Diamond Tiara Tournament: Alia’s Cartier vs Josefina’s Diamond

This match-up pairs a modern tiara with an old-school diadem!

This abstract, modern diamond tiara was a gift from King Hussein of Jordan to his third wife, Queen Alia. The Cartier-made tiara was worn by Alia until her untimely death; it was inherited by her only daughter, Princess Haya. She still owns it today, though she has loaned it on occasion to her sister-in-law, Queen Rania.

One of the grandest and most intricate tiaras in the Norwegian royal vaults, this early nineteenth-century sparkler first belonged to Queen Josefina of Sweden and Norway, a granddaughter of Empress Josephine. The tiara took an interesting path to Norway: Queen Josefina left it to her granddaughter, Queen Lovisa of Denmark, who willed it to her son, Prince Gustav. In turn, he bequeathed the tiara to his niece, Crown Princess Martha of Norway. Today, it is worn exclusively by Queen Sonja.