The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Maxima Celebrates a Diamond-Studded Birthday

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Queen Maxima of the Netherlands attends a congress fr the Pension Federation (Photo: KOEN VAN WEEL/AFP/Getty Images)

Happy birthday to Queen Maxima of the Netherlands! The Dutch queen, who turns 45 today, celebrated by marking the fifth anniversary of the Pension Federation in The Hague.

Photo: KOEN VAN WEEL/AFP/Getty Images

Maxima wore a pair of earrings that feature an orange pearl stud, a diamond dangle, and a gray pearl drop.

Photo: KOEN VAN WEEL/AFP/Getty Images

We also got a great look at her bracelets — including her diamond wedding bracelet, the diamond bracelet featuring symbols and her family’s initials, and the gold and cabochon gemstone bracelet engraved with her daughters’ names — as well as her watch and her ring. It’s tough to see her, but the ring is set with a large, faceted orange gemstone; it was a gift from King Willem-Alexander after the birth of their second daughter, Princess Alexia.

Birthday Jewels: Celebrating the Queen’s 90th at Windsor

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The Queen applauds during a show celebrating her 90th birthday at Windsor (Photo: Chris Jackson – WPA Pool/Getty Images)

The 90th birthday celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom rolled on this weekend with an equestrian extravaganza at Windsor on Sunday evening.

Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

The Queen wore a turquoise and diamond brooch that she debuted in 2014. We still don’t know the provenance behind the piece, but it appears to be vintage, not new. (The man in the photograph is the King of Bahrain, who was one of a few foreign royals in attendance. The others, including Donatus and Floria of Hesse and Ludwig of Baden, are German family members.)

Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

The Duchess of Cornwall brought out her pearl choker necklace with the pink topaz clasp for the second time this week.

Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

And the Duchess of Cambridge has me convinced that I’m psychic, because she wore the diamond chandelier earrings that I blogged about on Sunday morning!

Photo: LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images

Several of the Windsor women were in the show itself rather than in the stands. Princess Anne rode on horseback…

Photo: LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images

…as did her daughter, Zara…

Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

…and Lady Louise Windsor, who rode alongside her father, the Earl of Wessex.

Sophie Wessex was at the show as well; she appears to have worn earrings that coordinate with her black-and-white ensemble.

Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

We also got brief glimpses of a few other family members. Both Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie were in attendance, and Eugenie gave us a quick look at a ring on her left hand.

Photo: Chris Jackson – WPA Pool/Getty Images

Several of the Kents were also at the show. Princess Alexandra (sitting beside Don, the head of the House of Hesse) appeared to be wearing a bejeweled necklace, while her niece, Lady Gabriella Windsor, wore dangling earrings. (You can also just make out Viscountess Linley in the background of this photo, along with her daughter, Margarita. Lady Sarah Chatto was in the audience as well.)

Photo: Chris Jackson – WPA Pool/Getty Images

And here’s a member of the extended royal family: Lady Brabourne, who sat behind Viscount Linley. Penny is the (estranged) wife of the 8th Baron Braborne, who is a grandson of Lord Mountbatten, the famous uncle of the Duke of Edinburgh. She also appears to be wearing a lovely pair of pearl earrings.

King Carl XVI Gustaf’s 70th Birthday (Evening Gala)

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Group photograph from the king’s birthday gala (Photo: Peter Knutson/Kungahuset.se)

The festivities in Sweden this weekend wrapped up with a black-tie gala in honor of the king’s birthday. Even though this event wasn’t white-tie, we were lucky: most of the royal women still wore tiaras! Here’s a look at the jewels on display.

Photo: CHRISTINE OLSSON/AFP/Getty Images

Queen Silvia wore the Connaught Diamond Tiara, which was a favorite of the king’s late mother, Princess Sibylla.

The Boucheron Laurel Wreath Tiara, worn by Crown Princess Victoria, originally belonged to Margaret of Connaught but is best known as the tiara worn by the late Princess Lilian. She bequeathed the tiara to Victoria in her will.

Princess Madeleine wore her wedding tiara — the convertible modern diamond fringe — to the gala, plus a pair of earrings from the Bernadotte collection. Many believe (and I agree) that the earrings are probably a converted pair of diamond epaulettes, which would have been worn at the shoulders of a dress military uniform.

All four of the king’s sisters were present, and all of them wore tiaras. Princess Birgitta borrowed the Baden Fringe Tiara from the family’s foundation. Princess Desiree wore a tiara that belongs personally to her: Queen Louise’s Diamond Tiara.

Photo: CHRISTINE OLSSON/AFP/Getty Images

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark chose Swedish heirloom jewels inherited from her mother, who was born a Swedish princess. The Baden Palmette Tiara once belonged to Queen Victoria of Sweden. The square diamond brooches that Margrethe wears at the neckline of her gown once belonged to Queen Josefina of Sweden; they were originally meant to be worn at the shoulder, and Bjarne Steen Jensen estimates that they were made between 1840-50. Josefina bequeathed them to her granddaughter, Queen Lovisa of Denmark, and they’ve been in the Danish royal collection ever since.

Princess Benedikte also wore Swedish jewels, donning Queen Sofia’s Star and Pearl Tiara, plus diamond stars that came from the collection of Queen Victoria of Sweden. She also wore diamond bracelets that are Danish heirlooms; both are part of Queen Alexandrine’s diamond sautoir.

Crown Princess Mary, sadly, went tiara-less; instead, she wore a hair ornament and matching earrings by Ole Lynggaard.

Princess Martha Louise of Norway wore a tiara that belongs to her personally: King Olav’s Gift Tiara, which (as the name suggests) was given to her by her grandfather, King Olav, as an 18th birthday present.

Queen Mathilde of the Belgians wore the tiniest tiara in her collection: the convertible Wolfers Tiara, which she inherited from the late Queen Fabiola.

Photo: HENRIK MONTGOMERY/AFP/Getty Images

Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands wore one of her go-to tiaras: the Wurttemberg Ornate Pearl Tiara, which she wore on her wedding day.

Photo: HENRIK MONTGOMERY/AFP/Getty Images

Japan’s Princess Takamado wore her diamond bandeau with a laurel-wreath design with a glittering necklace and earrings.

Margarita of Romania wore the family’s Greek Key Tiara, which began its life as a kokoshnik in the collection of Grand Duchess Viktoria Feodorovna of Russia.

Kelly of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, part of the king’s maternal family, wore the family’s elaborate diamond and turquoise parure.

The Bavarians have recently sold many of their grand jewels. Ursula of Bavaria wore the same small diamond scroll tiara that she donned at Prince Carl Philip’s wedding last year.

There were a few more tiaras worn, but I don’t have individual images available to share. Princess Margaretha wore the aquamarine kokoshnik, which is also owned by her personally. And Princess Christina selected the tiny aquamarine and diamond bandeau, which is most associated now with Princess Madeleine but was worn by several of the Haga princesses in their younger years. Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein wore one of the grandest diamond fringe tiaras in Europe: the family’s Habsburg Fringe Tiara. And Katherine of Serbia wore a small diamond tiara. You can see glimpses of all of them in the group photo at the top of the post.