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Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Royal Ascot Jewels (Day 1)

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It’s that time of year again, magpies — the most ridiculous, rollicking royal good time of the season, Royal Ascot! The Windsor women always let a little bit loose in the fashion department for the races. Let’s have a look at the sparkling jewels (and, of course, the marvelous millinery) that made appearances in the royal box on the first race day. And be sure to head back here in about twelve hours for more from Day 2!

The big cheese chose a perfectly proportioned blue chapeau for the first race day. She also debuted a new brooch! This one features a pair of diamond and pearl swans, made by G. Collins and Sons. (Also, apologies to HM for picking the one photo where she clearly blinked and looked like she was ready for a nap — sometimes the jewels are most photogenic in the snaps that are less-flattering to the wearer, sadly!)


Camilla recovered from the cold that plagued her during Garter Day enough to enjoy a spot o’ racing on Day 1, thankfully! She went with her pearl earrings, her pearl choker with diamond clasp, and a pair of dragonfly brooches. The brooches are from Van Cleef & Arpels, and one is set with diamonds, while the other is set with sapphires. The hat, however, appears to be dragging her sideways.

Well, hello to you, too, Lady Wessex! Not only am I a fan of your hat, which is a delightful combination of caviar and tamales, you’ve also worn an absolutely gorgeous aquamarine brooch. According to the internet’s resident Countess of Wessex expert, Anna, Sophie first wore this one in 2011 at the princely wedding in Monaco.

It’s not really Hat Christmas until the Yorkies appear, is it? We were treated to a double dose on Day 1, where Beatrice wore a rather demure hat and a GIANT gold and blue cuff bracelet.

Eugenie went light on the jewels, sticking with rings and a delicate bracelet. Unfortunately, her hat made her head look peculiarly flat, and judging by her expression here, she may have lost some £££.

Princess Anne added a seahorse brooch and pearls to her ensemble, which is rather frilly for Anne. The hat looks like a toddler’s ponytail with a birdcage glued to it. (Also, doesn’t Harry look precious/hilarious in his little top hat? Love the flower in the lapel, Hazza!)

The royal family’s resident Olympic equestrian, Zara Phillips, wore a lovely pair of sparkling earrings with her monochrome outfit, plus a forehead monster hat that may have obscured her view of the races. Her husband, Mike Tindall, accessorized with an imitation of the royal wave that would have sent him straight to the tower 500 years ago.

Birgitte Gloucester wore a lovely set of pearls and a brooch that I want to see in a clearer photograph, but her hat is verging a bit to close to beachwear territory for my comfort.

Princess Michael went with pearls, too, and a hat that I don’t think is supposed to be worn flat like that. This hat needs some jaunt, M-C.

Viscountess Linley went with pretty standard pearls, but I WANT THIS COAT. The hat, on the other hand, looks to have been sloppily embellished with a hot glue gun and a strand of the cheapest fake flowers from the clearance bin at Michaels. Ten points from Gryffindor, Serena.

Seriously, though, the coat.

And, as usual, Royal Ascot has brought us an extra bonus royal: Princess Haya! She’s the sister of the King of Jordan and a wife of the Sheikh of Dubai, and she’s wearing good earrings. I can forgive the hatsplosion because it’s a nice color, but really, isn’t this outfit fairly bellowing for a necklace?

That’s it for our first day of Royal Ascot, everybody! Stay tuned later today for a rundown of the royal jewels and hats that appeared on Day Two!

Saturday Sparkler Special: Spanish Royal Tiaras

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Queen Letizia and Queen Sofia of Spain

In the wake of King Felipe VI of Spain’s proclamation on Thursday, there’s been quite a bit of talk about the new jewelry that Queen Letizia will have access to in her new royal role. Some have even gone so far as to discuss the “crown jewels” that Letizia would “inherit” from Queen Sofia.

Here’s the deal, though — the tiaras, necklaces, and other jewels that the royal ladies in Spain wear aren’t crown jewels. None of them are even state property. Every single piece belongs either to the family (in a sort of trust situation) or to the wearers themselves. In the interest of setting the record on Letizia’s jewels straight — and to let us marvel at royal tiaras, because what’s more fun than that? — here’s the lowdown on each of the royal tiaras in Spain, including who owns them, who made them, and what happens to them post-abdication.

