Well ho, ho, ho, friends: Christmas brought some of our favorite royals out to play. With Prince Philip still hospitalized but reportedly in good spirits, the British hit church on Christmas morning at Sandringham; meanwhile, Christmas Eve services were attended by the royal families in Norway and Denmark. It was an understated holiday all around, but that's never stopped us before...
Best Pass
Queen Elizabeth
Christmas without your spouse at your side? Pass. Wear whatever you like, QEII. Carry on.
Best in Festive
The Duchess of Cambridge
Left to Right: Princess Eugenie, The Duchess of Cambridge, Zara Phillips. Click to enlarge.
On a low-key holiday, those that made an effort shall be commended. Eugenie is awarded for adding some Christmas-y color in, while Zara gets points for turning in the required amount of hat flair for a British royal event. Only Catherine did both, though, with her gorgeous wine coat and déjà vu hat. She wins the most festive award of the day.
Worst in Mismatched
The Duchess of Cornwall
L to R: The Duchess of Cornwall, The Princess Royal
Oh, the combos. Anne's slightly off hat-to-coat combo (what season are we in again?) is no match to what I am pretty sure are army green boots on Camilla. What a mishmash duo...and somehow, I'd expect no more from either.
Best in Plaid, Tartan, etc., etc.
Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor
L to R: Autumn Phillips, Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, Queen Margrethe, Crown Princess Mary
I suppose there's a certain festiveness to a good tartan...alas, certain things are never quite as charming past a certain age. Lady Louise was cute as a button, Queen Margrethe was Queen Margrethe, and Autumn and Mary sadly furthered two of my least favorite trends right now: short maternity tents, and anything resembling a SHOOTIE. Sigh.
Best in Miniature Headgear
Margarita Armstrong-Jones
L to R: Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Margarita Armstrong-Jones, Princess Isabella
This one's the hardest to award, by far. Ingrid's cute bow? Isabella's adorable purple? It's gotta be Margarita with the combo for the win.
Best in Understated
Princess Beatrice
L to R: Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Queen Sonja, Princess Beatrice, Lady Sarah Chatto
Ingrid's bow really was the best part of the whole Christmas appearance from the Norwegian royals, with Mette-Marit and Sonja blending right in. Lady Sarah did the same, but then again, understated is a permanent state for her. Understated is not at all Princess Beatrice's regular mode, but she managed to pull out the best-coordinated look of the non-looks.
Best in Retro
The Countess of Wessex
L to R: The Countess of Wessex, Viscountess Linley
Retro's tricky to do sometimes. Sophie's almost there, just a wee bit bigger on that pill box and we'd've had it, but Serena...well, she overdosed, poor dear. Though I'll say this: that's a hat.
Who made your best- and worst-dressed list this year?
Photos: Chris Jackson/Getty Images/Zimbio/Daylife/Belga/Newspix
We have bemoaned the size of Crown Princess Mary's tiara collection many a time on this site. She has just two, plus the loaned Midnight Tiara, and one of them is a tiara that many find way too small for a future queen. But here's a thought: if you were to value jewel collections by the weight of their historical provenance, rather than just cumulative carats of bling or pure variety, Mary might come out farther ahead in the game than you think. Yes, her ruby parure - containing your fourth favorite tiara - carries some hefty historical weight indeed.
The Danish Ruby Parure Tiara
This tiara tale begins, like many others, at the court of Napoleon Bonaparte. When planning his coronation as Emperor of the French in 1804, he wanted to ensure that it would be the grandest possible event. He went so far as to give money to his marshals so that they could buy their wives the proper amount of jewels for the occasion. One of those men, Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, bought a ruby and diamond wreath tiara and accompanying parure for his wife, Désirée Clary, and she wore it on that historical day. This couple would later become King Carl XIV Johan and Queen Desideria of Sweden, and the jewels found a new Swedish home.
Queen Alexandrine of Denmark
In the modern history of this tiara, it is so well associated with Queen Ingrid of Denmark (who was born a Princess of Sweden) that many assume it made the trip from Sweden to Denmark along with the rest of Ingrid's wedding gifts. In fact it came over much earlier, with another Swedish princess that became a Danish queen: Queen Louise, who married the future Frederick VIII in 1869. Louise received the tiara as a wedding gift from her grandmother, Queen Josephine of Sweden (Désirée's daughter-in-law), because the rubies and diamonds echoed the colors of the Danish flag. Queen Louise gave the tiara to her son Crown Prince Christian's bride Alexandrine as a wedding gift; Alexandrine would have to wait until Louise passed away to inherit the rest of the parure.
