The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

This Week in Royal Jewels: January 25-31

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January 25-31, 2019
We’ve got a major range of royal jewels to enjoy this week! Don’t forget to vote for your favorites in the poll below…
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20. The Duchess of Sussex wore sleek, modern earrings on Wednesday for a visit to the National Theatre in London. (More over here!) 

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19. For a visit to the Association of Commonwealth Universities in London on Thursday, Meghan chose her stud earrings from Dean Davidson.
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18. On Thursday, Queen Mathilde of the Belgians wore statement earrings for a visit to a school in Esneux to discuss bullying.
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17. On Saturday, Mathilde wore major statement earrings for a special concert at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. (More over here!)
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16. Diamond star stud earrings from Chanel accompanied Queen Letizia of Spain to the Ibedrola Foundation Scholarships in Madrid on Thursday.
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15. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands wore dramatic tassel earrings on Tuesday for a visit to the AFAS Software company in Leusden.
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14. On Thursday, Maxima wore a major necklace and matching earrings for a working visit to SchuldHulpMaatje Parkstad in Kerkrade.
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13. Crown Princess Mary wore sparkling stud earrings and a decorative hair slide for the IHF Men’s World Championship 2019 handball final match between Norway and Denmark in Herning on Sunday.
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12. On Tuesday, Princess Astrid of Belgium wore glittering earrings and her Chanel sautoir necklace for a New Year’s reception organized by the Royal Family for the Belgian Authorities in Brussels.
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11. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden chose gold and pearl drop earrings from Marianne Dulong and a golden brooch for a memorial for victims of the Holocaust at Stockholm’s Great Synagogue on Sunday.
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10. Princess Charlene of Monaco wore diamond stud earrings for celebrations in Port-Hercule on the eve of Sainte Devote’s Day. (More over here!)
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9. Charlene paired diamond studs with her Cartier Trinity ring on Sainte Devote’s Day in Monaco on Sunday. (More over here!)
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8. The Duchess of Cornwall wore her favorite pearl drop earrings and her pearl choker with the amethyst clasp to tour the new Clore Learning Centre at the Royal Academy of Arts in London on Thursday.
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7. The Duchess of Cambridge — or, more correctly, the Countess of Strathearn — wore her sapphire and diamond cluster drop earrings on Tuesday to open Dundee’s new Victoria and Albert Museum. (More over here!)
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6. On Wednesday, Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands wore floral earrings and coordinating brooches to view the “Rembrandt and the Golden Age” exhibition at the Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague.
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5. For the New Year’s reception at the Royal Palace in Brussels on Tuesday, Mathilde wore elegant pearl drop earrings.
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4. Camilla paired pearls with the Queen Mother’s Rock Crystal Brooch on Thursday for a memorial service for Lord Carrington at Westminster Abbey.

3. For Thursday’s Service of Thanksgiving for Lord Carrington, Princess Alexandra, the Hon. Lady Ogilvy wore her favorite pearl choker necklace with an intriguing geometric brooch.
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2. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom wore a diamond and turquoise brooch from the collection of her grandmother, Queen Mary, for church services near Sandringham on Sunday.
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1. Unusually, my top vote of the week goes to a husband-and-wife team! The newly-elected King and Queen of Malaysia were inaugurated this week at Parliament House in Kuala Lumpur, and both wore major sparkling jewels, including an ornate headdress for him and a tiara for her.

The Connaught Turquoise Bandeau

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Today’s tiara is one of the most intriguing mysteries from the world of Swedish-Danish royal jewels: a little beaded bandeau worn by two fascinating royal women. Here’s what we know (and don’t know!) about the Connaught Turquoise Bandeau.

Margaret with two of her sons, Prince Gustaf Adolf and Prince Sigvard, ca. 1908

The bandeau is one of several that Margaret of Connaught, who married the future King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden in 1905, wore during her lifetime. (The most famous is probably her Turquoise Daisy Bandeau, which is now owned by her granddaughter, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.) I’ve heard it said that this little bandeau, which features little rows of beads, may have been set with turquoises and pearls, which makes sense given the other contents of Margaret’s jewelry box.

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The bandeau bears some stylistic similarities to another of Margret’s wedding gifts: this mirrored brooch set with diamonds, pearls, and turquoises. She received numerous turquoise pieces in her wedding gift haul, and these two may have been designed to be worn together. (More on the brooch over here!)

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Margaret died in 1920, and her turquoises were inherited by her only daughter, Ingrid. In 1926, she wore the bandeau for the wedding of her cousin, Princess Astrid of Sweden, to the future King Leopold III of Belgium. (You’ll note that it was very fashionable at the time to wear tiaras low across the forehead a la Josephine. You’ll also spot the aforementioned Turquoise Daisy Bandeau here on the left side of the photo — more over here!)

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Here’s a close-up of Ingrid wearing the bandeau for Astrid’s wedding. The contrasting rows of beads are clearer here. I’ve read speculation that this bandeau may be a converted bracelet or necklace, which makes sense design-wise. Unfortunately, we don’t seem to know any more about it. Presumably it still exists somewhere, perhaps in the collections of one of Ingrid’s three daughters. Here’s hoping we see it again (in some form) someday!