Queen Sofia at the wedding of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark in 2004

The Pearl and Diamond Tiara

Owner: King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia
Maker: Cartier, ca. 1920s
Materials: diamonds, pearls, platinum
Wearers: Queen Sofia, Infanta Cristina
Post-abdication: Still belongs to Juan Carlos and Sofia
The Cartier Pearl and Diamond Tiara is a piece from the collection of Queen Ena, the British princess who married King Alfonso XIII in 1906. (Ena is the great-grandmother of King Felipe VI.) In the 1920s, she had the jewelers at Cartier dismantle a tiara given to her by her mother-in-law as a wedding present. They reused the gemstones to construct this new tiara, which originally also had emeralds that could be worn in place of the pearls. Ena left the tiara to her daughter, Infanta Maria Cristina; however, after Maria Cristina’s death in 1996, it was reacquired by King Juan Carlos for Queen Sofia. She lent the tiara to her daughter, Infanta Cristina, in 2010 for the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.

Juan Carlos and Sofia at their wedding in Athens in 1962

The Prussian Tiara
Owner: Queen Sofia
Maker: Koch, ca. 1913
Materials: diamonds, platinum
Wearers: Queen Sofia, Queen Letizia, Infanta Elena, Infanta Cristina
Post-abdication: Still belongs to Sofia
One of the most important tiaras in Queen Sofia’s collection is her wedding tiara. Made in 1913 by the German jewelry firm Koch, it was a wedding gift from Kaiser Wilhelm II (Sofia’s great-grandfather) to his daughter, Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia (Sofia’s grandmother). Viktoria Luise wore the tiara on her wedding day. She later gave the tiara to her daughter, Friederike, who married King Paul of Greece. Sofia received the tiara from her mother, and she wore it when she married Infante Juan Carlos of Spain in Athens in 1962. She’s worn it throughout her reign, and she’s lent it to her daughters and to her daughter-in-law. Letizia followed in her mother-in-law’s (and great-grandmother-in-law’s) footsteps, borrowing the piece to wear as her bridal tiara in 2004.

Queen Sofia at a state banquet for the president of Lebanon in 2009

The Diamond Floral Tiara
Owner: Queen Sofia
Maker: J.P. Collins, ca. 1879
Materials: diamonds
Wearers: Queen Sofia, Queen Letizia, Infanta Elena, Infanta Cristina
Post-abdication: Still belongs to Sofia
One of the oldest heirloom tiaras in Spanish royal hands, King Alfonso XII of Spain ordered this tiara from J.P. Collins in 1879 as a wedding present for his bride, Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria. (For years, Mellerio dits Meller was pegged as the house responsible for this tiara, but the Spanish court later confirmed Collins, a British jewelry firm, as the maker.) The tiara was sold when the royal family went into exile in the 1930s. In 1962, the piece was purchased by Francisco Franco, the Spanish head of state, as a wedding present from the people of Spain to Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark, the new wife of Infante Juan Carlos. Sofia has owned the tiara ever since, though she has been generous in sharing it with her daughters (one of whom, Cristina, wore this as her wedding tiara) and her daughter-in-law.

Queen Sofia at a state banquet for the president of France in 2009

The Niarchos Rubies
Owner: Queen Sofia
Maker: Van Cleef & Arpels, ca. 1960s
Materials: rubies, diamonds, gold
Wearers: Queen Sofia
Post-abdication: Still belongs to Sofia
Another one of Queen Sofia’s wedding presents was this parure of Van Cleef & Arpels ruby jewels, given to her by the Greek shipping magnate Stavros Niarchos. Sofia has worn the tiara in two versions: either with a single row of rubies and diamonds or a double strand. To my knowledge, she has not lent the tiara from this set to any of the other Spanish royal ladies.

Queen Sofia at King Carl XVI Gustaf of Spain’s 50th birthday celebrations in 1996

The Mellerio Shell Tiara

Owner: Queen Sofia
Maker: Mellerio dits Meller, ca. 1867
Materials: diamonds, pearls
Wearers: Queen Sofia, Queen Letizia, Infanta Elena, Infanta Cristina, Infanta Margarita
Post-abdication: Still belongs to Sofia
Sofia’s wedding present from her parents-in-law is the oldest tiara in her collection. The shell tiara was made by Mellerio in 1867 for Queen Isabella II of Spain, who gave it to her daughter, Infanta Isabella, as a wedding present. Infanta Isabella bequeathed the tiara to her nephew, King Alfonso XIII. His wife, Queen Ena, wore the tiara occasionally; she also loaned it to her daughter-in-law, Princess Maria Mercedes, the wife of her son, Juan (better known to us as the Count of Barcelona). In 1962, Ena, Juan, and Maria Mercedes jointly gifted the tiara to Sofia. She wore it for the first time at her pre-wedding ball, and she’s gotten a lot of use out of it in the years since. She’s also loaned it to her sister-in-law, Infanta Margarita, both of her daughters, and her daughter-in-law, Letizia.

