The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Saturday Sparkler: The Alexandrine Diamond Drop Tiara

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One of the perks of being a royal princess is that you often receive your very first tiara on your eighteenth birthday. Some of them are dinky (like Crown Princess Victoria’s birthday tiara), some are modern (like Princess Märtha Louise of Norway’s birthday tiara), and some, like this one, are historic family pieces. On her eighteenth birthday, fifty-seven years ago this week, Margrethe II of Denmark’s parents gave her this diamond drop tiara, which originally belonged to her grandmother, Queen Alexandrine.



The tiara was made for Alexandrine in 1912, the same year that she became queen. When she died in 1952, the piece was inherited by her elder son, Frederik IX; he passed it along to his daughter Margrethe as a birthday gift six years later.



Margrethe wore the tiara more frequently when she was younger — the delicate tiara, which features scads of teardrop-shaped diamonds suspended en tremblant, is small, and perhaps better suited for a princess than a regal queen.

In 1995, the tiara changed hands once more. Margrethe gave it to her new daughter-in-law, Alexandra Manley, the bride of Prince Joachim. It was her bridal tiara, and in fact, for Alexandra’s entire ten-year tenure as a Danish princess, this was the only tiara she wore.

When Alexandra and Joachim divorced, she retained the tiara, taking it out of the family for the first time in nearly a century. (Intriguingly, Margrethe did not give a tiara to Joachim’s second wife, Princess Marie — instead, she offered her Princess Dagmar’s Floral Tiara as a long-term loan. Maybe she learned a lesson the first time around?) Even so, Alexandra is still an integral part of Prince Joachim’s family, and she has attended white-tie events since the divorce wearing the tiara.

But even though the tiara is not currently in royal hands, it seems like that we’ve not seen the last of it at the Danish royal court. Alexandra’s two sons, Nikolai and Felix, are both princes of Denmark, so it seems quite likely that the Diamond Drop will return to their extended branch of the royal family eventually. Perhaps one day we’ll see one of their wives in this sparkling, shivering tiara?

Margrethe’s 75th Birthday: Celebrations in Aarhus

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Her actual birthday may not be until next week, but the big celebrations for Queen Margrethe’s 75th kicked off yesterday in Aarhus. Let’s have a look at some of the jewelry on display, shall we?

The Queen wore her ruby “grapes” demi-parure for the daytime celebrations. The set, which includes a brooch and earrings, was a 70th birthday gift from the Masters of the Royal Hunt.

Crown Princess Mary donned a brooch with major historical provenance — that’s the Connaught Sapphire Brooch pinned to her jacket. You can read much more about the brooch’s generations-long history here.

For the second time in a month, Princess Marie also wore an heirloom jewel. The brooch she wears is made of diamonds and sapphires; it can also be worn as a pendant. The piece belonged to the current queen’s paternal grandmother, Queen Alexandrine.

Some of the sapphires in Margrethe’s diamond and sapphire demi-parure, worn to the evening gala event, also came from Alexandrine’s collection.

The crown princess’s jewelry at the gala was the stunning surprise of the evening. Mary wore a new diamond necklace, which television commentators in Denmark said could also be worn as a tiara. She paired the elaborate necklace with simple diamond drop earrings.

Marie went more minimalist with her gala jewels, wearing long diamond earrings and a bracelet.

I’m always pleasantly surprised when the Countess of Frederiksborg, Prince Joachim’s ex-wife, appears at these gala events! Alexandra also clearly got the earrings-and-bracelet memo.

The Top Ten: Royal Diamond Necklaces

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Time for the second in our series of top ten royal diamond posts for April! This week: all-diamond necklaces worn by royal ladies. As always, feel free to post your own top ten list in the comments below!

10. Queen Mathilde’s Diamond Necklace

Mathilde’s jewelry box may be relatively small, but the diamond necklace she wore to the pre-wedding dinner for Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg in 2012 is one of my favorites.

9. The Nassau Diamond Drop Necklace

This diamond necklace, with its distinctive central pendant drop, has been in the Luxembourgish collection for two generations; it’s been worn by both the late Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte and her daughter-in-law, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa.

8. Princess Caroline’s Diamond Fringe Necklace

The diamond fringe necklace that belongs to Princess Caroline of Monaco is an absolutely design classic, worn to perfection by a glamorous princess.

7. Queen Anne-Marie and Princess Benedikte’s Twin Diamond Necklaces

Princess Benedikte of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and her younger sister, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, have identical, intricate diamond necklaces; they were made by dividing up a sautoir that belonged to their grandmother, Queen Alexandrine of Denmark.

6. The Dutch Diamond Rivière Necklace

The lovely diamond rivière from the Dutch royal collection packs a major, sparkly punch, especially when paired with the family’s diamond bandeau tiara. The necklace can also be worn with a diamond pendant.

5. Queen Ena’s Diamond Collet Necklace

The dramatic diamond collet necklace from the Spanish royal collection is a part of the joyas de pasar, a cache of jewels that is designated for the use of the country’s queen.

4. Queen Josefina’s Diamond Stomacher Necklace

The intricate diamond necklace worn for years by Princess Lilian of Sweden — and now by her niece, Crown Princess Victoria — was originally part of a diamond stomacher that belonged to Josephine of Leuchtenberg.

3. The Nizam of Hyderabad Necklace

This elaborate floral Cartier necklace was a wedding gift to Queen Elizabeth II in 1947 from the Nizam of Hyderabad, though Elizabeth herself selected it from Cartier’s stock.

2. The Coronation Necklace

Made in 1858, this incredible diamond necklace has been worn by four queens — Alexandra, Mary, Elizabeth, and Elizabeth II — at their coronations. The necklace’s pendant is the Lahore Diamond, which alone weighs more than 22 carats.

1. The Greville Diamond Necklace

Part of the astonishing jewel bequest left to the Queen Mother by the Hon. Mrs. Greville, this five-stranded necklace of diamonds has been worn most recently by the Duchess of Cornwall. If I had this one, I’d wear it everywhere! 🙂