Royal Princesses’ First Tiaras
With a new princess arriving this week in the United Kingdom, speculation about the jewels she might wear one day has already begun. (Yes, I’m guilty of this, too!) As I dream one day of seeing Princess Charlotte wear her great-great-grandmother’s Strathmore Rose Tiara, let’s have a look at some of the first tiaras worn by European princesses.
UNITED KINGDOM
The question of which tiara a princess wore first is a bit more difficult to pin down in Britain, where the ladies of the family don tiaras at private events — like holiday dinners at Sandringham — probably long before we see them wear tiaras in public. I believe the first tiara we saw Queen Elizabeth II wear in public was Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara, which she borrowed for her wedding day. But we know that she received the Cartier Halo Tiara as an eighteenth-birthday gift from her mother, so she may well have worn that one first.
Other ladies in the family certainly wore the Halo early on: it’s probably the first tiara that Princess Margaret wore, and it’s the one she wore for her sister’s coronation in 1953. It’s also probably the first tiara worn by Princess Anne, who donned it before she started wearing her grandmother’s meander tiara. And, of course, it’s the first tiara we saw the Duchess of Cambridge wear, as she chose it for her wedding day.
But what about the other ladies of the family? Diana, Princess of Wales wore the Spencer Tiara at her wedding, and it’s a safe bet that family diadem was her first tiara. Ditto Sarah, Duchess of York and her diamond wedding tiara; the Countess of Wessex’s wedding tiara was probably her first sparkler, too.
SWEDEN
The Scandinavian monarchs have a tradition of giving tiaras to princesses on their eighteenth birthdays. Crown Princess Victoria’s small sapphire and diamond birthday tiara was her very first, as was Princess Madeleine’s vintage diamond and aquamarine bandeau. The first tiara worn in public by their mother, Queen Silvia, was the Connaught Diamond Tiara, which she wore at the gala held the night before her wedding.
DENMARK
The Danes also give out eighteenth-birthday gift tiaras. Queen Margrethe II received the Alexandrine Diamond Drop Tiara as her first sparkler; years later, her daughter-in-law, Alexandra, would also wear the Diamond Drop as her first tiara. Both of the Queen’s younger sisters, Princess Benedikte of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, received floral tiaras. The first tiara worn by Crown Princess Mary wasn’t her diamond wedding tiara but the magnificent tiara from Desiree Clary’s ruby parure. But Princess Marie did wear her wedding tiara, Princess Dagmar’s Floral Tiara, as her very first sparkler.
NORWAY
Eighteenth-birthday gifts are also the royal norm in Norway. Princess Martha Louise was given hers by her grandfather — hence its usual name, King Olav’s Gift Tiara. Crown Princess Mette-Marit wore her first tiara, her small diamond daisy bandeau, on her wedding day.
BELGIUM
The present queen, Mathilde, wore her first tiara on her wedding day: the diamond art deco bandeau borrowed from her mother-in-law, Queen Paola. (The same tiara was also a first tiara for Prince Amedeo’s wife, Lili.) Queen Mathilde’s sister-in-law, Princess Claire, also wore a small diamond tiara for the first time on her wedding day. The king’s sister, Princess Astrid, has only ever apparently worn tiaras owned by her husband’s family; the first one seems to have been the diamond Savoy-Aosta Tiara.
THE NETHERLANDS
Queen Maxima, that innovative wearer of tiaras, wore a tiara for the first time at someone else’s royal wedding: the nuptials of Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway. She wore the base of the family’s Antique Pearl Tiara on the occasion.
SPAIN
On the night before her wedding, Queen Sofia of Spain actually wore two tiaras — the Mellerio Shell Tiara, plus the Spanish Floral Tiara as a necklace. The next day, she wore the Prussian Tiara at her wedding — the same tiara her daughter-in-law, Queen Letizia, wore as her first tiara on her own wedding day forty years later.
LUXEMBOURG
In Luxembourg, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa wore her first tiara — the Congo Diamond Necklace Tiara — on her wedding day. Her daughter-in-law, Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie, donned the family’s Vine Leaves Tiara on the night before her wedding. It’s also the first tiara worn by Princess Claire, who wore it at her wedding to Prince Felix. Princess Alexandra appears to have worn the family’s small floral tiara as her first sparkler, while Princess Tessy seems to have made her tiara debut in the family’s small turquoise tiara.
MONACO
In Monaco, Princess Grace’s first tiara was probably the Bains de Mer Tiara, which she recevied as a wedding gift and wore shortly after her wedding. Princess Caroline seems to have worn a tiara for the first time in public on the eve of her wedding, when she borrowed her mother’s Diamond Wave Tiara. Princess Charlene donned the Baumer Aigrette in public for the first time at her wedding reception, while Tatiana Casiraghi stunned in a diamond fringe tiara at her own religious wedding ceremony. As for two of the most glamorous ladies in the principality — Princess Stephanie and Charlotte Casiraghi — they seem to have never been photographed in public wearing a tiara at all.
This list isn’t exhaustive — feel free to add other “first” royal tiaras in the comments below!
