Will it be the solid Leuchtenberg or the airy Connaught?
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| JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images |
The Leuchtenberg Sapphire Parure Tiara vs. The Connaught Diamond Tiara
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| JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images |
One of several important suites of heirloom jewelry in the Bernadotte collection, the Leuchtenberg sapphires began their journey in Germany. They were a gift from Empress Josephine of France to her daughter-in-law, Princess Augusta, Duchess of Leuchtenberg. Augusta passed them to her daughter, Queen Josefina of Sweden and Norway, and they’ve been in the Swedish vaults ever since. In 1930, Queen Victoria of Sweden bequeathed them to the family jewel foundation, which means they cannot be sold. Today, they’re typically worn by the most senior woman in the royal family: presently, that’s Queen Silvia. The flexible diadem has been one of her favorite jewels throughout her decades as Sweden’s queen consort.
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| JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images |
This floral diamond tiara was Crown Princess Margareta of Sweden’s wedding gift from her parents, the Duke and Duchess of Connaught. The piece is endlessly convertible, able to be worn as a tiara or in two different necklace settings. After her death, the tiara was inherited by her eldest son, Prince Gustaf Adolf. It became the favorite tiara of his wife, Princess Sibylla, and the family still sentimentally associates the tiara with Sibylla. Today, it remains in the royal vaults, and you’ll often see it worn by Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Madeleine, and Princess Christina.
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