This pearl tiara is a wonderful pearl creations! Today, in honor of Princess Benedikte of Denmark’s 70th birthday, we honor her gorgeous pearl tiara!
Now, first things first, what is a tiara? It is a head-piece, originally worn by royalty with a semi-circle/three-quarter circle design. Crowns, on the other hand, have a full circular or oval shape. The crown in meant to represent power, infinity or honor. Tiaras are usually worn by noble women and they do not indicate a certain rank.
And this pearl tiara? Well, to quote another royalty, Prince,
“D to the I to the A to the M
O to the N to the D to the pearls of love
D to the I to the A to the M
O to the N to the D to the pearls of love”
Okay, just kidding with the Prince lyrics although this crown does display gorgeous 12-pointed diamond stars between the crowning pearls.
In 1857 when Sophia of Nassau (1836-1913) married the future King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway her half-brother Adolphe, gave this tiara to her as a wedding gift. The crown came with Sophia to Sweden and was then passed to Queen Victoria of Sweden (1862-1930), who married Sophia and Oscar’s son Gustaf V.
Queen Victoria’s great-granddaughter Princess Ingrid married the future King Frederik IX of Denmark, and took the crown with her to Denmark. She would loan this crown to her three daughters and, upon her death, she left this crown to her middle daughter, Princess Benedikte.
Ingrid’s oldest daughter is the reigning Queen of Denmark, Margrethe II, and her youngest is Queen Anne-Marie of Greece.
Benedikte married a German prince, Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg. She is still a working Danish royal but she lives in Germany with her husband and three children (thereby leaving her children without succession rights). She wears the star and pearl tiara to various functions and occasionally loans the tiara to her own daughters, Princesses Alexandra and Nathalie.
Happy Birthday, Princess Benedikte! Love the pearl tiara!
*Thanks to the lovely blog The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor for this fabulous information and images! And a little help from Wikipedia! <3
I am a modern day treasure hunter who travels the world for gorgeous pearls and amazing adventures. I own a pearl jewelry and jewelry repair business, ThePearlGirls.com, with a cute retail store in Athens, GA. I also have a Pearl Travel business and travel blog at TheWorldofPearl.com.
