The Best Royal Jewels of 2020: #5 (A Sparkling Nassau Wedding Tiara)

Our countdown of the best royal jewels of 2020 has arrived at number four: a surprise royal wedding with a sparkling heirloom bridal tiara!

In September, Archduchess Gabriella of Austria, the younger daughter of Archduke Carl Christian of Austria and Princess Marie Astrid of Luxembourg, married her partner, Prince Henri of Bourbon-Parma, in an outdoor ceremony at Schloss Tratzberg in Austria. The couple had been engaged since October 2017, shortly before the birth of their daughter, Princess Victoria. 

Henri and Gabriella are second cousins: both of them are great-grandchildren of Princess Charlotte of Luxembourg and Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma. (Marlene Koenig does a good job of tracing the multiple ways that the two are related in her blog post on the couple’s engagement and Princess Victoria’s birth.) In the image above, a screencapture from an Instagram story, the newlywed bride and groom pose with Gabriella’s parents and their daughter.

Archduchess Gabriella anchored her veil with the Grand Duchess Adelade Tiara, an heirloom from her mother’s native Luxembourg. The tiara dates to the nineteenth century. It features a complicated leaf design that is studded with diamond berries, with a lovely central sapphire.

The tiara is one of the most wearable pieces in Luxembourg’s grand ducal jewelry collection, and it’s been worn by numerous family members. Grand Duchess Maria Teresa has worn it often, as has Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie. Above, Princess Claire of Luxembourg wears the tiara during the National Day gala in 2018.

Archduchess Gabriella is the second family member to wear the Grand Duchess Adelaide Tiara as a bridal diadem. In 2017, Princess Marie Gabrielle of Nassau, daughter of Prince Jean of Luxembourg, wore the tiara for her wedding to Antonius Willms.

Here’s one more peek at the couple on their wedding day, courtesy of another screencapture from Instagram stories. Gabriella paired the Adelaide tiara with classic pearl drop earrings for the day.