Queen Ingrid in the original parure
It was Alexandrine that gave it to Princess Ingrid of Sweden when she married Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark in 1935. You've probably noticed by now that the pictures of the tiara in use so far look nothing like the tiara we know today (nothing slips past you!), and you're quite right. The original version was more like a small wreath than a proper tiara, but Ingrid fixed that. In 1947, she took two of the brooches that came with the initial parure (which she can be seen wearing above) and added them to the tiara, giving it much more substance and turning it into a proper diadem that still had a lovely wreath structure from the random placement of the leaves.
A young Princess Benedikte playing with her mother's rubies
You will often see this set referred to as "Ingrid's rubies" and that makes sense: not only is she responsible for the Extreme Tiara Makeover, this was one of her signature pieces. Apart from allowing her daughter Princess Benedikte to wear the parure for a play Ingrid put together on the life of Queen Desideria, Ingrid kept the rubies to herself and did not share with the other ladies in the family.
Queen Ingrid in the altered parure
When Queen Ingrid died in 2000 she left the parure to her beloved grandson, Crown Prince Frederik, thereby ensuring that the future Crown Princess would have a truly grand and historical set of jewels to wear. It is the first tiara Mary ever wore - she wore the set twice for pre-wedding events in 2004, though she obviously opted for her wedding tiara on her wedding day - and it is the tiara she chooses for her grandest events. It is her "big gun" and she saves it for big gun events. She wears it for the annual New Years Court gala, the fanciest occasion of the year for the Danish royals, and she took it out of the country for the first time in her marriage for the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden. (No mistake there: Ingrid was married in that same cathedral.)
Crown Princess Mary in the tiara as she first wore it
The parure today includes a huge necklace, a set of earrings, a brooch, a bracelet, and a ring. It's interesting to note in close ups that the larger rubies are actually a couple smaller rubies joining forces to make one larger piece - that's not evident from farther away. (Large rubies are rare and expensive, so it makes practical sense to set it this way.) It's also interesting to investigate the color of the rubies; they often appear pink, magenta perhaps, rather than pure red. Crown Princess Mary has made some very successful combinations of this parure with dresses in many shades of blue, and I think the pink tones help her out there.
The parure's brooch
Ingrid usually wore the whole set at one time. But all together, it is enormous and possibly a bit overwhelming (certainly it must be a trial to wear!). So Mary's come up with some inventive ways to wear different pieces - the earrings can now take different pendants, she's worn the pendant of the brooch as a pendant on a necklace, that sort of thing.
The parure, L to R: the full parure; the pendant of the brooch used as a necklace; (above) the bracelet and ring; (below) the full earrings which have additional wires to wrap around the top of the ear to distribute their weight; the top of the earrings with a pearl pendant; and just the top of the earrings used for a more casual event
She's also taken a page out of Ingrid's book and has altered the shape of the tiara to her own taste. It's certainly not as large of a change as Ingrid made. She's rearranged the leaves, making a more compact shape, and she put it on a new frame customized to her head shape, which allows her to wear it upright more easily. The new tiara debuted in 2010.
Mary's tiara overhaul
I have to say, I miss the old version. I didn't even know that I appreciated the leafy randomness of the thing until she took some of it away. That said, I know this: a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. Kudos to her for making it her own and doing whatever she needs to do to make such a cumbersome (grand and gorgeous, but cumbersome) piece work for her. We still have the sparkle, no matter which version you prefer.
Mary with the altered tiara
So, do you see why I think Mary comes out farther ahead in the jewel game than it might initially appear? She might not have access to as many jewels as Crown Princess Victoria or Princess Máxima, but which other crown princess has sole custody of a tiara with this much history and this large of an accompanying parure to boot? None of them have that. And though I would never call myself a big fan of her wedding tiara, after a full review of this set, I can understand why it is what it is: it's light, it's got to be easy to wear, it's basically the polar opposite of the rubies.
A sparkly view is above; for even more information and loads more glittering shots, I highly recommend you watch Part 1 of De Kongelige Juveler, where you can hear Queen Margrethe and Crown Princess Mary discuss this piece and what it means in their own words.
Always a fan favorite, it’s no surprise this sentimental tiara with a memorable design made your list of favorites.
