Princess Charlene's Lost Jewelry? The Three Wedding Gifts from Prince Albert II

Usually, women who married into royalty wore pieces of jewelry from the royal collection loaned to them by members of the royal family. For instance, both Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle wore tiaras on their wedding day loaned by Queen Elizabeth II.

However, in the case of former swimming Olympian Charlene Wittstock, her fiance, Prince Albert II, who by then was already the Sovereign Prince of Monaco, gifted her with new pieces of jewelry, two tiaras, and a necklace.

Wedding gifts from Prince Albert II to Princess Charlene

It was assumed that the royal jewelry collection, including tiaras, of their mother, Princess Grace, were inherited by Albert's two sisters, Princess Caroline and Princess Stephanie, so he must give his bride new sets of jewelry to be worn on special royal events. 

Here are the three precious wedding gifts Prince Albert II gave to Charlene:

1. The Ocean Tiara and Earrings - The diamond and sapphire Ocean tiara featured 1,200 precious stones arranged in wave-like symbols, as a tribute to Charlene's swimming career. This Ocean suite was designed by Van Cleef & Arpels. 

"The idea of the necklace is to represent sea spume. So we included 359 sapphires. We chose three shades of blue, evoking the world's different seas from the waters of the coast of Monaco to the ocean around Africa. To crown the work, eleven pearl-cut diamonds evoke droplets of water", explained by the CEO of  Van Cleef & Arpels, Stanislas Quercize. 

Princess Charlene wears the Ocean Tiara in a necklace form for the first time in 2011

Princess Charlene wore this jewelry for the first time in 2011 during the charity Ball in Monaco but in a necklace form. She has not worn this piece to any royal or public event since then. 

The only time she wore it as a tiara was during a Hola magazine photoshoot in 2014. But six years later, in October 2020, she was seen wearing the Ocean Tiara in a necklace form.

The only time Princess Charlene wore the Ocean Tiara (Hola magazine shoot in 2014)

She wore the earrings set, however, in 2022 while hosting a cocktail party in the gardens of the Prince's Palace with guests from Maison Van Cleef & Arpels.

2. The Aigrette Diamond  Tiara -  Also known as the Diamond Foam Tiara, this piece was designed by Lorenz Baumer, and was created to resemble the spray rising off of a cresting wave. 

Princess Charlene wearing the Aigrette Tiara at their wedding reception

Princess Charlene wore it once, at the wedding reception in July 2011. She wore it like a bandeau instead of a spray style. 

We're wondering why she has not seen wearing this tiara (except when she posed for a portrait with the designer). The design looked gorgeous and could have been a perfect head accessory during gala nights. 

3. The Infinite Cascade Necklace - This spectacular diamond and pearl necklace was made by Lebanese jeweler, Nagib Tabbah of Tabbah Jewelry. 

The Infinite Cascade Tiara. Photo credit" Tabbah Jewelry

The necklace was a collaboration between Princess Charlene and Nagib Tabbah. It was made of rose gold with more than 1,000 pieces of diamonds and six large pearls. 

Nagib Tabbah said about the design: "The design of the necklace is imbued with fluid-structure: ripples that at once wrap, as if to protect, the neck, while simultaneously cascading over the collar bone where the large pearls drop, their individual settings ensuring delicate sparkle and warm glow as they catch the light."

Princess Charlene wears the infinite cascade tiara in July 2011

The only time that Princess Charlene wore this piece was at the special Jean Michel Jarre Concert following her and Prince Albert's civil wedding ceremony in July 2011.

Since then none of these wedding gifts from Prince Albert II were ever seen in Princess Charlene in public. 

The estimated cost of these three precious wedding gifts from Prince Albert II was said to be around  £11.8million. 

But despite the grandeur, extravagance, and elegance these jewelry pieces exude, Princess Charlene seems not enticed to wear these precious diamonds. And we're wondering why. 

She has attended many royal events, even gala nights where she had to wear full court regalia, both in Monaco and abroad, still, she was not seen wearing any of these pieces.

We are still hoping that one day, she will wear either the Ocean Tiara, the Aigrette Tiara, or the Cascade Diamond Necklace in royal events.