The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

The Best Royal Jewels of 2016: #9 (Sofia’s New Tiaras)

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(DOMINIC LIPINSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
Our countdown of the best royal jewels of 2016 continues…
#9: Sofia’s New Tiaras
(Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
During her first year as a member of Sweden’s royal family, Princess Sofia only wore one tiara in public: the Emerald Palmette Tiara that she received as a wedding gift from her new parents-in-law. (More on the background of that tiara here!) But this December, she brought out not one but two new tiaras!

(SOREN ANDERSSON/AFP/Getty Images)
For the Nobel Prize ceremony and banquet on December 10, Sofia wore the smaller cut-steel tiara, giving us an excellent look at the piece. Previously, this tiara had only been worn in public by her sister-in-law, Crown Princess Victoria. (You can see many more images of this tiara appearance in our post here!)
(Kungahuset.se)
The next night, she made another tiara debut for the King’s Dinner, given to honor the Nobel winners. She wore the Diamond Four-Button Tiara, which was made using antique diamond buttons from the family collection, for the reception. (More on this tiara appearance over here!)

The Best Royal Jewels of 2016: #10 (Albania’s Royal Bride)

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(DOMINIC LIPINSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

It’s officially the last week of 2016, which means it’s time for a countdown of the best royal jewel appearances of the year! I’ve chosen ten of my favorite bejeweled royal appearances from this year, and we’ll be featuring two of them every day until we reach #1 on Friday. Enjoy — and, of course, weigh in on your own favorites in the comments!

#10: Albania’s Royal Bride
(STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images)

When royal pretenders have big weddings, we often get to see pieces of jewelry that have remained hidden from public view for years. And when Prince Leka, the pretender to Albania’s throne, married Elia Zaharia in October, we got to see a very unusual bridal tiara on display.

(STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images)

Elia’s bridal diadem was a diamond and sapphire heirloom tiara from her new husband’s family. The center of the tiara features a unique element: a diamond-set version of the Ram of Skanderbeg, one of Albania’s most important national symbols.

(STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images)

We discussed the symbolism of the ram at length in our post on the wedding (which you can read over here!). Lots of Albania’s royal jewelry featured this unique image. Because of its rather different design motif, the tiara is not exactly universally liked. Even so, this bejeweled appearance makes my top ten simply because it’s an extremely unusual piece that is rarely seen. (And I thought the bride wore it well, too!)