The Backstory Behind The Tiara Debut of The Three Future Queens in Europe

Princesses of the blood royal traditionally never wear a tiara until they become of age. 

Royal customs dictate that wearing a tiara comes with responsibility, and so they expect to wear one when they are considered an adult. Thus, we haven't seen minor princesses wear a tiara. 

Their tiara debut is always a highly anticipated moment among royal fans, so when news that Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway will have her 18th birthday gala dinner and foreign princesses will be attending the event, royal fans become excited to see which head sparklers of the royal family they would be debuting.

Four future Queens and a Grand Duke

Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway

The second-in-line of succession to the Norwegian throne made her tiara debut ahead of her birthday gala dinner. 

Official birthday portrait © detnorskekongehus

She wore the Boucheron Pearl Circlet Tiara that previously belonged to her great-great-grandmother, Princess Ingeborg of Denmark. 

The Boucheron Pearl Circlet Tiara is not a family heirloom but a new item purchased by Prince Carl of Sweden from Boucheron in 1900 for his wife, Princess Ingeborg. 

They were the parents of Queen Astrid of Belgium (grandmother of King Philippe of Belgium) and Crown Princess Martha of Norway (mother of King Harald V). 

Princess Ingrid Alexandra © detnorskekongehus

It was inherited by King Harald V's older sister, Princess Ragnhild, Mrs. Lorentzen. When the princess died in 2012, the tiara was returned to King Harald V and handed down to his granddaughter, Princess Ingrid Alexandra.

The king's only living sibling, Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner, gave a detailed description of the tiara. She said: 

"It means a great deal to me that the tiara has now been given to Princess Ingrid Alexandra", Princess Astrid said. "It is a beautiful tiara made of interlocking diamond circles set in platinum. The button-style diamond and pearl elements are later additions. Grandfather (she meant Prince Carl of Sweden) purchased the tiara for Grandmother (Princess Ingeborg of Denmark) when they were attending the Paris Exposition in 1900", Princess Astrid added. "Grandfather bought this for my grandmother because it was lighter to wear on important occasions".

It's also interesting to note that Princess Ingrid Alexandra didn't wear a new dress during her 18th birthday gala dinner. The plum dress she wore belonged to her mother, Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway.

Princess Elisabeth, the Duchess of Brabant

The heir-apparent of King Philippe of the Belgians wore a completely new tiara. The crown jewelers could not identify its source as it has not been seen worn by members of the Belgian royal family.

Princess Elisabeth, the Duchess of Brabant

The Belgian royal court did not comment on the tiara worn by the Duchess of Brabant. Royal tiara experts assumed it is a new piece of jewelry custom-made for Princess Elisabeth. 

Princess Elisabeth and her mother, Queen Mathilde

It's also interesting to note that Princess Elisabeth did not wear a tiara during her 18th birthday celebration. 

Another future Queen who did not debut a tiara on her 18th birthday in December 2021 is Princess Catharina-Amalia of The Netherlands, the Princess of Orange.

Updated July 17:

Finally, we have a credible information about The Duchess of Brabant's tiara debut!

A royal aide from The Royal Palace of Belgium spoke to a Belgian reporter, Wim Dehandscutter regarding the tiara worn by Princess Elisabeth ti the 18th gala birthday dinner of Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway.

He revealed that the tiara was a gift to the Duchess of Brabant for her 18th birthday in October 2019 from her parents, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde. 

Their Majesties might have bought this tiara from the auction because it has similarity to the tiara previously worn by Lady Vestey, Evelyn Brodstone.

According to Tiara Mania, the Diamond Floral festoon tiara probably previously belonged to Evelyn Brodstone, the second wife of the 1st Baron Vestey. 

The tiara remained in the Vestey family for three generations. And was seen worn by the daughter of the 3rd Baron Vestey to her wedding in 1997.

Succeeding Vestey brides did not wear the same tiara so many speculated that the tiara was sold in auction.

Princess Catharina-Amalia, the Princess of Orange

She debuted on her mother's wedding tiara, a heartwarming choice. The Pearl Button Tiara is one of the Dutch royal family's jewelry collections that can be altered into a completely different form.

The Princess of Orange

During the wedding of the Princess of Orange's parents in February 2002, her mother, now Queen Maxima, just chose the base of the tiara and removed the pearl buttons, she replaced it with star diamonds.

The King and Queen during their wedding in 2002

Princess Catharina-Amalia also chose to wear the tiara they way her mother donned it on her wedding day. 

The Princess of Orange and King Felipe VI of Spain 

Just days ago, during the traditional annual summer photo call of the Dutch royal family, the Princess of Orange revealed in an interview how she ended up choosing the tiara.

"To be able to do something like this for the first time was really cool for me. Especially with my love for tiaras. And I thought it was really nice that I could wear my mother's wedding tiara. 

"There is a lot going on. Choosing a dress and stuff like that, and there's been a lot of conversations and discussions about that and this and that, but in the end I'm really happy with how it turned out." 

The journalist asked her if it was her choice or her mother's choice to wear the Star Diamonds Tiara. "My mother suggested it", she responded.

Queen Maxima also explained how they've come up choosing her wedding tiara: "These are the options. What would you like? And Amalia immediately chose my wedding tiara."