Royal state visits always give royal fans an opportunity to catch a glimpse of royal ladies in their magnificent outfits. And state banquets are a chance to see them sparkle in their stunning regalia and historic tiaras.
Just this week, King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands and Queen Maxima are in Sweden for their official state visit, and once again, the Swedish royal ladies put a united front to give the Dutch royals a regal welcome. And with it, came a splendid display of glamorous royal ensembles and glittering toppers.
 |
| Queen Maxima, King Willem-Alexander, King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia |
 |
| Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Princess Sofia, Prince Carl Philip |
On October 12, 2022, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia hosted a state banquet for the visiting King and Queen of the Netherlands at the Royal Palace in Stockholm. It was attended by Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip, his wife, Princess Sofia, and one of King Carl's sisters, Princess Cristina, and her husband, Tord Magnuson.
 |
| Princess Cristina and her husband, Tord Magnuson |
Historic Tiaras
The state banquet was highlighted by the historic tiaras worn by the royal ladies. Queen Maxima, Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, and Princess Cristina wore important pieces of history during the state banquet. While Princess Sofia donned the Palmette Tiara with emeralds, this tiara was a wedding gift to her from her in-laws.
 |
| Princess Sofia, the wife of Prince Carl Philip, wore her wedding tiara |
 |
| Historic tiaras: Stuart Tiara, Braganza Tiara, Napoleonic Amethyst Tiara |
Queen Silvia - The Floral Braganza Tiara
Queen Silvia wore one of the biggest tiaras in the Swedish royal jewelry collection, the Floral diamond diadem, also known as the Braganza tiara. She regularly wore it during state occasions in Sweden.
The tiara has historic ties to the House of Braganza of Brazil. Its original owner was Princess Amelie of Leuchtenberg, the second wife of Emperor Pedro I of Brazil. She was the granddaughter of Empress Josephine of France.
Empress Amelie left the tiara to her sister, Queen Josephine, the wife of King Oscar I of Sweden, because her only child, Princess Maria Amelia of Brazil, predeceased her by 20 years. It has a special effect of history on Queen Silvia because she is half-Brazilian.
Queen Silvia is currently the sole wearer of this precious tiara. She wore it to the 2010 wedding of her eldest daughter, Crown Princess Victoria. The Crown Princess will have a chance to wear this tiara when she becomes the Queen regnant of Sweden.
Queen Maxima - The Stuart Diamond Tiara
The Dutch Queen Consort wore one of the most historic tiaras in the Dutch royal jewelry collection, the Stuart Diamond Tiara! According to The Court Jeweller, the single diamond featured in the tiara alone weighs almost forty carats. This tiara has historic ties to the United Kingdom.Â
 |
| Queen Maxima of The Netherlands |
Its first recorded owner was Queen Mary II of Britain from the House of Stuart, hence the name of this tiara. Queen Mary was the wife of King William III, who was originally Prince of Orange and Stadtholder of Holland. He co-reigned with his wife on the British throne.
Mary and William purchased the diamond and originally created it into a pendant necklace. Queen Mary and King William did not have children so the magnificent pendant necklace was kept in the House of Orange jewelry collection. It was inherited by the subsequent Prince of Orange in The Netherlands.
 |
| Queen Maxima and King Carl XVI Gustaf |
Queen Emma of The Netherlands, commissioned Schurmann jeweler to design a tiara adorned with the Stuart diamond for the enthronement ceremony of her daughter, Queen Wilhelmina, in 1898. It passed through the succeeding Dutch Queens and became one of the favorite head sparklers of Queen Juliana.Â
Princess Cristina - The Connaught Tiara
Princess Cristina, the older sister of King Carl XVI Gustaf, attended the state banquet wearing the Connaught tiara, one of the most historic tiaras of the Swedish royal family as it has ties to the British royal family.
Made of diamond arches with delicate designs of flowers and hanging small diamonds, the Connaught tiara was a wedding gift from Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught (third son of Queen Victoria of Britain), and his wife, Princess Louise Margaret, to their eldest child, Princess Margaret, on the occasion of her wedding to the future King of Sweden, Adolf Gustaf, in 1905.
The Connaught Tiara is one of the favorite head sparklers of Crown Princess Victoria and her sister, Princess Madeleine. The latter wore it to the wedding of her older sister in 2010.
Crown Princess Victoria - The Napoleonic Amethyst Tiara
The heir to the Swedish throne wore a magnificent Amethyst tiara that also matched her one-shoulder purple dress during the state banquet. It is also known as the Napoleonic Amethyst Parure Tiara because it is usually worn in pairs with earrings and bracelet.
 |
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Duchess of Vastergotland
|
As we all know today, the House of Bernadotte in Sweden was founded by a French military leader and Marshal of the French empire, Jean Bernadotte. He was chosen as the heir-presumptive of King Charles XIII of Sweden whose legitimate children did not survive infancy. Jean Bernadotte ascended the Swedish throne in 1818 as King Charles XIV John.Â
 |
| King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands and Crown Princess Victoria |
The Swedish royal family's ties to the French did not stop there. In 1823, Charles XIV John's son and successor, King Oscar I, married Princess Josephine of Leuchtenberg, granddaughter of Empress Josephine of France (from her first marriage and not with Napoleon). With this marriage, came a string of sparklers from the jewelry collection of Empress Josephine.
This Napoleonic Amethyst Tiara was originally a set of a large necklace, a bracelet, and earrings made of diamonds with large dark purple amethysts. The set was a gift from Empress Josephine to her son, Eugene, who became the Duke of Leuchtenberg.Â
 |
| King Willem-Alexander delivered a speech |
When Eugene's daughter, Josephine married the future King of Sweden, he gave the set as a wedding gift. Following the wedding of the young King Carl Gustaf to Silvia Sommerlath in 1976, his wife noticed that the Amethyst necklace was large and heavy to wear, so she decided to create a tiara out of the dark purple amethysts.Â
Photo credit: Royal Court of Sweden, Dutch Royal House, Getty Images
0 Comments