A sketch of the gem - you will note it is upside down, in stomacher fashion - from the couple's wedding gifts
Made by Cartier, this diamond ornament was a gift to Princess Margaret of Connaught when she married Crown Prince Gustav Adolf of Sweden in 1905 from the Khedive of Egypt. A fitting gift, as the couple had first met in the Khedive's country. It was also used as a flexible stomacher or ornament of sorts, as shown in the original sketch of the Princess’ wedding gifts and as worn by her in the portrait shown.
Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden
When Margaret died in 1920, her daughter Princess Ingrid inherited the piece. She brought it with her when she married Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and eventually became Queen of Denmark. It remained her personal property until she passed away in 2000.
Queen Ingrid of Denmark
The Danish royal family under Queen Margrethe does not do much sharing when it comes to their jewelry, but things were a little better when Ingrid ruled the roost (of course, Ingrid had more jewels than Margrethe does, as Ingrid did not leave all of her stash to her oldest daughter alone).
Princess Margaretha of Sweden
She loaned this one to her niece, Sweden's Princess Margaretha, while she was in Denmark for Margrethe's 18th birthday celebrations. And then she began a family tradition that continues to this day when she loaned the Khedive to each of her three daughters on their wedding days. Every female descendant of Ingrid's has worn the tiara for their wedding ever since Queen Anne-Marie in 1964. Anne-Marie's youngest daughter, Princess Theodora, is the only granddaughter currently unmarried; after that, it will likely be a while before we see if the tradition will continue to the great-granddaughters as well.
When Ingrid died, she left the tiara to Anne-Marie, her youngest daughter. (Anne-Marie is the one that had a taller base put on the tiara, which is why it looks quite different on Princess Nathalie in the photos above.) It's interesting to ponder what will happen to the tiara now that it is in the Greek royal family. The Greeks are royals without a country, but since they have such close family ties to other current royal families, we still see them attending big events regularly. However, it is inevitable that as time and generations pass on they will have fewer royal events to attend, and a lack of tiara events combined with the occasional need for funds is often the culprit behind the sale of family jewels.
This is one of the most interesting tiara designs in use: the swirled design seems modern from far away, but the detail up close turns that modern clock back in time. It’s never been a huge favorite of mine, but if I had to guess why so many of you cast your vote in its favor, I’d say it’s maybe one part design to two parts sentimentality. Am I close?
Why do you like this one? (Or why not, if it didn’t make your list?)
1. Day 1 of the couple's trip to Australia, 20 November, beginning with (a) flats and a hat to open the Sculpture By The Sea exhibition and then (b) ditching the hat and switching to heels for more events. Prefer the hat version, myself. 2. Meeting the Governor-General, 20 November. Simple but lovely dress, the perfect background for what we're all really looking at: the twins! 3. Day 2, 21 November. Ah, yes! Much better without some strange winter jacket on top.
4. a) Dinner on day 2, 21 November, in (b) a repeated dress from Diane von Furstenberg. Look familiar? It's the short version of the dress Carole Middleton wore to the evening bash after William and Catherine's wedding. 5. Day 3, 22 November, in an outfit that morphed as the day went on. She took a repeated dress (which many of you will be happy to see again, its last appearance was much loved) and topped it with a hat (a) and then wore it without the hat (b) and then added a ruffled front cardi (c - while checking out a portrait of herself, which must be a surreal experience) and also wore it with both cardigan and hat. And that's what we call coming prepared for all eventualities!
6. Day 4, 23 November. I usually just go for whatever picture shows the outfit fully, but I couldn't resist the ridiculous chicness of this pose in that Egg chair. I like the outfit, too, but the chair...sorry, I'm an interior designer. Can't help myself. 7. Dinner, day 4, 23 November, repeating another dress from when she was pregnant with the twins - early on, during Nikolaos and Tatiana's wedding festivities. 8. Day 5, 24 November. Love the more casual shirt with the slim fit white skirt. 9. Dinner, day 5, 24 November. Oh, no. Not a fan of the random patchwork business. 10. Day 6, 25 November. Hmm...a lovely pop of color and print, or way too much of a 1970s flashback?
