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.

Without your title and dynasty, you’re Victoria Beckham and you rely on the pages of Hello! magazine for your publicity. Some royals, unfortunately, don’t seem to mind that eventuality.

Princes William and Harry and their cousin Princess Beatrice seem content to live a socialite’s life with scads of money, but want none of the responsibility that comes with being royal. Hence Beatrice’s casual request, “Just call me plain Beatrice” when referred to as Her Royal Highness. God forbid you’re associated with an institution or idea that puts country before self…

Today, people are trashing tradition and putting their muddy boots up on the proverbial coffee table. They have no examples of how to behave, so now is the time for a young royal role model to step in. Serve your nation and re-establish the authority of monarchy by acting as a solid, dependable example that younger people can emulate. Make people rise to greater heights; don’t come down to suit laziness.

Returning to university, for instance, would be a good start.  William should be reading Economics or political science. His great-grandfather King George VI equated the institution of monarchy to a company, calling it ‘The Firm’. So what better way to prepare for your own role as king than to study business? Approach it as your own company and be passionate about it. Inspire your countrymen to do the same in their own lives.

That’s a big reason that a lot of the public is expecting a “closed” sign on the gates of the Palace after the death of the Queen. Younger members of the royal family drop their titles to seem “cool” and unaffected. They’re swept along in the tide of celebrity, where one can no longer distinguish Lindsey Lohan from Princess Eugenie. Knickers go amiss, drink flows freely, and paparazzi capture the tabloid shots that would even embarass a prostitute.

This new generation is so lackluster and careless, how do they expect the nation to care?

The answer: it won’t.

What will the United Kingdom do? Below, some of the top royals that the British Royal Family can look to for inspiration:

*The Netherlands’ Crown Princess Maxima was a former investment banker. She graduated with a degree in Economics from the Universidad Católica Argentina before working for large international companies in Finance in Argentina, New York and Europe.

*Queen Rania of Jordan has a degree in business from the American University in Cairo and has established scholarships in business studies. The queen’s idea is to educate Jordanians and help them to be independent as entrepreneurs.

* Crown Prince Felipe of Spain attended Autonomous University of Madrid, where he earned a degree in Law. He also completed several courses on economics. He completed his academic studies by obtaining a Master of Science in Foreign Service degree from Georgetown University.

This is all constructive criticism and, I hope, a wake-up call for the British Royal family. I feel it is very important that we discuss this sort of thing, because if the UK decides to get rid of the monarchy, it will fall in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and elsewhere.

Something of that magnitude has not happened since the war when monarchies fell across Europe due to invasion. Having it crumble due to lackluster performances and careless attitudes on the part of its members is a shattering thought. How embarrassing for the Western world…. Winston would spin in his grave.

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Monarchy will never die. Here’s Why.

The Queen, who is Palestinian, decided to help her homeland in the most personal way she could think of by donating blood on Tuesday. More than 350 people have already been killed in the besieged region.

Rania’s husband, H.M. King Abdullah II, also donated blood at the same hospital the previous day.

Queen Rania visited the Al-Hussein Medical Centre today to take part in a nationwide campaign to donate blood and support the citizens of Gaza.
- Palace Statement

Queen Rania wrote of the tragedy: “To be limited to expressing sympathies with the people of Gaza is shameful because they don’t need to be felt sorry for, they need us to act and help, and I know that we can do more.”

I think Queen Rania is right. It will take time to change some of the aspects of Muslim culture in regards to women. We in the western world are full of feminism, ‘girl power’, and the working woman, and we think that other cultures in the world should be just like us and at the same point we are in our progression. This is not possible, and we need to remember that things do take time. Not to mention the fact that a lot of our own cultures still have sexism issues.

Take a look, it’s very interesting.