Queen Maud’s Diamond Tiara

~ Saad719

Today marks the 90th Anniversary of the Birth of the late Princess Ragnhild of Norway, who was born on this day in 1930. The elder sister of King Harald, who married her former bodyguard and moved to Brazil, Princess Ragnhild possessed a variety of heirloom jewels, like today’s piece, Queen Maud’s Diamond Tiara.

Queen Maud’s Diamond Tiara | Boucheron Pearl Circle Tiara | Vasa Tiara | Crown Princess Märtha’s Pearl Earrings | Pearl Brooch | Art Deco Diamond Bracelet

When Princess Maud of Wales married Prince Charles of Denmark in 1896, she received a plethora of glittering jewels which included a Pearl Tiara from her parents, the Vifte Tiara from the Rothschilds, a Pearl and Diamond Necklace, and this spectacular Diamond Tiara from’ Lady and Gentlemen Friends’.

The Tiara has an intricate design on a base of collets between two rows of diamonds with a diamond floral motif, topped with diamond uprights, that are interchangeable with turquoises.

This diamond tiara with a pattern of shamrocks, topped by 18 or 20 (sources differ) large and very valuable diamonds framed by smaller diamonds, was a wedding present to the future Queen Maud in 1896 from a group of 33 friends, among them the Marchionesses of Salisbury and Londonderry.

The tiara, which can be worn as a circlet, was created by the jeweller Carrington, which also delivered alternative toppers of turquoises as wedding presents from Maud’s siblings and siblings-in-law

Princess Maud wore the Diamond Tiara on numerous occasions and for several portraits in the early years other marriage.

In 1902, Princess Maud wore her Diamond Tiara for the Coronation of her parents, King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, at Westminster Abbey.

Queen Maud also wore the Diamond Tiara at a Gala Performance during the British State Visit to Norway in 1908.

The Diamond Tiara was also worn by Queen Maud for several of the her official portraits in her first decade as Queen of Norway, though was not publicly pictured in the decades afterwards.

While it was long believed that Queen Maud’s jewels remained in England after her death and during the Second World War, only being reclaimed during a visit for the Queen’s Coronation in 1953, but Trond Noren Isaksen writes that they were smuggled out of Norway during the Nazi Occupation and only sent to Britain during the communist scare in 1948. Not long afterwards, law, Crown Princess Martha passed away, and the jewels remained in the vaults for years until the Norwegian Royal jewellery collection was divided up following the wedding of then Crown Prince Harald in 1968.

When I wrote my biography of Princess Astrid, «Kvinne blant konger», she told me that the reason why Crown Princess Märtha barely wore any of her mother-in-law’s jewels was that Queen Maud took all her jewels with her to London in the autumn of 1938 to have them cleaned, and after the Queen died during her stay in England, her jewels remained at Windsor Castle until 1953, when Crown Prince Olav, Crown Princess Märtha and Princess Astrid brought them back to Norway after Elizabeth II’s coronation. However, when I wrote my book on Crown Princess Märtha during WWII, «Kronprinsessens krig», I realised that this could not be quite correct, as the diaries of the Marshal of the Court, Peter F. Broch, show that he smuggled Queen Maud’s jewels out of the Palace after the German attack in 1940 and had them sent to Crown Princess Märtha, who at that time was in Sweden.

The answer to how they ended up in Britain can be found in the correspondence between King Olav and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in the British Royal Archives to which His Majesty King Charles III has kindly given me access. The answer lies in the war scare of 1948.

In February 1948, the communists seized power in Czechoslovakia, which caused widespread fear that Norway was next on the USSR’s list – indeed, this led to Norway abandoning its neutrality and becoming a founding member of NATO. In the summer, Crown Prince Olav took a large trunk containing his mother’s jewels with him when he and his family travelled to London for the Olympics. Before returning home, he deposited it at the Norwegian Embassy and wrote to the then Queen Elizabeth that he feared they might not be be able to get the jewels out of Norway if they had to flee a second time and asked if she might store them where she kept her own jewels, to which Queen Elizabeth agreed.

Queen Maud’s Diamond Tiara remained unworn until it was worn by Princess Ragnhild for the Portuguese State Visit to Norway in 1980 and King Olav V of Norway’s 80th Birthday Banquet in 1983.

Princess Ragnhild wore Queen Maud’s Diamond Tiara for the Dutch State Visit to Norway in 1986, Crown Prince Haakon’s Confirmation in 1988, and also a Gala after King Harald V’s Consecration in 1991.

Queen Maud’s Diamond Tiara was last worn by Princess Ragnhild for King Harald and Queen Sonja’s Silver Wedding Anniversary Banquet at the Royal Palace of Oslo in 1993 but was not seen in the years after that, instead wearing Princess Ingeborg’s Boucheron Pearl Tiara.

