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Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Swedish Royal Wedding News

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Prince Carl Philip and Sofia Hellqvist (Photo copyright Erika Gerdemark/kungahuset.se)

Last week, the Swedish royal court released new details about the upcoming wedding of Prince Carl Philip, the only son of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, and Sofia Hellqvist, including the wedding date and venue.

Prince Carl Philip (Photo copyright Erika Gerdemark/kungahuset.se)

Carl Philip, who will turn 36 in May, will wed the former model on 13 June 2015. (The day will be a busy one for royal watchers; Trooping the Colour, the official celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday, will be held in London on the same Saturday.) The wedding will be held almost a year after the couple’s engagement, which was made official on June 27. The Bernadottes nearly always marry in June. The King and Queen were married on 19 June 1976, and Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel wed on the same day in 2010. Princess Madeleine’s wedding anniversary is June 8. Three of the king’s sisters, Princess Margaretha, Princess Désirée, and Princess Christina, were also married in June.

Princess Christina’s wedding in the Royal Chapel, 1974

The wedding will be held in the Royal Chapel at the Royal Palace in Stockholm. It’s the same place where Princess Madeleine married Christopher O’Neill in 2013. And because the same person who coordinated Madeleine’s wedding, Major Gen. Håkan Pettersson, is also in charge of Carl Philip’s big day, I think we can expect to see many similarities between the two events — including similar white-tie dress codes, with major jewels!

Princess Madeleine’s wedding in the Royal Chapel, 2013

Which royals can we expect to attend? The guest list won’t be released until much closer to the wedding day, but as with both Victoria’s and Madeleine’s weddings, we should see the entire Swedish royal family, including the king’s sisters. Prince Carl Philip has three living royal godparents — his aunt, Princess Birgitta, Prince Leopold of Bavaria, and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark — and all of them will surely be present. The royal guest list will probably resemble that of Madeleine’s wedding overall. As far as the Windsors go, I imagine we’ll see the Wessexes in attendance, with the rest of the senior royals remaining in London for the Queen’s birthday parade.

Sofia Hellqvist (Photo copyright Erika Gerdemark/kungahuset.se)

Carl Philip recently gave an interview to on Swedish television where he discussed his struggles with dyslexia and the couple’s relationship. Sofia’s past occupation — that of glamor model and reality TV star — has caused a bit of an uproar in the Swedish press during the couple’s relationship. Carl Philip angrily noted that Sofia “was hung out to dry in a bullying type of way” by the press, and he countered claims that the royal family disapproved of her initially, explaining that his family “were curious about her, open, and welcomed her with a big hug.” The couple met in 2009 and have been living together for three years. After the wedding, Sofia, who turns 30 in December, will be styled HRH Princess Sofia of Sweden, Duchess of Värmland.

Prince Carl Philip and Sofia Hellqvist (Photo copyright Erika Gerdemark/kungahuset.se)

The couple released a statement through the royal court about their wedding plans: “We are looking forward to a summer wedding in the middle of June, when
Sweden is extremely beautiful. This will be a big day for us, and we are absolutely
delighted.” This will be the last royal wedding in Sweden — and indeed in Scandinavia — for a generation. Which royal jewels would you like to see worn at this glittering event?

This Week in Royal Jewels: October 3-9

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October 3-9, 2014
This week brings us another set of royals heading to parliament, a concert trip, and a royal return. Enjoy!

10. She’s back! Queen Elizabeth II returned from Balmoral this week, and she brought a wonderful jewel out of the box to meet with diplomats at Buckingham Palace: one of the Hyderabad Rose Brooches. The brooches, made by Cartier, were originally a part of the tiara given to HM as a wedding present by the Nizam of Hyderabad; although she had the tiara remodeled, she kept the brooches in their original form.

9. The Danish royals gathered for the opening of parliament in Copenhagen this week, and Princess Benedikte (on the far right) wore a chunky necklace and gold earrings for the occasion.