11. a) Reception on day 6, 25 November, wearing b) a new Georg Jensen necklace. (Here's the full fantastic red dress.) This whole trip was a showcase of jewelry from all Mary's regulars: Marianne Dulong, Ole Lynggaard, and of course Georg Jensen. Several items were new, too, which makes one wonder if she's sitting on a stash of unimagined size, or if she's found other ways to work out loans for herself. 12. a) Day 7, 26 November, repeating outfit #2 but adding a brooch (b). Strange positioning there, no? 13. Gala dinner to finish out the official portion of the trip, 26 November. I do believe this is a reworked version of the dress she wore to Victoria and Daniel's wedding - the strange lace on the top has been removed, and the shoulder drape has been added. I did not like it then at all, and now I am in love. Perfect!
Lord knows I love a man in uniform - I certainly take every possible opportunity on this blog to point that out. But as I said when we saw Mary in her military best a few weeks ago, I also love a lady in uniform, and I decided that it's high time we threw a little appreciation in the female uni direction.
Spotting royal ladies in uniform is not nearly as common a sight as it is with their male counterparts, but that doesn't mean they don't have just as much aplomb when they do bust out the bona fide military fashion. Some of them have spent actual time in training with the military, and some wear the uniforms of their honorary appointments (and others wear non-military uniforms), but they always do whatever group they're representing proud.
Princess and Queen Elizabeth
World War II really did require all of Britain's resources, including the future Queen. Princess Elizabeth trained up as a mechanic, and later sported a specially designed uniform to ride sidesaddle each year at Trooping the Colour. She stopped riding during the ceremony when her trusty horse Burmese was retired in 1986, and now rides in a phaeton for the event.
Princess Astrid and Princess Anne (twice)
Not to worry, though, there's another fierce lady keeping Trooping the Colour from being a male-dominated royal event: the Princess Royal. Anne is the royal I most often call out for looking crazy good in a uniform, and I wouldn't mind if she just went ahead and ditched all of her 1980s treasures and went the uniform route every day. Princess Astrid of Belgium, another sovereign's daughter, also gets a piece of that sentiment. She's always sure to wear her uniform for National Day, and she always looks smart as can be. I think she might operate best with a limited hat selection, to tell you the truth.
The Countess of Wessex, the Duchess of Cornwall, and the late Princess of Wales
Like Anne, Camilla and Sophie also have honorary military appointments to their names. They refrain from using their ceremonial uniforms like their sister-in-law does, but are always game to muck in and suit up when they visit their regiments. See how delighted Sophie is to be donning that helmet? That's dedication, friends. Diana held a few honorary appointments of her own, but was most famous for her cheeky takes on military style rather than any actual uniforms. The only proper uniform I've ever seen her in (perhaps someone else will have another example to share in the comments) is not military, but from the Red Cross.
Princess Iman, Queen Noor, and Queen Rania
Over in Jordan, they have a tradition of sending certain young family members to Sandhurst in Britain for military training, and the females are no exception: Princess Iman (daughter of King Hussein and Queen Noor) is a grad. And neither Queen Noor nor Queen Rania are strangers to wearing the uniforms of their honorary military positions.
Princess Marie, Charlotte Casiraghi, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Crown Princess Mary, Crown Princess Victoria
In Denmark, Princess Marie holds down the fort on the civil side of things with the Danish Emergency Management Association, and Charlotte Casiraghi does the same in Monaco with the Maritime Police. Crown Princess Mette-Marit has participated in exercises with the Norwegian Civil Defense, while Crown Princess Mary has trained with the Danish Home Guard. As part of her training as the future Queen of Sweden, Crown Princess Victoria did a training stint with the military. But as awesome as that picture of Victoria in face paint is, nothing quite compares to this:
The future Queen Margrethe
Tell me something: is this the best picture ever, or is this the best picture EVER? You are correct, it is the best picture EVER. Way to rock the shades, Daisy. And though we might not see her in uniform these days, she once spent time with the Danish Women's Flying Corps.
Royal weddings are prime showcases for heirloom tiaras - after all, a girl does need something borrowed - but they're also often showcases for new tiaras. Whether you are honoring a new gift, you just feel like something new, or the family was plain out of tiaras for the new girl to have, there are plenty of weddings that have brought us new jewels to gaze upon.
The Belgian royal family is not sitting on a huge stash of tiaras, so when Claire Coombs married in, they had to rustle up something new for her (reported by some to be a converted necklace from Queen Elisabeth). Norway has a fair amount of diadems, but not really anything that would fill the "all-purpose, small, and diamond" category for a new Crown Princess, so they bought one when Mette-Marit joined up. And though you might disagree with me, I've always thought that was part of the reason Crown Princess Mary got a newly purchased tiara too. Apart from the tiara that now sits on Princess Marie's head, smallish diamond gems that are not already in constant use seem to have been nonexistent.
