The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Princess Ingeborg’s Pearl Fleur-de-Lis Brooch

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It’s a new month, which means it’s time to debut our new Magpie of the Month: Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg! We’ll be looking at several pieces of jewelry from her collection this month, including a few major heirlooms. Today’s jewel, Princess Ingeborg’s Pearl Fleur-de-Lis Brooch, is definitely a piece with a major family legacy.

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The diamond fleur-de-lis brooch is a very common design in royal jewelry, as so many royal houses use the fleur-de-lis as part of their symbolism. This brooch, however, is a bit of a twist on the classic, with a large pearl serving as the top part of the floral design.

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The brooch can be traced back to Princess Ingeborg of Denmark, who married Prince Carl of Sweden and started a large family of children who married extremely well. One of their daughters was Princess Astrid, who married King Leopold III of Belgium; their daughter was Princess Josephine-Charlotte, who married Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg. (They’re the parents of the reigning grand duke, Henri.) The ladies over at Luxarazzi note that the brooch was given to Josephine-Charlotte, but they’re not sure whether she received/inherited it from Ingeborg or Astrid. Now, the brooch is worn by Josephine-Charlotte’s daughter-in-law, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa.

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Because the brooch is a lovely, sparkly piece, it’s especially suitable for evening (or important daytime) occasions. Maria Teresa often uses it to secure the sashes of various orders. The brooch was a natural choice for a gala dinner celebrating the 70th birthday of King Harald V of Norway in February 2007; Harald’s mother, Crown Princess Martha, was also one of Princess Ingeborg’s daughters.

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Maria Teresa also wore the brooch on her order sash in June 2010, at the glittering royal wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden in Stockholm. Of course, on that occasion, you’d be forgiven for not noticing it, as the massive Empire Tiara certainly hogged the jewelry spotlight a bit!

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The brooch was also a starring accessory in London in April 2011, when Maria Teresa wore it pinned to the waist of her gown at the pre-wedding dinner for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. On this occasion, the brooch was the largest piece of jewelry worn; it was paired only with the pearl drop earrings that Maria Teresa usually coordinates with it.

The Belgian Scroll Tiara

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The Belgian Scroll Tiara is one of the loveliest jewels in Luxembourg’s vaults, but it narrowly escaped the auction block only a few years ago.

When Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium married Hereditary Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg in 1953, she brought a considerable number of jewels with her to her new country, including several wedding gifts. Joséphine-Charlotte chose to wear this new tiara, which was among that collection, in some of her wedding portraits. (For the wedding ceremony, she wore the Congo Necklace Tiara.)

In the image above, Joséphine-Charlotte wears the tiara during a visit to the Vatican. The tiara, which is made of diamonds set in platinum, was made by Henry Coosemans in the same year that Joséphine-Charlotte married. The diamonds were all sourced from the Belgian Congo, which had not yet been granted independence; the same is true for some of the other diamond gifts that Joséphine-Charlotte received. The was given to the princess by the Société Générale, a French bank. The largest central diamond is detachable and can also be worn as a ring.

Joséphine-Charlotte’s husband became Grand Duke Jean when her mother-in-law, Charlotte, abdicated in 1964. Joséphine-Charlotte wore the tiara during part of the abdication ceremonies, as you can see in the (fuzzy) moving image above. (Charlotte wore the enormous Empire Tiara for the occasion.)

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Joséphine-Charlotte also wore the tiara when she and Jean hosted the British royals for a glittering state visit in 1976. Indeed, she continued to wear this tiara almost exclusively until her death in 2005, although she did lend it to one of her daughters-in-law, Princess Sibilla, on more than one occasion.

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After Joséphine-Charlotte died, the tiara almost left the family for good. Her children planned to sell a good deal of the late grand duchess’s jewelry collection, including this tiara. However, public outcry led to the cancellation of the sale, and this tiara was kept in the family’s vaults. (Sadly, other pieces did end up on the auction block eventually.) Today, Maria Teresa wears the tiara occasionally, especially during state visits. Above, she wears the tiara during a state visit to Norway in 2011.

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One of her most recent appearances in the tiara also came in Norway, during the celebrations for King Harald and Queen Sonja’s 80th birthdays in May 2017.

Note: This is an updated version of an earlier post, with new text and images.