After Princess Ragnhild’s death in 2012, Queen Maud’s Diamond Tiara was one of the family heirlooms that passed back into the collection of the main Royal Family, and while we have seen Princess Ingrid Alexandra or Crown Princess Mette-Marit wearing Princess Ingeborg’s Boucheron Pearl Circle Tiara, Crown Princess Märtha’s Pearl Earrings, a Diamond Rivière from Queen Maud, Crown Princess Märtha’s Art Deco Diamond Bracelet and Princess Ragnhild’s Pearl Brooch, all in the possession of the late Princess Ragnhild, in recent years, Queen Maud’s Diamond Tiara has yet to reappear!

Queen Maud’s Diamond Tiara | Boucheron Pearl Circle Tiara | Vasa Tiara | Crown Princess Märtha’s Pearl Earrings | Pearl Brooch | Art Deco Diamond Bracelet

Queen Maud’s Diamond Tiara

Boucheron Pearl Circle Tiara

Vasa Tiara

Crown Princess Märtha’s Pearl Earrings

Pearl and Diamond Brooch

Art Deco Diamond Bracelet

The Norwegian Emerald Parure

Queen Josefina’s Diamond Tiara

Queen Maud’s Pearl Tiara

Queen Alexandra’s Diamond Circlet

Diamond Daisy Bandeau

Norwegian Amethyst Parure

Vifte Tiara

Princess Ingeborg’s Boucheron Pearl Circle Tiara

King Olav’s Gift Tiara

Modern Gold Tiara

Queen Alexandra’s Turquoise Circlet

Vasa Tiara

Queen Maud’s Diamond Tiara

Princess Astrid’s Ruby Aigrette Tiara

Princess Astrid’s Gold Bandeau Tiara

Embed from Getty Images

A gift to Princess Maud of Wales from “Lady and Gentlemen Friends” when she married Prince Carl of Denmark in 1896, this Diamond Tiara features an intricate design on a base of collets between two rows of diamonds with diamond uprights, that are interchangeable with turquoises. The Tiara was worn at the Coronation of her father, King Edward VII, in 1902 and for a series of official portraits after becoming the first Queen Consort of Norway, though it remained publicly unworn in the years afterwards. In 1938, Queen Maud brought her jewels with her to England while she was having an operation, and where she passed away of heart failure. Queen Maud’s jewels remained in England, throughout the Norwegian Royal Family’s exile during WWII, and were only reclaimed during a visit for the Queen’s Coronation in 1953. Soon afterwards, her daughter-in-law, Crown Princess Martha passed away, and the Tiara remained in the vaults for years until the Norwegian Royal jewellery collection was divided up following the wedding of then Crown Prince Harald in 1968.

Queen Maud’s Diamond Tiara passed to Princess Ragnhild, who began wearing it in the 1980s, though she preferred Princess Ingeborg’s Boucheron Pearl Circle Tiara for most occasions. After her death in 2012, Queen Maud’s Diamond Tiara is one of the family hierlooms that is said to pass back into the collection of the main Royal Family, though it has remained unworn. Lets hope we see the Tiara soon, hopefully on Crown Princess Mette Marit or Princess Ingrid Alexandra.

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5 thoughts on “Queen Maud’s Diamond Tiara”

  2. It’s so sad that Norway doesn’t have a jewel foundation like Sweden and the Netherlands. It’s so easy for amazing jewels like this tiara to end up on the auctioneer’s block. Nobody has seen this tiara in a long time and I, for one, think it would be a miracle if Princess Ragnhild left this tiara to the royal family. She didn’t like Crown Prince Haakon’s choice of wife, so even if she did bequeath it back to the royal family, she may have left it with conditions. Maybe she left it specifically to Princess Ingrid Alexandra or something like that. But what I hope is that she didn’t leave it to her kids because they’ll most likely sell it since none of them will ever use it at all! I’ve always been surprised by the fact that Princess Ragnhild inherited the best jewels even though she didn’t participate in any royal events after she married and her sister Astrid was the first lady of Norway after her mother died. Those excellent jewels should have been left to Princess Astrid, who instead got the Burger King tiara, a spiky turquoise tiara, and some funky aigrettes, though it must be said that Princess Astrid is a trooper and makes the most of what she has!

    Reply

    1. I agree that a jewel foundation would have been great for the Norwegian Royal collection of jewels. It is always sad to see grand and historical pieces disappear from the main line. But we should not forget that the jewels are private property and the family is entitled to do what they want with them.
      Princess Ragnhild did attend a few royal events even after she was married; grand family celebrations (many of them tiara events) and even some State Visits. And Princess Astrid also got the Vasa diamond tiara, so I don’t think she draw the shortest straw either. When Princess Astrid acted as first lady she also (fortunately) had access to the jewels still in the main line, like the Emerald parure and Queen Josephine’s Diamond tiara. But agree wholeheartedly in that she is indeed a trooper! 🙂

      Reply

      1. I’m still keeping my fingers crossed that she left it to Princess Ingrid Alexandra, maybe with the caveat that Princess Ragnhild’s descendants could use it. I know it’s a very expensive and valuable jewel and could represent a windfall for her children so the probability that that would happen is small. But I can hope!

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