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My final post before vacation focused on the royal jewels that might be seen at Crown Princess Victoria’s wedding. The royal women certainly did not disappoint; everything sparkled and looked magnificent.

I saw some tiaras that were amazing as well as amazingly out of place. Let’s check it out, but a word to the wise: this post is picture-laden. It may take a moment to load.

Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg

The Cuban-born lovely usually wears beautiful jewels that fit her appearance, but in this instance, the tiara was too big. It seemed to weigh too heavily for someone as petite as Maria Teresa.

According to Royal Magazin, the origin of this Empire Diamant tiara is not known. The tiara’s design of laurel leaves dates to around the mid of the 19th century. It had been worn by Grand Duke Henri’s mother, Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte.

Princess Birgitta of Sweden

Crown Princess Victoria’s aunt Birgitta was seen wearing the Nine-Prong Diamond tiara, also known as Queen Sophie’s Diamond Tiara.

Queen Sophie’s tiara was put forward as a possibility for Queen Silvia, the mother of the bride (below).

Instead, Her Majesty opted for the Braganca Diamond Tiara. This tiara once belonged to Empress Amalie of Brazil, whose sister was Queen Josephine of Sweden. After her death, it was inherited by Josephine and became a fixture among the jewels of the Swedish Royal Family. Interestingly, Queen Silvia’s mother Alice was Brazilian.

This easily rivals the Luxembourg Empire Diamant tiara above, but because Silvia’s hair has more body, it seems to compliment the tiara rather than allow it to overshadow her.

Her suite of jewelry was the Pink Topaz set worn by Queen Louise of Sweden (Lord Mountbatten’s sister). It was originally the wedding gift of the Russian Tsar Paul to his daughter, who married a German Grand Duke. Their daughter, Augusta, married the infamous Kaiser. It was Augusta’s granddaughter, Victoria, who would bring the suite into the Bernadotte dynasty when she married Prince Gustav of Sweden.

Princess Madeleine of Sweden

The sister of the bride sported the Connaught Diamond Tiara, a delicate looped headpiece that was simple and elegant.

The Connaught once belonged to Princess Margaret of Connaught. It was a wedding gift from her parents, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Duchess Louise Margarete (formerly of Prussia). Margaret, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, married the future King Gustav Adolf in 1905.

Crown Princess Maxima of the Netherlands

Maxima wore a very sparkly yet subtle tiara to the nuptials.

The Diamond Bandeau Tiara has adorned the heads of Dutch queens and princesses for generations. It is made up of twenty-seven large diamonds set on a platinum band.

Princess Mabel of the Netherlands

Mabel’s nutty “trouser gown” detracted from her headpiece, but if you did happen to notice it, you’ll recognize that it is the very same tiara she wore on her wedding day to Queen Beatrix’s son Prince Friso.

Thanks to Mad Hattery, I discovered that Mabel’s tiara is the second setting of the Mellerio Sapphire Tiara. It is topped with 11 large diamonds that look like lollipops.

I don’t know what possessed her to wear the outfit that she did, but the color was nice anyway!

Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway

Mette Marit chose to wear Queen Maud’s Pearl tiara to highlight her elegant bone structure and eye-catching platinum locks. This tiara was also worn by Mette Marit’s sister-in-law, Princess Martha-Louise for her wedding to Ari Behn.

While Martha-Louise wore the tiara high on her head, the Crown Princess (above) tilted the prongs back, creating the illusion of a smaller headpiece.

This tiara came down from Queen Maud of Norway, a sister of King George V of Great Britain. She had married Prince Charles of Denmark, who had been presented with the opportunity to become King of Norway. He accepted, and they became Queen Maud and King Haakon.

Princess Martha-Louise wore the Norwegian Amethyst Necklace Tiara. Like many royal tiaras, it is easily converted into a necklace and has matching earrings. The tiara was a gift to her mother Queen Sonja from King Harald.

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark

The Danish Crown Princess wore Queen Ingrid’s Ruby Parure Tiara. It is a tiara frequently worn by Mary, and completely apropos for this wedding: inherited by Queen Luise of Sweden, she eventually passed it to her daughter, the future Queen Louise of Denmark, as a wedding present.

Many thanks to The Immense Glitter of Two Danish Royal Weddings, Royal Jewels and Royal Magazin (again)!

Queen Rania of Jordan

Queen Rania wore a converted bracelet as her headpiece. Her gown was elegant but her hair was slightly messy. The small tiara gets lost in Rania’s beehive.

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Since her engagement last February, Crown Princess Victoria has been waist-deep in wedding business: choosing her gown, flowers, and most importantly, her jewels.

Many details have not been made public yet, but one important tidbit we do know is that Victoria has chosen the Cameo tiara as her headpiece. One of the oldest jewels in the Swedish royal family’s collection, the Cameo tiara was worn by the princess’s mother, Silvia, when she married King Carl XVI Gustaf.