Queen Sofia at a state banquet for the king of Saudi Arabia in 2007

The Diamond Loop Tiara
Owner: King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia
Maker: Cartier, date unknown
Materials: diamonds, pearls, platinum
Wearers: Queen Sofia
Post-abdication: Still belongs to Juan Carlos and Sofia
One of the newer additions to Sofia’s tiara arsenal is another heirloom piece. The pearl and diamond loop tiara was made by Cartier for Queen Maria Cristina, mother of King Alfonso XIII. He inherited the tiara from his mother, and in 1935, he gave it as a wedding present to his new daughter-in-law, Princess Maria Mercedes. While she owned the tiara until her death in 2000, she loaned it to her daughter, Infanta Pilar, as a bridal tiara in 1967. When Pilar’s daughter, Simoneta, married in 1990, Maria Mercedes loaned the tiara to her as well. After his mother’s death, Juan Carlos obtained the tiara, either via inheritance or by purchasing it from another family member (possibly Pilar). Queen Sofia (who also borrowed the tiara in the 1970s to wear to the Persepolis celebrations in Iran) has worn it twice since.

Queen Sofia at a state banquet for the president of Mexico in 2014

The Fleur-de-Lys Tiara
Owner: The Spanish monarch (King Felipe VI)
Maker: Ansorena, ca. 1906
Materials: diamonds
Wearers: The Spanish queen (or queen consort)
Post-abdication: Transfers to Letizia’s collection
The grandest Spanish tiara — called “La Buena,” or “The Good One” by the family — was Queen Ena’s wedding tiara. It was a gift from her new husband, King Alfonso XIII, who had ordered the piece from Ansorena. The piece has only ever been worn in public by Spanish queens (and by Maria Mercedes, the Countess of Barcelona — AKA the woman who should have been the Spanish queen while the family was in exile). Of all of the tiaras worn by Queen Sofia, this one is the only one that is now available exclusively for Queen Letizia to wear. It’s one of the “joyas de pasar,” a collection of jewels designated by Queen Ena in her will for the use of Spanish queens. Here’s a list of the jewels that Queen Ena bequeathed specifically to the queens of Spain:

  • The fleur-de-lys tiara
  • A diamond collet necklace
  • A pair of diamond earrings
  • A pair of matching diamond bracelets
  • A diamond brooch with a pearl pendant
  • A single-stranded pearl necklace
  • A four-stranded pearl necklace
  • A gray pearl brooch with a pearl pendant

These are the only jewels that have automatically transferred to Letizia’s jewel box following the abdication. That said, I think it’s quite likely that we will continue to see her wearing jewels that belong to her mother-in-law. Letizia’s jewelry collection is small (and possibly only includes one tiara, the rumored Ansorena piece that has never actually been seen in public), and she has only worn three tiaras so far: the Prussian, the Floral, and the Shell. All three were loaned to her by Sofia, and none of them have automatically become hers following the abdication.

Sofia has been generous in loaning jewels to all of the women in her family so far, and I wouldn’t at all be surprised if Letizia continues to borrow pieces from her. Sofia might even choose eventually to give some of her jewels to her daughter-in-law. But Sofia’s own personal jewels do not automatically become her daughter-in-law’s property following the abdication, regardless of the claims of various magazines. Even if she’s no longer the consort of the reigning king, Sofia’s going to have plenty to do during her son’s reign, and she’s going to need her jewels!

Royal Jewel Rewind: The Wessex Wedding (1999)

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The Earl and Countess of Wessex depart St. George’s Chapel after their wedding

Fifteen years ago today, a rather different British royal wedding was held at St. George’s Chapel inside the walls of Windsor Castle. The ceremony joined together the newly-minted Earl of Wessex, youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II, and Sophie Rhys-Jones. No balcony kiss, no enormous guest list, no London cathedral or abbey on the menu for this royal wedding, but the guests still managed to sparkle — especially the bride! Enjoy this Royal Jewel Rewind, featuring the jewels worn by the Windsors at the last royal wedding of the last millenium!

The Countess of Wessex

Ahead of the royal wedding, the same questions were asked that are always posed about a royal bridal tiara: will it be something borrowed or something new? Diana had something borrowed (from her family); Fergie had something new, purchased for her (eventually) by her parents-in-law. Sophie’s tiara, however, was something sort of in between. It’s made of four antique elements meshed into a new tiara. The official word from the palace on the piece is that it was from the private collection of the Queen, but that it had been altered by the crown jeweller.

Sophie Rhys-Jones arriving at her wedding, wearing a veil dotted with crystals

That’s all that’s ever been said by the palace about the piece. Jewelry sleuths on the internet, however, found a piece of evidence that suggests that the four elements of the tiara were originally a set of detachable diamond anthemions that could be worn on Queen Victoria’s Regal Circlet, which dates to 1858. A photograph was uncovered that showed empty places in the storage box for Victoria’s circlet that matched the shape of the anthemions on Sophie’s wedding tiara. None of the portraits or photographs of Queen Victoria wearing the circlet show the anthemions. Instead, she wore the circlet with alternating fleur-de-lys and Maltese cross elements. The circlet is no longer used at all; its diamonds were removed in the 1930s to make a new crown for Queen Elizabeth’s coronation, and the empty frame of the piece is in the Museum of London.

