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Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Queen Margrethe’s 75th Birthday: Schedule of Events

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Wednesday (that’s today!) and Thursday this week will be filled with celebrations for the 75th birthday of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. Here’s the schedule of events:
Wednesday, April 15


Dinner at Christiansborg Palace
20:00 in Denmark
(2 PM eastern/1 PM central for US readers)
Thursday, April 16
Wakeup Call for the Queen
08:30 in Denmark
(2:30 AM eastern/1:30 AM central)


Balcony Appearance at Amalienborg Palace
12:00 in Denmark
(6 AM eastern/5 AM central)
Reception at City Hall
13:00 in Denmark
(7 AM eastern/6 AM central)
Dinner at Fredensborg Palace
20:00 in Denmark
(2 PM eastern/1 PM central)

The Top Ten: Royal Diamond Earrings

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Our April celebration of royal diamonds continues! Today we’re ranking the best of the diamond earrings worn today by royal ladies. Be sure to tell us about your own top ten list in the comments!

10. Princess Charlotte’s Diamond Earrings

When she wears major tiaras and necklaces, Princess Caroline of Monaco often also dons a gorgeous pair of Art Deco-style diamond earrings. Sources say that the earrings, which have stunning square diamond drops, once belonged to her grandmother, Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois.

9. The Greville Chandelier Earrings

Among the treasure trove that is the collection of jewelry the Queen Mum inherited from the Hon. Mrs. Greville, the diamond chandelier earrings are some of my favorite pieces. The earrings were made by Cartier in 1929, and they feature a variety of diamonds in different cuts set in platinum. The current Queen received them as a wedding present from her parents in 1947.

8. The Coronation Earrings

Made by Garrard in 1858, these gorgeous earrings feature twelve-carat pear-shaped pendants. The pendant stones came from the Indian armlet that once housed the Koh-i-Noor Diamond. The earrings have been worn at the past three coronations by Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Elizabeth II.

7. The Dutch Diamond Pendant Earrings

Queen Maxima often wears these dramatic diamond pendant earrings, which originally belonged to Queen Juliana. And this pair is not only beautiful but also versatile: other drop stones can be swapped out, including Juliana’s gorgeous briolette-cut aquamarines.

6. The Vasa Earrings

When Princess Madeleine of Sweden was married in 2013, she wore one of the oldest pairs of diamond earrings in the Swedish royal collection: the Vasa earrings, which originally belonged to an eighteenth-century Swedish queen consort, Louisa Ulrika. The earrings feature intricate central diamond motifs surrounded by a delicate frame, which can also be worn separately.

5. Queen Mathilde’s Diamond Fringe Earrings

When she gussies up for a white-tie event, Queen Mathilde of the Belgians often wears this glittering pair of diamond fringe earrings. I’m not sure that we know the provenance of these, but they’re a great complement to either of the diamond tiaras she wears.

4. The Norwegian Diamond Pendant Earrings

This dramatic pair of pendant earrings, worn today by Queen Sonja of Norway, has major historical impact: the pendants were once part of a necklace that belonged to Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom (mother of Norway’s Queen Maud). It’s no surprise that Sonja often wears these with the large heirloom diamond tiara from Josephine of Leuchtenberg’s collection.

3. Queen Ena’s Diamond Earrings

The collection of joyas de pasar pieces in Spain — a group of Queen Ena’s jewels that has been designated to be worn by the Spanish queen — includes this enormous pair of round diamond earrings. Talk about sparkle!

2. The Brazilian Diamond Earrings

Queen Silvia of Sweden wears what must be the largest pair of pear-shaped diamond earrings in any royal collection. The diamonds themselves were inherited by Josephine of Leuchtenberg from her sister, Amelie, who was married to the Emperor of Brazil. It was actually Silvia who had the diamonds set as a pair of earrings in the late 1970s. (Good work, Your Maj!)