L to R: Princess Marina, the Duchess of Kent; Grand DuchessJoséphine-Charlotteof Luxembourg (then a Princess of Belgium)
I'm afraid the days of lavish wedding gift jewel hauls are gone for most brides, but once upon a time getting multiple tiaras for your wedding was commonplace for a royal bride. Honoring a relative by wearing their gift on your big day is always smart, but perhaps even smarter is honoring the institutions that give you gifts. Greek Princess Marina wore a fringe tiara given to her by her new home, the City of London, while Belgian Princess Joséphine-Charlotte honored her home country by wearing both the Belgian Scroll Tiara and the Congo Diamond Tiara to marry into Luxembourg's royal family.
Sometimes, for whatever reason, you just want something new. Sarah Ferguson wore a new tiara from Garrard, and Princess Margaret's Politmore Tiara was bought specially prior to her wedding day. Farah Diba wed in the Noor-ol-Ain Tiara which was created by Harry Winston for the occasion. I'd wager a guess that the tiara worn by Sarah Salleh for her wedding to Brunei's Crown Prince was freshly made too. All of these ladies could have worn something from their respective royal families, but for whatever reason - and I would guess the reasoning here is quite diverse - they opted for new instead.
Finally, if you can't get something new, you settle for a new configuration of old stuff instead. Sophie wore a (new to us) configuration of old pieces when she became the Countess of Wessex, and Máxima put a new spin on an old gem by topping a pearl button tiara with diamond stars instead. Her sister-in-law Mabel did a similar thing by using the diamond-only setting of the family's large sapphire tiara.
As lovely and meaningful as traditions can be, I suppose there's something to be said for making your own mark, or putting special memories together with a piece that you'll call your own for the rest of your marriage. My personal favorite version is Máxima's - that sly little magpie was already showing us just how much fun she intended to have with the family jewel box.
If it was you...would you rather have an old tiara or a new one for your wedding day?
In all our talk on the ins and outs of owning royal jewels, we've mainly talked about existing gems and how they are passed down (and around). But there's one last question looming: do they ever get new stuff? Well, sure. The trick is that they do it very, very quietly. Gone are the days of Queen Mary and her unabashed collecting practices; when things join a royal collection these days - by purchase or by gift - the royal houses usually do what they can to keep the details private, and vague if they can't achieve total privacy.
Take, for example, the case of Princess Letizia's new tiara. It's been reported as both a 5th anniversary gift from Felipe and as a gift from the jeweler, Ansorena. I suspect that ambiguity surrounding the tiara's origin suits the royal family just fine, because while accepting lavish gifts is dicey territory, so is the purchase of new jewelry when your country's economy is struggling.
This, supposedly, is Letizia's new tiara (only the center fleur-de-lys has been worn, as a brooch)
It's worth a diversion here to note that you can define "new jewels" in a few different ways. There are actual brand new things: new jewels, new design, everything shiny and fresh. Then there are old things worn in new ways: something existing in the royal collection that is just worn in a different way (like Sophie's wedding tiara), or something old that's been purchased by a new family (like when the old Poltimore Tiara was bought new for Princess Margaret). Plus, there are new jewels made from reconfigurations of old jewels torn apart, or from spare single jewels just rolling around at the bottom of the royal jewel case (fine, they're probably not just rolling around - but unmounted jewels are not an unusual inclusion in a collection).
Suspected and known new tiaras: a possible purchase for Rania, a wedding gift for Charlene, a converted necklace/stomacher originally from a Belgian royal for Elizabeth, a potential purchase for Sophie, and a wedding gift for Sarah
Another area where ambiguity is sought after: gifts (a.k.a. free jewels, baby). As I said, gifts from jewelers or other commercial entities can border on inappropriate territory in the eyes of some, but so can gifts from other heads of state. The exchanging of gifts is a standard part of any state visit, and those gifts are often quite benign (framed photographs, orders, etc.). But sometimes, they can include some serious jewels.
