The Alexandrine Diamond Drop Tiara

Photos (clockwise from top left): Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg; Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg; Queen Margrethe II of Denmark; tiara detail

One of the perks of being a royal princess is that you often receive your very first tiara on your eighteenth birthday. Some of them are dinky (like Crown Princess Victoria's birthday tiara), some are modern (like Princess Märtha Louise of

Weekend Bonus: The Imperial Chrysanthemum Tiara

Empress Michiko of Japan (born 1934), pictured here with Emperor Akihito (born 1933), wears the Imperial Chrysanthemum Tiara

Weekend Bonus: The Fife Tiara

Princess Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife (1867-1931) wears the Fife Tiara. The diamond fringe necklace she wears was a wedding gift from her parents, King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra; it could also be worn as a tiara

The Queen Ena Aquamarine Tiara

Photos (clockwise from top left): Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg; Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain; Olimpia Weiller; Infanta Beatriz, Princess of Civitella-Cesi; Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain; tiara detail




When Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg stepped out in this aquamarine tiara at her nephew's royal wedding last autumn, it was a major reminder that she didn't just marry into royalty -- she

The Aquamarine Pine Flower Tiara

Today's aquamarine tiara is one that generally falls into either "love it" or "hate it" camps: the British aquamarine tiara with pine cone/flower motifs that is owned today by Princess Anne.



The tiara itself dates back nearly a century to Anne's grandparents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. The king commissioned Cartier to make the tiara for his wife as an anniversary present. She was

The Ligne Aquamarine Tiara

Photos (clockwise from top left): Princess Isabella de Ligne de La Trémoïlle; tiara detail; tiara detail


Today's aquamarines come to us courtesy of the Belgian noble house of Ligne. The Ligne family have held their titles for centuries, but this tiara is a thoroughly modern addition to the family's jewel collection.


When Prince Edouard de Ligne de La Trémoïlle (a member of a junior branch

The Romanov Aquamarine Tiara

Photos (clockwise from top left): tiara detail; Tsarina Alexandra of Russia; tiara detail; brooch detail


The royal aquamarine tiara that I like perhaps best of all is one that could be almost anywhere these days. It's the aquamarine and diamond sparkler once owned by Alexandra Feodorovna, the last empress of Russia.


Like many Russian tiaras, this one was designed to mimic a kokoshnik

The Brazilian Aquamarine Tiara

Photos (clockwise from top left): Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom; Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom; Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom (in the 1957 version); tiara detail




We've talked about the smaller of the two aquamarine tiaras in Queen Elizabeth II's collection already -- now let's take a look at its big sister, shall we? This tiara, the Brazilian Aquamarine, was

Weekend Bonus: The Connaught Diamond Tiara

Princess Madeleine of Sweden (born 1982) wears the Connaught Diamond Tiara at the wedding of her sister, Crown Princess Victoria, in 2010. She also wears the Processional Necklace, made of Ceylon sapphires, pearls, and diamonds, that was given in 1881 to the future Queen Victoria of Sweden by her new husband for her procession into the city of Stockholm

Weekend Bonus: The Pearl Poiré Tiara

Queen Alexandrine of Denmark (1879-1952) wears the Pearl Poiré Tiara with the necklace and earrings that were given by the Khedive of Egypt to the future Queen Louise of Denmark as a wedding gift in 1869

The Flanders Tiara

Photos (clockwise from top left): tiara detail; Princess Marie of Hohenzollern, Countess of Flanders; tiara detail; tiara detail


Let's wrap up our week of shamrocks, clovers, and trefoils with a peek at a historical tiara from the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha vaults, shall we? This is the trefoil coronet of the last Countess of Flanders, who was born Princess Marie of Hohenzollern.


The tiara was made

The Clover Coronet Tiara

Photos (clockwise from top left): Empress Augusta Viktoria of Prussia; Empress Augusta Viktoria of Prussia; tiara detail; tiara detail

The Prussian royal family may possibly have let go of their shamrock kokoshnik tiara, but we know for sure that they've still got this clover showstopper: the coronet once owned by the last empress of Germany, Augusta Viktoria. Apparently the design for the

The Hesketh Floral Tiara

Clockwise (from top left): Christian Fermor-Hesketh, Lady Hesketh; tiara detail; tiara detail


Shamrocks are often featured in jewels from the United Kingdom designed to represent the four major realms of the nation. Shamrocks, of course, are a symbol of Northern Ireland, while England, Scotland, and Wales are symbolized by roses, thistles, and daffodils. This tiara, once owned by the Hesketh

The Shamrock Kokoshnik Tiara

Photos (clockwise from top left): tiara detail; Princess Cecilie of Prussia; Princess Cecilie of Prussia; tiara detail


The former imperial family of Germany may not have been successful at maintaining their realm (to put it mildly), but they were pretty darn good at amassing an impressive collection of tiaras. One of them is this charming kokoshnik tiara made up of tiny shamrocks. The piece

The Hanoverian Clover Tiara

Photos (clockwise from top left): Princess Isabelle of Hanover; Princess Isabelle of Hanover; Princess Ortrud of Hanover; tiara detail


A nineteenth-century tiara trend that we don't get to see much in today's diadems is the use of clover or shamrock motifs (they're also sometimes referred to as trefoils). The Victorians loved a good shamrock motif. And why not -- the shamrock is not only used

