For last week’s Style File Friday, we looked at some of our favourite red and green fashion history moments. This week we are going big- much bigger. Unsurprisingly, my tiara and jewellery posts are some of the most popular here on An Historian About Town. So, we are going to give the people (er, readers…) what they want! For Style File Friday this week, we are giving you some of the best red and green tiaras from the royal vaults! To be clear, these tiaras are red or green- no one is wearing a red and green tiara. (Though I would absolutely wear a red and green tiara.)
King Edward VII Ruby Tiara (Sweden)
We are starting strong with the King Edward VII Ruby Tiara in the Swedish Royal Family. Interestingly, most of the tiaras worn by the Swedish royals belong to a foundation, meaning that they cannot be given away or inherited. As a benefit for us tiara watchers, it means that the Swedes tend to be far more liberal with who can wear which tiara. You will often see them wearing different notable tiaras (very different from how the UK royals handle their jewels).
The King Edward VII Ruby Tiara entered the Swedish vaults when Princess Margaret of Connaught, the niece of Edward VII, married into the family. The Garrard-designed tiara is in a coronet style, with scroll and festoon designs with stunning rubies featured amongst the diamonds. It is a striking tiara (that can also be worn as a necklace), and Queen Silvia often wears the piece. Interestingly, we have only seen Silvia wear this one.
Danish Emerald Parure Tiara (Denmark)
This particular Danish tiara is part of the Danish crown jewels, meaning it is not going anywhere! In Denmark, this does mean that only the reigning monarch or consort can wear them, though, and they cannot be taken out of the country, so we have only seen Queen Margrethe wearing them (in Denmark).
The emeralds used for this taira date back to the eighteenth century, though the tiara itself was created in the mid-nineteenth century. King Christian VIII’s consort, Queen Caroline Amalie, had most of the Danish crown jewels redesigned in the 1840s, including creating this tiara. The diamond and emerald tiara has a ribbon design, and despite being a somewhat delicate tiara (comparatively), it is often referred to as the “flame” tiara. It is a part of larger emerald set (parure) that includes a pair of earrings, a brooch, and a necklace. Margrethe will often wear several pieces from the parure at once.
The Ruby Peacock Tiara (Netherlands)
This tiara has celebrated its 125th birthday this year- Queen Wilhemina of the Netherlands had this tiara made in 1897. It has a very unique swirling design with a large peacock-tail-shaped element in the centre. (You don’t often see peacocks referenced in tiaras…) The central peacock element can actually be detached and worn as a separate aigrette in the hair, as Princess Irene (the previous wearer) did several times. Queen Juliana (the daughter of Queen Wilhemina) wore this tiara in its necklace form when she ascended the throne, lending further gravitas to this interesting piece. Queen Maxima has worn it as both a tiara and a necklace!
The Norwegian Emerald Parure Tiara (Norway)
These emeralds are a true mystery- the provenance of these is still unknown! Some sources date them back to the turn of the nineteenth century while other place them closer to the mid-nineteenth century. In any case, this tiara is stunning. It entered the Norwegian Royal Family when Queen Josephine, wife of King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway inherited the emerald set from her sister. Princess Ingeborg (d. 1958) wore the entire set frequently, and Crown Princess Martha (d. 1954) borrowed pieces from the set, also.
Queen Sonja has worn the Norwegian Emerald Parure Tiara several times since she married the future King Harald V. The parure includes a stunning necklace, a pair of earrings, a large brooch, and the tiara. The tiara has a floral and scroll design that has several diamonds and one square feature. In additions to the diamonds, gold, and silver, it includes over twenty emeralds.
Queen Victoria’s Indian Circlet (Great Britain)
What would this post be without a British tiara? Unshockingly, this tiara belonged to Queen Victoria. Prince Albert was inspired by the plants and jewellery seen in the Great Exhibition of 1851, and decided to create a lotus and arch shaped tiara for his wife. His favourite jewels were opals, so he went with diamonds and opals for the tiara when he originally gifted it to Victoria.
Victoria stopped wearing the tiara, and really all jewellery, after his death, so it was not worn again until her daughter-in-law became Queen. Although we have no photos of Alexandra wearing the circlet, she decided to swap the opals for rubies. Alexandra’s granddaughter-in-law, known later as the Queen Mother, wore the ruby form of the tiara frequently throughout her royal life. And Queen Elizabeth II wore it a handful of times (publicly), as well!
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Out of these red and green tiaras, which is your favourite?
Cheers,
The Historian
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