8. Princess Marie’s jewelry at parliament was a bit simpler but very elegant: a small silver-toned brooch, which looks sort of like a smaller version of Queen Ingrid’s famous diamond daisy brooch.

7. The star of Crown Princess Mary’s parliament ensemble was definitely the striking purple pillbox, but she also added a pair of small earrings.

6. One more Dane attended the opening of parliament, and it’s the greatest Dane of them all: Queen Margrethe II, who wore large round earrings with her pale-blue hat and outfit.

5. In Spain, Queen Letizia wore a pair of delicate drop earrings while meeting with members of the public — including her father-in-law, King Juan Carlos — during a day of fundraising for the Red Cross.

4. Wearing bracelets with her purple dress, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden joined King Carl XVI Gustaf on Friday to meet with members of the nation’s new government.

3. For a visit to a social employment agency on Tuesday, Queen Maxima of the Netherlands added fun jewelry to her leopard-print outfit, including bold earrings, rings, and her usual set of bracelets.

2.Queen Silvia of Sweden chose pearls — pearl drop earrings and the double-stranded pearl necklace that once belonged to Princess Sibylla — for the presentation of the Birgit Nilsson Prize to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.

1. As media outlets and the palace press office confirmed that she’s expecting twins, Princess Charlene of Monaco attended the 2014 Princess Grace Awards Gala in Beverly Hills on Wednesday. I was so glad to see her add a little more bling to her usual minimalist style with these sparkly earrings. Here’s a closer look:

Love the sparkle here, Charlene! Anyone else hoping that both of these babies are girls, so that there’s a future Sovereign Princess of Monaco to wear the family’s tiaras?

This Week in Royal Jewels: September 26-October 2

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September 26-October 2, 2014
It’s that time again, magpies: our weekly roundup of royal jewels is here! This week seemed like it absolutely flew by, and the royals were busy bees. Enjoy the royal jewels they wore!

10. In Monaco, royals from Belgium, Luxembourg, and Saudi Arabia were among the attendees joining Prince Albert at a charity dinner for EORTC on Wednesday. Princess Astrid of Belgium accessorized her red dress with a shimmering bracelet and earrings.

9. Also at the charity dinner in Monaco was Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg, who made a pair of large earrings the focus of her jewelry.

8. Princess Marie of Denmark showed off a gorgeous ring on the cover of the October issue of Costume magazine.

7. Before returning to Sweden for Tuesday’s Riksdag opening, Queen Silvia visited her younger daughter, Princess Madeleine, in New York. While representing their World Childhood Foundation at the Global Citizen Festival, the two glammed up their casual attire with stacks and stacks of bracelets.

6. An understandably somber Duchess of Cornwall wore pearls to mourn the late Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, whose jewels we remembered fondly last weekend. Camilla chose one of her trademark pearl chokers, specifically the one with an all-diamond clasp, as well as earrings with pearl drops and a shamrock brooch made of diamonds and turquoises.

5. The Countess of Wessex visited RAF Wittering on Tuesday, wearing blue Super Stud earrings from Heavenly Necklaces and a pair of RAF wings. Sophie’s badge is special, because she’s the Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Wittering. Fancy! (Thanks, as always, to Anna for info on Sophie’s jewelry.)

4. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands rarely disappoints when it comes to earrings, and on Tuesday, she wore an especially dangly silver pair to the opening of the Micropia Museum.

3. Queen Mathilde of the Belgians selected blue earrings to coordinate with her dove-gray dress for a visit to the SHAPE in Mons on Tuesday.

2. Another outing for Queen Maxima saw her bring out some serious sparkle. She wore her own pair of diamond and ruby earrings to open the new Markthal in Rotterdam on Wednesday.

1. Even more glamorous rubies were worn this week by Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, who donned pieces from the ruby parure that originally belonged to Queen Desiree of Sweden. Although Mary usually reserves the rubies for white-tie events, she wore them on Saturday with a cocktail dress for the annual Crown Princely Couple awards.

Are you on Instagram? Find me there at courtjeweller for more historical sparkle!