Jewel History: Arrival of the Bride in Vienna (1881)
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| Official engagement portrait of Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria and Princess Stéphanie of Belgium [source] |
“Arrival of the Bride in Vienna”
(originally appeared in the New York Times, 7 May 1881)
A dispatch from Vienna says: About 100,000 strangers have arrived here to be present on the occasion of the marriage of Prince Rudolph [1] and Princess Stephanie [2].
There was a gala procession yesterday from the railway station at Salzburg to the palace on the occasion of the arrival of the Queen of the Belgians [3] and her daughter, Princess Stephanie. The town was elaborately decorated with flags and triumphal arches. At six o’clock last evening, a state dinner was given at the palace. Afterward there was a reception of deputations bearing wedding gifts.
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| Crown Prince Rudolph and Princess Stéphanie, around the time of the wedding [source] |
The town was brilliantly illuminated. There was a torch-light procession of students, who formed before the palace, making with the torches the outline of the monogram of Rudolph and Stephanie. Beacons were lighted on the neighboring hills, and there was a grand display of fireworks. The royal party drove through the town to witness the illumination. Prince Rudolph returned to Vienna at eleven o’clock last night.
Salzburg, May 6: The royal party drove to the railway station through dense and enthusiastic crowds of people. The train departed amid the strains of the Belgian national anthem and the cheers of the people. The party arrived at Vienna this afternoon.
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| Crown Princess Stéphanie [source] |
Vienna, May 6: Thousands of people are in the streets going to Schönbrunn [4], where the Queen of the Belgians and Princess Stephanie arrived at four o’clock. The weather is fine.
Prince Rudolph, on his arrival here today, was cordially received by a deputation of eighteen of his former tutors. The arrival at Schönbrunn of the train bearing the Queen of the Belgians and Princess Stephanie was awaited by the Emperor Francis Joseph [5], Prince Rudolph (wearing the Belgian orders of knighthood), the Stadtholder of Vienna, and the President of the Police.
The train, the engine of which was wreathed with flowers, entered the railway station, which was richly decorated, at a few minutes after four o’clock, to the strains of the Belgian national anthem. Prince Rudolph affectionately embraced Princess Stephanie and presented her to the Emperor, who kissed her on the forehead. When the greetings of the royal party were concluded the Burgomaster presented Princess Stephanie with a bouquet of white roses and hawthorn.
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| The bride’s parents: King Leopold II and Queen Marie Henriette of Belgium [source] |
The party then entered carriages, being received with the deafening cheers of the populace when they appeared at the door of the station. The first carriage contained the Emperor and the King of the Belgians [6]; the second the Queen of the Belgians, Princess Stephanie, and Prince Rudolph; and the third the Princess Clementine [7] and her governess.
The carriages proceeded slowly down the street on which the station is situated to the Festplatz, where representatives of six suburbs of Vienna presented homage to the royal party; then through Schönbrunn Street to the castle. The route of the procession was lined with troops, and the crowd of people, numbering thousands, greeted the party, especially Princess Stephanie, with the loudest and heartiest acclamations.
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| The famous Winterhalter portrait of the groom’s mother, Empress Elisabeth [source] |
The party on their arrival were affectionately welcomed by the Empress [8] in the great gallery of the castle. The Burgomaster will tomorrow pay a visit to the King of the Belgians and present him with a gold medal struck in commemoration of the marriage [9].
NOTES
1. Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria (1858-1889) was the eldest son of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary.
2. Princess Stéphanie of Belgium (1864-1945) was the second daughter of King Leopold II and Queen Marie Henriette of Belgium.
3. Queen Marie Henriette of Belgium (1836-1902), mother of the bride, was born an Austrian archduchess. She was a cousin of the groom’s father, the Austro-Hungarian emperor. Stéphanie’s parents had an unhappy marriage; a decade and a half later, they separated.
4. Schönbrunn was the Habsburg family’s summer palace in Vienna. Today, the Baroque palace is the most popular tourist attraction in Vienna.
5. Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria (1830-1916), father of the groom, was Austria-Hungary’s longest-reigning emperor.
6. King Leopold II of Belgium (1835-1909), father of the bride, was Belgium’s second king. He was a first cousin to both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of the United Kingdom. He is the longest-reigning king in Belgian history, but his tenure is remembered most for the atrocities committed in the Congo under his administration.
7. Princess Clémentine of Belgium (1872-1955), the younger sister of the bride and the youngest child of King Leopold II and Queen Marie Henriette. She later married Victor, Prince Napoléon, the French imperial pretender.
8. Empress Elisabeth of Austria (1837-1898), mother of the groom, was born a Bavarian princess and is better known to us as “Sisi.” She became a famous trendsetter in nineteenth-century Europe, and has been immortalized in a series of films. However, her marriage was unhappy, and she was eventually murdered in Switzerland.
9. This royal marriage was … not a success, to put it mildly. Rudolph and Stéphanie had a daughter, Archduchess Elisabeth Marie of Austria, but they were wildly incompatible. Both were unfaithful, but it was Rudolph’s affair with 17-year-old Baroness Mary Vetsera, and their 1889 murder-suicide at his hunting lodge, Mayerling, that had the biggest impact on history. The new heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne was Archduke Franz Ferdinand — whose murder in 1914 would become the catalyst for the beginning of World War I. After Rudolph’s death, Stéphanie married a Hungarian count, wrote her memoirs, and, intriguingly, invented and patented a new kind of chafing dish.