine of Leuchtenberg, marries Crown Prince Oscar of Sweden in a proxy ceremony in Munich on May 22. Joséphine adopts the Swedish spelling of her name and becomes known as Crown Princess Josefina. Although he’s a Swedish prince, Oscar’s parents were both born in France and were both important figures at the imperial court of Napoléon. King Carl XIV Johan (born Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte) was one of the Marshals of the Empire, while Queen Desideria (born Désirée Clary) had been engaged to marry Napoléon until he met Joséphine de Beauharnais. Napoléon was one of Crown Prince Oscar’s godfathers. Above, a young Josefina is depicted wearing her mother’s sapphires around the time of her marriage.

1844: King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden dies, and Oscar and Josefina become the King Oscar I (pictured above) and Queen Josefina of Sweden and Norway.

1851: The Duchess of Leuchtenberg dies in Munich. In her will, Augusta leaves the Leuchtenberg sapphires to her eldest daughter, Queen Josefina. (She leaves another important parure, her emeralds, to her second daughter, Amélie, the widow of Emperor Pedro I of Brazil.) Above, Josefina wears the tiara with the upright pearls, which have apparently since left the Bernadotte collection.

1859: King Oscar I dies in Stockholm; he is succeeded by his and Josefina’s eldest son, Carl XV (pictured above). Although she is now the Queen Dowager, Josefina does not hand over her jewels to Carl’s wife, Queen Louise. Instead, she keeps her jewelry collection, including her mother’s sapphires, largely intact.

1872: King Carl XV dies without a legitimate male heir. He is succeeded by Oscar and Josefina’s third son, who becomes King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway (pictured above). Oscar is married to Sofia of Nassau, a German princess.

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1876: Queen Josefina (pictured above around 1850) dies in Stockholm. In her will, she leaves the Leuchtenberg sapphires to her son, Oscar II.

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1881: Crown Prince Gustaf, Oscar and Sofia’s eldest son, marries Princess Victoria of Baden on September 20 in Germany. The Leuchtenberg sapphires become a wedding gift for the second time when Oscar and Sofia bestow the set on their new daughter-in-law. Clearly fond of the sapphires, Victoria wears the tiara in numerous official portraits during her lifetime. Above, she poses in the sapphires around 1902.

1907: King Oscar II dies, and Gustaf and Victoria become King Gustaf V and Queen Victoria of Sweden.

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1930: Queen Victoria dies in her villa in Rome. Instead of leaving the sapphires to her daughter-in-law, Crown Princess Louise, she decides to bequeath the jewels to the Bernadotte family foundation. This decision ensures that the Leuchtenberg sapphires remain in trust in Sweden, which means that they are no longer private property and cannot leave the family. It also means that any of the royal women entitled to wear the family’s jewels can use the sapphires, though in practice, they are only used by the highest-ranking royal lady.

1938: Crown Princess Louise, wife of Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf and therefore de facto first lady of Sweden, wears the Leuchtenberg sapphires to the celebrations for the 80th birthday of her father-in-law, King Gustaf V. (She’s chatting with King Haakon VII of Norway at the birthday banquet in the photo above.) The sapphires become signature jewels for Louise, who poses in numerous portraits wearing them.

1950: In October, King Gustaf V dies, and Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf and Crown Princess Louise become King Gustaf VI Adolf and Queen Louise of Sweden.

1953: In December, Queen Louise wears the sapphires to the Nobel Prize Ceremony. (The woman sitting beside her is Clementine Churchill.)

1965: Queen Louise dies in March. The new Swedish first lady is her stepdaughter-in-law, Princess Sibylla, who wears the sapphires until her death in 1972.

1973: King Gustaf VI Adolf dies and is succeeded by his grandson, King Carl XVI Gustaf.

1976: King Carl XVI Gustaf is engaged to marry Silvia Sommerlath, a German commoner. Before the wedding, the highest-ranking Swedish royal lady is one of the king’s elder sisters, Princess Birgitta of Sweden and Hohenzollern. (Birgitta isn’t the king’s eldest sister, but she is the only one who married another royal. Until Carl XVI Gustaf’s reign, royals who married commoners lost their titles and statuses. So even though Princess Margaretha is older, by 1976 Birgitta was her senior in rank.) At the ball held the night before the royal wedding, Princess Birgitta wears the Leuchtenberg sapphires. It’s the only time she ever wears the set, as the country gains a new senior royal lady when Silvia becomes queen the following day. (At the pre-wedding ball, Silvia wears the Connaught tiara that was a favorite of the late Princess Sibylla — you can see her wearing the tiara in the picture above.)

1978: Queen Silvia of Sweden wears the sapphires at the Nobel Prize Ceremony.

1980: King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia make a state visit to France. Silvia brings the sapphires back to their original home country and wears them during a banquet at the Palace of Versailles.

1982: Queen Silvia wears the sapphires at the Nobel Prize Ceremony. On this occasion, she demonstrates the flexibility of the tiara by wearing it in a more open form.