Weekend Bonus: The Ruby Peacock Tiara

Queen Wilhelmina of The Netherlands (1880-1962) wears the Ruby Peacock Tiara with its coordinating brooch

Weekend Bonus: The Baden Fringe Tiara

Princess Lilian of Sweden (1915-2013) wears the Baden Fringe Tiara; like the tiara, the diamond brooch on Lilian's sash also belonged to Queen Victoria of Sweden. Sadly, Lilian died on Sunday, and her funeral will be held this afternoon at the Royal Chapel

The King Edward VII Ruby Tiara

Photos (clockwise from top left): Queen Silvia of Sweden; tiara detail; Queen Silvia of Sweden; tiara detail


The Edwardian ruby tiara owned by the royal family of Sweden is our final Connaught tiara of the week. Like the Connaught Diamond Tiara, this one came to the Bernadottes in 1905 when Princess Margaret of Connaught married Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden. The tiara was a wedding present

The Connaught Diamond Tiara

Photos (clockwise from top left): Queen Silvia of Sweden; Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden; Princess Sibylla of Sweden; Princess Madeleine of Sweden


The diamond drop tiara of the Swedish royal family has to be one of the most lovely, delicate tiaras in a royal collection today. The tiara came to Sweden in 1905 with the country's new princess, Margaret of Connaught.



We've already talked

The Connaught Fringe Tiara

Photos (clockwise from top left): Princess Louise, Duchess of Connaught; Princess Louise, Duchess of Connaught (as necklace); Lady Patricia Ramsay; tiara detail (as necklace)


There are many convertible diamond fringe tiaras in royal vaults today, but the fringe tiara of the Connaught family has a particularly long royal history -- longer than that of most other tiaras in the British royal

The Victorian Aga Khan Tiara

All photos: Princess Louise, Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn


In 1896, a year before her Diamond Jubilee, an inventory of Queen Victoria's jewels was made by Garrard, the crown jeweler  There weren't many tiaras on the list -- only five, which pales in comparison to the number of tiaras owned and worn by subsequent British queens. But one of the five on the list was this one: the tiara

The Fife Tiara

Photos (clockwise from top left): Princess Louise, Duchess of Fife; Caroline Carnegie, Countess of Southesk; Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife; tiara detail




One of the most stunning tiaras in the collections of the extended British royal family, the Fife tiara (which was probably made by Massin, given similarities to other Massin tiaras) was given to Princess Louise, the daughter of King

Weekend Bonus: The City of London Fringe Tiara

Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark (1906-1968) wears the City of London Fringe Tiara at her wedding to Prince George, Duke of Kent (1902-1942) in 1934

Weekend Bonus: The Queen Josefina Diamond Tiara

Crown Princess Märtha of Norway (1901-1954) wears the Queen Josefina Diamond Tiara; the earrings she wears are the Turkish diamond earrings that Queen Victoria wore at her wedding to Prince Albert in 1840. Queen Sonja regularly pairs the Turkish earrings with the tiara today

The Danish Emerald Parure Tiara

Photos (clockwise from top left): Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, Queen Ingrid of Denmark, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, tiara detail




Queen Margrethe of Denmark once remarked that royal families measure their jewels by centuries rather than by carats. This is particularly true for one of the most magnificent tiaras in the Danish royal collection: the tiara

The Thurn and Taxis Emerald Tiara

All photos: Princess Gloria of Thurn and Taxis




Once upon a time (in the 1980s), there was a prince (rather elderly, with no kingdom, but lots of $$$) who was looking for a princess (because he needed an heir, not because he was, ahem, all that interested in princesses). Luckily, he met a young countess (while she was working as a waitress), fell in love (brokered a marriage deal), and made

The Alexandra Feodorovna Emerald Tiara

Photos (clockwise from top left): Tsarina Alexandra of Russia; tiara detail; tiara detail




Let's peek back into the jewel collection of the Romanovs today, shall we? This is the emerald and diamond tiara created by Bolin at the turn of the twentieth century for the tsarina of Russia, Alexandra Feodorovna.



Alexandra was, of course, the last empress consort of Russia. She was born Princess

The Greek Emerald Parure Tiara

Photos (clockwise from top left): Queen Elisabeth of Greece; Queen Anne-Marie of Greece; Queen Anne-Marie of Greece; Queen Anne-Marie of Greece; Queen Friederike of Greece




The former royal family of Greece may have been exiled from their throne nearly forty years ago, but they still possess one of the most impressive jewel collections in Europe. This tiara, which is part of the family's

The Seven Emeralds Tiara

Photos (clockwise from top left): Empress Farah Pahlavi; Empress Farah Pahlavi; Empress Farah Pahlavi; tiara detail; Empress Farah Pahlavi




In the 1950s and 1960s, it was hard to compete with the Pahlavi family in terms of sheer glitter power. This tiara was one of several that Farah Diba received when she married the last emperor of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, in 1958.



This tiara, named

Weekend Bonus: The Braganza Tiara

Queen Silvia of Sweden (born 1943) wears the Braganza Tiara with the family's nineteenth-century suite of pink topaz jewels

Weekend Bonus: The Luxembourg Empire Tiara

Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg (1896-1985) wears the Empire Tiara at her wedding to Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma (1893-1970) in 1919