The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Diamond Tiara Tournament: Queen Josefina vs Dutch Star

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Will it be the empire-era diamonds or the remixed stars?

MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP via Getty Images, CLAUS FISKER/AFP via Getty Images

Queen Josefina’s Diamond Tiara vs. The Dutch Star Tiara
MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP via Getty Images

One of the grandest and most intricate tiaras in the Norwegian royal vaults, this early nineteenth-century sparkler first belonged to Queen Josefina of Sweden and Norway, a granddaughter of Empress Josephine. The tiara took an interesting path to Norway: Queen Josefina left it to her granddaughter, Queen Lovisa of Denmark, who willed it to her son, Prince Gustav. In turn, he bequeathed the tiara to his niece, Crown Princess Martha of Norway. Today, it is worn exclusively by Queen Sonja.
CLAUS FISKER/AFP via Getty Images

This Dutch royal sparkler was made by combining the base of the family’s Pearl Button Tiara with five of Queen Emma’s diamond stars. Queen Maxima debuted the tiara on her wedding day in 2002, and she’s been the primary wearer of it in the years since. You will occasionally spot it on other members of the family, too, including Princess Beatrix and Princess Margriet.

Diamond Tiara Tournament: Alia’s Cartier vs Miller Fringe

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Two exuberant tiaras meet up in this contest!

CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP via Getty Images, Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Queen Alia’s Cartier Tiara vs. The Miller Fringe Tiara
CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP via Getty Images

This abstract, modern diamond tiara was a gift from King Hussein of Jordan to his third wife, Queen Alia. The Cartier-made tiara was worn by Alia until her untimely death; it was inherited by her only daughter, Princess Haya. She still owns it today, though she has loaned it on occasion to her sister-in-law, Queen Rania.
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

A classic, balanced diamond tiara with distinctive fringes and spikes, this Russian-inspired sparkler was a christening gift from Chantal Miller to her granddaughter, Princess Maria Olympia of Greece and Denmark. Olympia’s mother, Crown Princess Marie-Chantal, wore the tiara exclusively during Olympia’s childhood. More recently, Olympia herself has begun wearing it at Danish royal events.

Diamond Tiara Tournament: Iveagh vs Akishino

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This one’s a battle of the floral sparklers!

Stefan Rousseau/PA Images/Alamy, Carlos Bergamín/Alamy

The Iveagh Tiara vs. The Akishino Tiara
Stefan Rousseau/PA Images/Alamy

This lovely kokoshnik-style tiara was given to Queen Mary as a wedding present by Lord and Lady Iveagh in 1893. It’s one of the only pieces of wedding-gift jewelry that she never significantly altered; with its beautiful, balanced shape, she didn’t really need to. Mary bequeathed the tiara to her daughter-in-law, Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester. Today, it’s still worn by Alice’s daughter-in-law, Birgitte, and it was also a wedding tiara for Alice’s granddaughter, Lady Rose Gilman.
Carlos Bergamín/Alamy

When Prince Fumihito and Kiko Kawashima married in 1990, Emperor Akihito granted them their own household and the titles of Prince and Princess Akishino. Kiko also gained her own imperial symbol, the iris setosa. Her diamond wedding parure, which includes the Akishino Tiara, incorporates iris flowers in its complicated design. For three decades, the Akishino Tiara was the only diadem that Kiko wore for gala events, including state banquets and the family’s annual New Year audience. Now that she’s Japan’s crown princess, however, her tiara options have expanded.