Owned by the French Empress Josephine, it was inherited by her granddaughter and namesake, Duchess Josephine of Leuchtenberg, who brought it to Sweden when she married the future King Oscar I. It has been passed down by the Bernadotte dynasty ever since.

We know what Victoria will be wearing for a tiara, but what about the other royal women attending the ceremony? What cascades of jewels will be adorning regal heads – and gowns – across Europe? Take a look at Royal Jewels of the World, Royal Dutch Jewels, and Royal Magazin for an idea of the magnificence that may appear on the day.

For more possibilities, Read more…

If you have ‘tweens’ or teenagers, chances are you’ve heard the term “BFFs”. The catchy abbreviation stands for “Best Friends Forever”, a term that’s taken seriously by some of Europe’s royals.

Take the Scandinavian troika of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, and Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria: all three are close friends and, like most European royals, are distantly related through Britain’s Queen Victoria.

These three all have close ties with one another, as they share a unique position of being the heir to a throne. The burden is eased knowing that they can talk and share ideas with someone who understands the pressures. Both Frederik and Haakon have always regarded Victoria as a “lillesøster” (little sister), attending royal ceremonies and performing official duties together whenever they can.

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“We share experiences from travel, and talk together on complex issues where we need to exchange ideas,” says Princess Victoria.

“We always have a really nice time together. Meeting points are obviously not as frequent as you want. Full calendars sometimes prevent you from being united, but I am very fond of both the Crown Princes and grateful for their support.”

One of their joint outings occurred when Frederik, Haakon, and Victoria visited the Antarctic as patrons of the International Polar Year, a project which allowed them to schedule working time together. They all have a keen interest in the environment and are usually seen together for such causes. In December 2009, they spent time in Frederik’s homeland of Denmark, where they attended the opening of the Bright Green Expo in Copenhagen.

Previously, Victoria was the only unmarried royal among the group, and would often accompany her princely “brothers” and their wives at royal functions. Now Victoria is escorted by Daniel Westling, her fiance, who will become a royal prince and the Duke of Västergötland upon their marriage on June 19th. The Crown Princess will walk down the aisle the same day her parents married in 1976.

The Scandinavian triumvirate are so close that Victoria was named godmother to Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Christian, the eldest children of Prince Haakon and Prince Frederik, respectively.

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The Crown Princesses of the Netherlands and Belgium are close friends through their royal husbands. Even their countries are intertwined. Belgium was once a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but gained independence in 1830. Both nations remain close allies.

Princess Maxima of the Netherlands and BFF Princess Mathilde carry out several engagements for their respective countries, but try to make it a joint effort as much as possible.

Many say that the pair work ‘seamlessly‘ when they attend events together. The opening of a new museum in Leven, Belgium, was no exception: Maxima and Mathilde smiled and greeted the crowds with warm enthusiasm and clearly enjoyed each other’s company as well.

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Mathilde and Maxima have a lot in common. Close in age, they both married heirs of thrones; both women are university-educated; they speak several languages fluently; and both were successful career women when they met their husbands.

Argentine-born Maxima was working at the New York branch of Germany’s Deutsche Bank when she began dating Prince Willem-Alexander. Mathilde was employed as a speech therapist when she met her future husband, Prince Philippe, during a casual game of tennis.

The pair of princesses also share a love of being hands-on, attentive mothers. Maxima has three girls and Mathilde has two boys and two girls. Mathilde is godmother to Maxima’s middle daughter, Princess Alexia.

Add your favorite royal pairings in the comments below!

Norwegian Princess Märtha Louise hails from a long line of Norse, Danish, and Swedish royalty. Her family is part of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, whose members include Prince Philip of Great Britain and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.

Upon first glance, Märtha Louise is a typical princess – the impressive royal pedigree, jewels, and a face wreathed in smiles as she fulfills her duties to the nation.

But all is not as it seems. Princess Märtha Louise of Norway is anything but typical …

Click here to Read more…

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…and more! Now I plan to add a bit of my own regal shine. See you there! NOTE: The above is a working title

Princess Martha-Louise of Norway, seen below in 2001.

Norwegian Princess Martha-Louise and her husband, Ari Behn, have had their third daughter baptized in Oslo.

Emma Tallulah Behn was baptized at the Royal Palace in the presence of her parents;  godmothers Alexia of Greece and CP Mette-Marit, and over 200 other guests.

Emma’s older sisters, five-year-old Maud Angelica and three-year-old Leah Isadora, were also at the ceremony.

It was nice to see pictures of the girls smiling. Especially Maud, who, for some reason or another, never seemed to smile in any photo. They are actually quite adorable!

Also noted is that Ari Behn, who – if he was sans beard -  resembles CP Frederik of Denmark!

Via hellomagazine.com