The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Floral Tiara Tournament: Floral Aigrette vs Isenburg Floral

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Will it be the flowers from Denmark or from Germany?

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images, Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

The Danish Floral Aigrette vs. The Isenburg Floral Tiara
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Some believe that this incredible, flexible floral ornament originally belonged to Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia, grandmother of King Frederik IX. We know for sure, though, that in the 1960s it belonged to a famous Danish-American tenor, Lauritz Melchior. He sold it to King Frederik in 1963, and it’s been sparkling on the heads of Queen Ingrid and Queen Margrethe II ever since. Queen Margrethe is especially inventive in the ways she wears the three-sectioned tiara.
Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

The family tiara of a relatively minor German princely family, this naturalistic diamond floral sparkler came into the spotlight when it was worn by two family brides: Katharina, who married Archduke Martin of Austria-Este (brother of Prince Lorenz of Belgium), and Sophie, who married Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia.

Floral Tiara Tournament: Spanish Floral vs Floral Birthday

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Two naturalistic floral sprays meet up in this competition!

Pool/Getty Images, Albert Nieboer/RPE/DPA Picture Alliance Archive/Alamy

The Spanish Floral Tiara vs. Princess Benedikte’s Floral Birthday Tiara
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This Spanish tiara has an important pedigree: it was a gift from King Alfonso XII to his wife, Queen Maria Cristina. The sparkler was sold when the family went into exile in the ’30s, but it was later bought back by Franco and given as a wedding present to Queen Sofia. Today, the classic diamond floral tiara is one of Queen Letizia’s signature pieces.
Albert Nieboer/RPE/DPA Picture Alliance Archive/Alamy

This classic diamond floral tiara was made using a brooch that belonged to Queen Alexandrine of Denmark. In the 1960s, Queen Ingrid had the brooch supplemented with additional gemstones to form an eighteenth-birthday-gift tiara for her second daughter, Princess Benedikte. (The brooch is also still detachable.) Benedikte has worn the tiara throughout her life, and she’s also loaned it to her daughters, Princess Alexandra and Princess Nathalie.