1. Diamond Earrings from the Danish Crown Jewels

If you’re a Dane, congratulations: you’re technically part owner of these fabulous earrings! These diamond earrings are a part of the Danish crown jewels, which are owned by the state but at the disposal of the monarch. The earrings were made in 1840 by C.M. Weisshaupt; they also have a coordinating necklace and brooch.

Royal Jewel Rewind: Queen Margrethe’s 60th Birthday (Part Two)

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One more look back to the birthday party thrown for Queen Margrethe II of Denmark’s 60th birthday, fifteen years ago this week. Let’s have a look at the events held on her actual birthday, April 16, shall we?

Queen Margrethe greeted the public wearing purple and pearls. The brooch she has pinned to her jacket is the horizontal brooch with three pearls that she received as an eighteenth-birthday present from her great-aunt, Lady Patricia Ramsay (who was born Princess Patricia of Connaught). The baby, if you can believe it, is Prince Nikolai, Prince Joachim’s eldest son and Margrethe’s first grandchild. He’s a teenager now!

For the reception at the town hall in Copenhagen, Princess Alexandra wore white and gray pearl earrings and a brooch with a large gray pearl.

Princess Benedikte and Queen Anne-Marie, of course, attended the birthday events. Benedikte is wearing a pair of brooches on the lapel of her jacket. She sometimes wears two of her diamond stars during the daytime, but the photos here aren’t clear enough to decide which brooches they are. Both of the Queen’s sisters also wore pearls.

Anne-Marie also wore her sapphire brooch. Her elder daughter, Princess Alexia, appears to be wearing Queen Alexandrine’s diamond and ruby brooch (given to Alexia by Queen Ingrid) pinned to her dress.

Queen Silvia of Sweden wore gold jewelry…

…while her daughters wore simple jewelry and pearls.

Queen Sonja of Norway wore earrings and a pearl bracelet.

The choker necklace that Princess Märtha Louise of Norway wore definitely belongs to 2000.

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands wore a diamond brooch and a twisted necklace of small pearls.

Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte also wore pearls.

Queen Sofia of Spain wore pearls as well, pairing them with an intriguing pearl drop brooch.

That night, a gala was held for the Queen at Christiansborg Palace. She wore diamonds: her mother’s Floral Aigrette Tiara, a pair of square diamond brooches that apparently belonged to Josephine of Leuchtenberg (and were originally used as clips to fasten the train of a court dress at the shoulders), and an elaborate choker necklace and earrings.

Princess Alexandra again wore the Alexandrine Diamond Drop Tiara (the only tiara she wore during her time as a Danish princess), pairing it with her amethyst earrings and pendant.

Queen Anne-Marie wore the Greek royal family’s remarkable Olive Wreath Ruby Parure.

Princess Alexia wore her diamond tiara, diamond earrings, and a gorgeous sparkling gown.

Alexia’s younger sister, Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark, wore a simple diamond necklace with her gown.

For the second evening in a row, Princess Alexandra of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg wore her grandmother’s Baden Palmette Tiara, pairing it with an elaborate diamond and seed pearl choker. Her mother, Princess Benedikte, wore her fringe tiara again, while her sister, Nathalie, wore her mother’s floral birthday tiara.

Queen Sonja of Norway (in a picture that appears to be flipped) wore Josephine of Leuchtenberg’s elaborate diamond tiara, as well as diamond earrings and a diamond necklace.

Princess Märtha Louise (in another flipped picture) wore the tiara she received from King Olav for a second night.

Queen Silvia of Sweden went for major diamonds: Queen Sofia’s Tiara, plus diamond earrings, a diamond necklace, and a large brooch from the Braganza parure.

Crown Princess Victoria wore the four button tiara, the smaller of the two button sparklers in the collection of the Swedish royal family.

Princess Madeleine, who was still seventeen, had not yet received the traditional Scandinavian royal eighteenth-birthday gift of a tiara, but she wore ornaments in her hair. Even better, the diamonds suspended from her necklace are the diamond drops from the Connaught tiara.

Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte of Luxembourg also attended the gala — it’s difficult to see, but I believe she’s wearing the smaller of the Luxembourg floral tiaras.