Potential gifts from Middle Eastern rulers: Queen Rania's tiara, Queen Sofia's jewels, Queen Margrethe's necklace, Queen Silvia's set
Yes, I'm talking mainly about Middle Eastern rulers here, a group that tends to possess - and utilize - great wealth. On the whole, they tend to patronize certain jewelers and go with a rather modern style of jewelry, so much so that you could almost pick a Middle Eastern gift out of a lineup (and sometimes that's just what you have to do). Queen Rania's diamond tiara above is suspected to be a gift from a fellow ruler because of the design - that's Arabic script. New things worn first at return banquets or on subsequent trips to the gift giver's country are also provenance clues.
Different countries will have different policies on how official gifts are handled (if they become personal property, if they have to be declared, that sort of thing), but the unofficial rule for new jewels on the whole still applies: keep it quiet and be as vague as possible. Why? Because even though it's not commercially motivated, a gift can still be too lavish for today's public relations-run world. In other words: they make excellent fodder for scandal-inducing headlines. Queen Paola ended up in hot water after a visit to the Congo, a former Belgian colony, when she received a diamond demi-parure as a gift. She didn't ask for the present, surely, and who knows what the first lady of the Congo was thinking when she decided to give such a lavish gift to a former ruler while her country is struggling with plenty of issues of its own. Paola gave the gift over to the Belgian state (with the caveat that members of the royal family can still wear it) to dispense with the scandal. Still, one expects it will be quite some time before we see it in use.
Camilla made a particularly grand example of the kerfluffle official gifts can cause when she started using the fruits gained on one trip to Saudi Arabia early in her marriage.
All of these necklaces (ruby, sapphire, and emerald) are from a single Saudi visit
Yup, all of these necklaces came from one trip. (Not bad for a day's work, am I right? Sheesh.) The furor began when she debuted the ruby one because...well, look at it. Good grief. How is that not going to make headlines? Clarence House tried to keep it quiet by refusing to place a value on the gift and by stating that it was a private matter. Problem is, it's not a private matter. These are official gifts, and there are rules in Britain because official gifts have caused trouble before (Charles got in trouble in the early 2000s for passing gifts to staff who then sold them and for selling some himself, to name one incident). Here's the rule: these are in Camilla's possession now, but because they were given to her as a part of her role representing the country, they pass to the sovereign when she dies. At that point, the sovereign can include them in the Royal Collection.
Such hassle! Poor royals, just trying to be magpies and getting diamond-blocked at every turn. This is why we can only dream that a royal family would buy a well-known auction piece - hoping that the Spanish royal family will reclaim La Peregrina, for example. It's a far-fetched hope that they would buy something like that, because they wouldn't want the headlines that would accompany the purchase. Even a magpie like me can't blame them for doing what they can to avoid the controversy. (I mean, I'll accept it, but I won't like it. Yes, I am pouting right now.)
And thus ends my looooong digression on jewel ownership and sharing - I hope that sheds some light on those questions about royal collections some of you have sent in (well, as much light as we can shed without getting into the minor details of every single jewel and every single royal family). As always, if you have any ideas for other topics you'd like covered, let me know.
Opening a new campaign for The Mary Foundation, 14 November. Gah! I love this jacket! And the Day Birger et Mikkelsen blouse underneath is a really interesting but lovely pairing.
Opening a youth conference, 16 November. We've seen this Prada number before - from last year's Parliament opening, when she was pregnant with the twins! It's an unusual color combination, but I love it, and the blue shoes are a perfect touch.
Arriving in Australia for a combo private and official visit, 19 November. Speaking of the twins, Princess Josephine here doesn't look too impressed with her first glimpse of Australia, but I'm sure she'll warm to it. The Australian trip is where we will pick up next week.
Crown Princess Mary started out her marriage with two tiaras available for her use, her small wedding tiara and the huge ruby parure. Five years on, she wrangled herself a third option to fill in all the gaps: something less formal but right in the middle of the size range, with a modern design and a modern ownership arrangement.
The Midnight Tiara
The experimentation in non-traditional materials alone tells you that this is no normal tiara. It includes 31 flower buds created with over 1,300 small diamond brilliants and polished moonstones set into a structure of leaves and branches hand graved in 18 carat rose and white gold with black oxidized silver. The colors and light and shading effects replicate a starry moonlit sky at midnight, and thus it is appropriately known as the Midnight Tiara.
