Bulgarian Royal Tiaras

Happy Birthday to Tsaritsa (Queen) Margarita of Bulgaria! The consort of the exiled Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria, Queen Margarita is the daughter of Spanish aristocrats who were executed during the Spanish Civil War. She married Simeon in 1962, in Lausanne, Switzerland, and has five children. The Family finally returned to Bulgaria in 1996, and the former Tsar was even appointed Prime Minister from 2001 to 2005. Tsar Simeon and Tsaritsa Margarita currently reside in the grounds of his childhood home, Vrana Palace in Sofia. To celebrate her birthday, we will take a look at the tiaras worn by Tsaritsa Margarita!

Köchert Tiara

Composed of sapphires, rubies and emeralds set in diamonds, the Bulgarian Köchert Tiara was a wedding gift from Prince (later Tsar) Ferdinand of Bulgaria to Princess Marie Louise of Parma in 1893, who wore the Tiara frequently in official portraits and a painting until her early death in 1899. The Köchert Tiara was next worn by Princess Giovanna of Italy, when she married Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria, son of Tsar Ferdinand and Princess Marie Louise, in 1930. Queen Giovanna wore the Tiara at her wedding, for official events throughout her husband’s reign (which ended at his mysterious death days after meeting with Hitler in 1943), as well as events after the her son’s exile in 1946.

Queen Giovanna loaned the Tiara to her daughter, Princess Marie Louise, when she married Prince Karl of Leiningen in 1957, before passing it on to Queen Margarita, who wore the Köchert Tiara at her Wedding to Tsar Simeon in 1962 as well as a Ball in the 1960s. The Bulgarian Köchert Tiara is still owned by the Tsar and Tsaritsa, but is said to be in delicate condition, as it was unable to be loaned to a Bulgarian museum for display as few years ago.

Floral Tiara

Said to come from a stomacher of Queen Elena of Italy, the diamond diadem of leaves and flowers was a wedding gift to Queen Giovanna, who wore it for her wedding celebrations and in an official portrait during her exile. The Floral Tiara was worn quite often by Queen Margarita in the 1960s, most notably for the Wedding Ball of King Constantine of Greece and Princess Anne Marie of Denmark in 1964. The Tiara was worn by Doña María del Rosario Nadal when she married the second son of Simeon and Margarita, Kyril, Prince of Preslav in 1989, but it appears to no longer be in the Royal Family’s possession as it was on display at the Bessel Fair in 2017/18.

Queen Giovanna’s Pearl Tiara

Queen Giovanna’s Pearl and Diamond Tiara was given as a wedding gift from her parents, King Victor Emanuel III and Queen Elena of Italy, in 1930, was worn by her in a portrait. Queen Margarita wore the Pearl and Diamond Tiara at the Wedding Ball of Duke Friedrich of Württemberg and Princess Marie of Wied in 1993. It was also worn by Doña Carla María de la Soledad Royo-Villanova y Urrestarazu when she married Kubrat, Prince of Panagyurishte in 1996, Doña Miriam de Ungría y López when she married Kardam, Prince of Tarnovo, the eldest son of the Tsar, in 1996, and Princess Alexandra von Kohary, daughter of Princess Marie Louise, in 1999. The current location of the Tiara is unknown, but it probably no longer belongs to the Royal Family.

Diamond Scroll Tiara

One of the pieces from a massive Diamond Parure that originates from Queen Marie Amelie of The French, the Bulgarian Diamond Scroll Tiara was worn by Queen Margarita to an event in the 1960s before being worn by Doña María García de la Rasilla y Gortázar when she married Konstantin-Assen, Prince of Vidin, the fourth son of Tsar Simeon and Tsaritsa Margarita, in 1994. UPDATE- The Diamond Scroll Tiara, along with other jewels, including the Floral Tiara, was on sale at the Bessel Fair in 2017. (h/t to Ursula)

Crown Princess Miriam’s Tiara

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For the Wedding Gala of Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Countess Stephanie de Lannoy in 2012, Crown Princess Miriam wore a Tiara composed of an Art Deco Diamond Bracelet, a pair of diamond flower earrings, a pair of pearl earrings, and a diamond fleur-de-lys brooch which all belonged to her. It has not been seen since.

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Royal MagazinJenni Wiltz | Old Version

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