The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Floral Tiara Tournament: Danish Ruby vs Bonaparte Olive

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Which wreath tiara will win the day?

Chris Jackson/Getty Images, Wikimedia Commons

The Danish Ruby Parure Tiara vs. The Bonaparte Olive Wreath Tiara
Chris Jackson/Getty Images

This tiara began its life as a series of hair combs, purchased by Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte for his wife, Desiree, to wear at Napoleon’s coronation in 1804. When Bernadotte was elected King of Sweden, the rubies became royal jewels. The combs were made into a bandeau by Queen Alexandrine of Denmark, who had received them from her mother-in-law, Lovisa of Sweden. Queen Ingrid turned the bandeau into a grand wreath tiara, which is now worn by Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.
Photo generously shared by Javier. DO NOT REPRODUCE.

This diamond tiara was designed around 1907 by Cartier for Princess Marie Bonaparte, who married a Greek prince. The wreath of pave-set diamond olive leaves is studded with eleven cushion-shaped diamond “olives,” which can be swapped for other stones. The wreath design, popular during the reign of Napoleon, and the olive motif, so connected to the Greeks, united Marie’s French imperial heritage with her new Greek royal status. Today, the tiara belongs to the Albion Art Institute.

Floral Tiara Tournament: Floral Aigrette vs Cubitt

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Which floral garland will take this crown?

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images, CARL DE SOUZA/AFP via Getty Images

The Danish Floral Aigrette vs. The Cubitt Tiara
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

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.
CARL DE SOUZA/AFP via Getty Images

This naturalistic diamond floral spray tiara originally belonged to Sonia Keppel Cubitt, grandmother of the Duchess of Cornwall. The tiara is now worn often by the Duchess for gala occasions, and in 2006, it was worn by her daughter, Laura, as a bridal tiara.