Details of the tiara and its creation
This tiara was designed by Charlotte Lynggaard of the Ole Lynggaard firm, a jeweler to the Danish royal court, and was handmade by goldsmiths in the company’s studio. It was created especially for an exhibit at Amalienborg Royal Palace Museum in 2009 which combined antique tiaras with modern designs, including a selection of tiaras on loan from the Danish royal family.
Mary at Prince Henrik's birthday celebration
After seeing it at the exhibition, Mary borrowed it to wear for Prince Henrik’s 75th birthday celebrations in June of 2009. She also wore matching earrings and a brooch (there’s a whole Midnight collection of jewelry available, actually). A deal was struck: Mary didn’t have to purchase the tiara – probably a good thing, as it has a price tag of 1.5 million DKK, or about $275,000 – and the jeweler retains ownership, but they won’t sell it and Mary has exclusive rights to borrow it. It’s quite an agreement, isn’t it? Ole Lynggaard gets publicity, while Mary gets a third tiara option and the whole thing promotes Danish design.
Mary at Queen Margrethe's birthday celebration
She made use of that deal for yet another family birthday: the third tiara event for Queen Margrethe’s 70th birthday celebrations in April of 2010. That makes it her “informal” tiara option, I guess; both birthday events were black tie dress codes with tiaras, but no orders. Low key non-state occasions, basically.
Mary enters at 4:50, tiara shot at about 5:09
I must admit that this one isn’t my favorite tiara - modern tiaras, what can I say, not my drug of choice – but I think Mary’s using it in just the right way so far (in all two of her appearances). This is definitely a black tie tiara event piece, I can’t picture it with a lot of orders going on around it. And I shall never, ever blame her for finding a way to have a third tiara, especially since she belongs to a family that actually throws events that require three tiara appearances in a row.
What do you think about the Midnight Tiara and Mary's loan arrangement?
A few weeks ago we took a look at some of the pre-wedding outfits of our current crop of crown princesses. Now, it's time to pop back a generation - well, actually, just step up a level and mostly back a generation - to a few sovereigns/sovereign consorts and their pre-wedding ball attire. This is even better, if you ask me, for two reasons: 1. old school glamour, and 2. TIARAS. 'Nuff said, right?
Best First Impression
Fabiola de Mora y Aragón (Queen Fabiola of the Belgians) and Silvia Sommerlath (Queen Silvia of Sweden)
These two ladies didn't just marry into a royal family, they married straight into being queens. Trial by fire! As such, their pre-wedding appearances had a statement to make, and Fabiola wins with her tiara/crown which was a wedding present from General Franco. That's like pinning on a big ol' name tag that says: "HELLO! I am Your Queen!" Silvia obviously needed a little experience before she'd reach her full tiara hair potential, but this outing - her very first tiara appearance ever, friends, this is history in the making - of the Connaught Diamond Tiara is respectable enough. Everything else ended up taking a backseat to the fact that ABBA serenaded her with the first ever performance of "Dancing Queen" that night anyway.
Best of the Things We Need More Of
L to R: Crown Princess Margrethe of Denmark (now Queen, with and without coat), Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark (Queen Anne-Marie of Greece), Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands (now Queen, with and without fur)
Let's count the ways these appearances are so much better than what we see today, shall we?
Multiple tiara appearances. All of these ladies donned a tiara on more than the occasions shown here before getting hitched. (For the record, Margrethe is wearing the romantic heart-shaped Baden Palmette Tiara, Anne-Marie is wearing the Emerald Parure Tiara, and Beatrix is wearing the Antique Pearl Tiara.) More multiple tiara event occasions, please.
Matching coats. Forget throwing a shawl over it and calling it a day! This is how we do evening glam!
Opera gloves. Somebody needs to bring the long glove back. Who should we start writing letters to?
Best of the Way Things Change
Princess Grace of Monaco, Princess Charlene of Monaco
My, my, how things do change. From tiaras and gowns and fur wraps to strapless palazzo pants, all in the course of a generation change. (Obviously these sovereign consorts are the exception to our queens and Charlene is our generation exception!)
Best of the Best
Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark (now Queen Sofia of Spain)
She's Glinda the Good Witch! This dress is some serious fairy godmother business, plus Sofia's already got the fairy godmother smile to boot, that's just the way she rolls. Can you see all the detailing and the petal effect on the skirt? It's amazing. Also, she gets double bonus points for wearing not one but two tiaras, both of which were given to her as wedding gifts: the Mellerio Shell Tiara on her head and the floral tiara around her neck. My absolute favorite of this lot.