Queen Victoria wears the circlet in 1861 (source)

If the theory is true (and it hasn’t been either confirmed or denied), then Sophie Wessex received a new bridal tiara that had serious heirloom roots. It also meant that the Queen, who had already lost two daughters-in-law by 1999, was not handing over a significant tiara that could potentially leave the family later. And bonus: she was reusing pieces in the collection that had essentially gone unused since they were created a century and a half before. Canny!

The Earl and Countess of Wessex

The tiara wasn’t Sophie’s only accessory on her wedding day. She also wore a necklace and earrings designed for her by her new husband, Prince Edward. Both the pieces combine white and black pearls, and the necklace features a cross pendant. Her wedding ring was also new and, like the tiara, was also made by the man who was then the crown jeweller, David Thomas.

After the bride, the most important woman at any British royal wedding is, of course, the Queen. She and the other female guests had some rather interesting territory to navigate jewel-wise at this particular wedding. The wedding was at five o’clock in the evening — a time when day attire is still worn, including hats — but Edward and Sophie requested that women wear formal evening gowns and no hats instead. So what do you wear, jewel-wise — the diamonds you’d normally wear with your evening gown, or the pearls you’d wear at 5 PM?

The Queen struck a compromise by wearing her customary pearl-necklace-and-earrings daytime combo — except that they were the same pearls she wore to her own wedding 50 years earlier. And for evening flair, she added one of the blingiest diamond brooches she owns, the Williamson Brooch. (She also cheated and wore a feather fascinator. Paul Burrell, that problematic royal butler, reportedly sniffed that there was absolutely no way that HM “would appear in public before 6 without something on her head.”)

The Queen Mother arriving inside St. George’s Chapel for her grandson’s wedding (source)

The Queen and her mother obviously had a bit of a confab about the dress code, because the Windsor matriarch showed up wearing roughly the same jewel combination (and verboten hat) as her younger daughter. Three strands of pearls are paired with the diamond drop earrings from the Greville bequest. The stunning sapphire and diamond brooch, which features two pendant drops, was a wedding gift to the Queen Mum in 1923 from her mother-in-law, Queen Mary. The entire ensemble is recycled from her 80th birthday celebrations.

The public mainly glimpsed the Queen Mum at the wedding via the television coverage; just shy of her 100th birthday at this wedding, she sensibly skipped the group pictures on the steep steps of the chapel. (So did Princess Margaret, who was recovering after scalding her feet in the bath. You can glimpse her pearl earrings here.) Even so, the best story of all from this wedding involves the Queen Mum tossing aside her walking sticks to do the twist on the dance floor, much to the exasperation of the Queen. The woman knew how to party.

Princess Anne leaves the chapel, along with other royals and Sophie’s family

Looking through the photographs from this wedding reminds you how few senior royal women there were in Britain in 1999. Post-Diana, pre-Camilla and Kate, the other major senior royal lady at the wedding was Princess Anne. With her green ensemble, she wore a pearl choker with a bejeweled clasp (though apparently not the famous Marie Feodorovna choker from her collection), plus pearl earrings and a diamond floral brooch. Behind her, you can see her daughter, Zara, who wore a necklace with a diamond cross pendant.



The Duchess of Kent, Princess Beatrice, Prince William, and Prince Harry

One of the other royal ladies who you can spot in the photographs on the steps is the Duchess of Kent, wearing simple pearl jewelry and standing beside the precious tiny royal grandchildren, Beatrice, William, and Harry. You can just see Eugenie’s jacket on the right side of the photo. She might have been cropped out because she kept doing this:

Beatrice, William, Harry, and Eugenie

Royal weddings are rough.

Other guests are visible in photos that I’m not able to include here. Princess Michael of Kent wore THIS MAGNIFICENCE. The Duchess of Gloucester was elegant in old-fashioned pearls. Lady Gabriella wore a more modern twist on the pearl choker necklace. I’ve still not managed to spot either Princess Alexandra or Princess Alice, both of whom attended. And two foreign royal guests — Princess Alexandra of Denmark and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece — apparently snuck past photographers entirely.

But I’ll leave you with this rather charming photo of the families waving off Edward and Sophie as they embarked on their carriage ride through the streets of Windsor. This royal wedding may not have had the same amount of pomp and circumstance as the big London shindigs, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the weddings of the Queen’s remaining royal grandchildren (Harry, Beatrice, and Eugenie) look a bit more like this wedding. And that’s ultimately okay with me — as long as we still get to see a little bit of bling!