2001: Queen Silvia wears the sapphires at the Nobel Prize Ceremony.

2004: Queen Silvia wears the sapphires at the Nobel Prize Ceremony.

2006: Queen Silvia wears the sapphires at the Nobel Prize Ceremony.

2007: Silvia wears the sapphires at a gala dinner for the Nobel laureates.

2008: During a state visit from Luxembourg, Queen Silvia wears the sapphires at the state banquet at Drottningholm Palace in Stockholm.

2010: Silvia wears the sapphires at the Nobel Prize Ceremony.

2012: Queen Silvia wears the sapphires at the Nobel Prize Ceremony.

Stay tuned: our second Holiday Wishlist post will be up later this afternoon!

Royal Jewel Rewind: Nobel Prize Ceremony 2009

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In ten days, the Swedish royal family will gather in Stockholm for the presentation of the majority of this year’s Nobel prizes. (The peace prize is presented separately in Oslo.) In the lead up to this year’s ceremony, we’re going to be looking back to the jewels worn at Nobels past, starting with the ceremony held five years ago in 2009.

The three senior Swedish ladies all attended the Prize ceremonies in 2009. It was a big year for the Bernadottes: Crown Princess Victoria and Princess Madeleine both made engagement announcements (though Madeleine would call hers off the following spring), Daniel Westling received a successful kidney transplant, and Prince Carl Philip celebrated his 30th birthday.

For the prize ceremony, Queen Silvia chose the large diamond tiara known by the Bernadottes as “Queen Sofia’s tiara” — and generally called the “Nine-Prong” by royal jewel lovers. It was made around 1860 for Sofia of Nassau, the wife of King Oscar II; today it’s a part of the Bernadotte jewel foundation.

Silvia paired the tiara with a collection of diamond and pearl jewelry. Her necklace, a single strand of pearls, is a major Bernadotte heirloom. The necklace, which features a diamond clasp, was a part of the collection of King Carl XIV Johan. The diamond and pearl drop earrings are equally important; they have been in the family since the early nineteenth century and were reportedly worn by Joséphine of Leuchtenberg. Silvia often wears the necklace and the earrings together as a set.

The brooch that Silvia has used to secure the sash of the Order of the Seraphim is the diamond floral brooch from the Brazilian (or Braganza) parure. The brooch was a part of the grand diamond set left in 1873 to Joséphine of Leuchtenberg by her sister, Amélie, the widow of Emperor Pedro I of Brazil. Opposite the brooch, Silvia wears the diamond-studded family order of her husband, King Carl XVI Gustaf.

Thanks to the inventive work of one of the photographers covering the event, we can also see that Silvia wore a diamond bracelet on her right wrist, plus the three rings she usually wears on her left hand: her diamond engagement ring, her wedding band, and a diamond and ruby ring.

Crown Princess Victoria also selected a diamond tiara for the 2009 Nobels: the family’s diamond six-button tiara. The six diamond buttons on this tiara are floral, featuring ten small round diamonds hugging a larger floral cluster of seven additional diamonds. These buttons are the same diamond rosettes that were attached to the coronation crown of King Carl XIV Johan in 1818; the tiara itself was apparently assembled during the second half of the twentieth century for the use of Princess Lilian. Victoria wore the piece at this event with two additional rows of diamonds at the base.

With the button tiara, Victoria wore a set of jewels from the family’s nineteenth-century diamond and amethyst parure. These diamond and amethyst pieces are said to have belonged to Empress Joséphine, the first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. Victoria wears the parure’s earrings, the necklace made of two bracelets, and one of the brooches.

Victoria also wore two bracelets, plus her diamond engagement ring, the Order of the Seraphim, and her father’s family order.

Victoria wasn’t the only Bernadotte to pick a button tiara for the ceremony. Her younger sister, Princess Madeleine, wore the family’s diamond four-button tiara for the first time in public. While the other tiara features diamond rosettes, these diamond buttons feature seven round diamonds encircling a central diamond in a sunburst design. The Bernadotte women have been wearing this simpler button tiara since the mid-twentieth century.

Madeleine’s necklace is actually the converted version of another tiara: it’s the modern diamond fringe tiara from her mother’s private jewelry collection. In 2013, Madeleine wore this piece as her wedding tiara. She also wore a simple pair of diamond drop earrings.

Madeleine used a small round diamond brooch to secure the sash of the Order of the Seraphim. She’s also wearing her father’s family order, plus a piece of jewelry that has long since left her jewelry box: the diamond engagement ring given to her by Jonas Bergström.

On her right wrist, Madeleine appears to be wearing another gift from Jonas: a Cartier love bracelet. Like the engagement ring, it’s long gone; she hasn’t been seen wearing this piece in public since 2010. (From this angle, it also appears that Madeleine has used a second small diamond brooch to secure the back of her sash, something royal ladies frequently do.)

 Stay tuned later today for the first of our holiday wishlist posts!