Queen Mary of Denmark’s Diamond Necklace Tiara

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark is celebrating her 50th Birthday tomorrow, and thus we have been taking the opportunity to feature some of her jewels! The Australian who is set to be the future Danish Queen has a variety of heirloom jewels at her disposal, but Crown Princess Mary also has also complied a varied collection of newly acquired antique jewels, including her versatile Diamond Necklace Tiara!

Danish Ruby Parure | Wedding Tiara | Diamond Necklace Tiara | Midnight Tiara | Wedding Earrings | Aquamarine Jewels | Diamond Fringe EarringsAmethyst Earrings | Connaught Sapphire Brooch | Diamond Flower Brooch | Diamond Flower Earrings | Ole Lynggaard Brooch | The Jewels of Crown Princess Mary of Denmark

The Tiara, circa 1900-1910, was sold as a necklace made of diamonds, rubies, and spinels, set in gold and silver, along with a pair of coordinating earrings at Bruun Rasmussen in Copenhagen in May 2012, when both pieces were reportedly acquired by Crown Princess Mary herself, for €8,050, above the estimate of €4,000-5,350. The lot notes stated that the necklace had previously been used as a Tiara, but a new frame needed to be made alongside some repairs, which included adding a few missing gemstones.

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Crown Princess Mary debuted her antique Diamond Necklace at a Concert for Queen Margrethe’s 75th Birthday in Aarhus in 2015, at the same time as she also debuted the diamond earrings. Surprising many royal watchers at the time, it was suspected that the necklace could be worn as a tiara.

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The debut of the piece as a tiara came just under a year later, when Queen Margrethe hosted a Gala Dinner at Christiansborg Palace (I remember seeing the pictures while standing in the immigration line at at Airport in Indonesia, just weeks before launching The Royal Watcher). The following month, Crown Princess Mary wore her Diamond Necklace Tiara again the following month, for the Mexican State Visit to Denmark (one of the first State Visits covered here). Later that year, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess were photographed by Mario Testino for a series in Australian Vogue for their Copper Wedding Anniversary.

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By 2017, the Diamond Necklace Tiara had replaced Crown Princess Mary’s Wedding Tiara as a firm favourite, and it was worn for a Banquet during the Icelandic State Visit to Denmark, as well as for King Harald and Queen Sonja’s 80th Birthday Banquet at the Royal Palace of Oslo.

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Embed from Getty Images

The most iconic appearance of the Diamond Necklace Tiara came in 2018, when it was paired with coordinating diamond earrings (created to go with the tiara), for Crown Prince Frederik’s 50th Birthday Gala Dinner at Christiansborg Palace, when Crown Princess Mary have an iconic speech. Our friend JR, who was in the crowd, said that:

While the diamonds in the tiara are not of a high quality to sparkle, the metal itself caught the sunlight and got a faint glow. Also the carving details looked pretty

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

The Diamond Necklace Tiara cemented its reputation as a favoured Tiara in 2019, when for the first time, the Tiara for worn for the Danish New Year’s Reception, instead of the Danish Ruby Parure which has always been worn for the Reception. Later that year, the Tiara was also worn for Emperor Naruhito’s Enthronement Banquet. There is no doubt we will continue to see this splendid jewel for years to come!

In 2022, Crown Princess Mary wore the Diamond Necklace Tiara for Queen Margrethe’s Golden Jubilee Gala Performance.

In 2023, Crown Princess Mary wore the Diamond Necklace Tiara for the Wedding Banquet of Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan and a Gala Dinner for King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway in Copenhagen in 2023. 

Danish Ruby Parure | Wedding Tiara | Diamond Necklace Tiara | Midnight Tiara | Wedding Earrings | Aquamarine Jewels | Amethyst Earrings | Connaught Sapphire Brooch | Diamond Flower Brooch | Diamond Flower Earrings | Ole Lynggaard Brooch

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The Jewels of the Queens of Denmark

The Danish Ruby Parure

Wedding Tiara

Diamond Necklace Tiara

Midnight Tiara

‘Belle Epoque’ Diamond Earrings

Wedding Earrings

Diamond Fringe Earrings

Aquamarine Jewels

Amethyst Earrings

Connaught Sapphire Brooch

Diamond Flower Brooch

Antique Turquoise Parure

Diamond Flower Earrings

Ole Lynggaard Brooch

4 thoughts on “Queen Mary of Denmark’s Diamond Necklace Tiara

  1. It’s a nice looking tiara, more substantial in size than her wedding tiara, but I must say that the quality of the diamonds is not on par with it. This tiara was not expensive, no doubt because of that, and it must be said that it serves its purpose very well. It’s medium-sized, it looks good on her, and it’s an option to wear to not-too grand occasions. There’s also the added bonus that it can be worn as a necklace. In today’s political climate, it’s surprising that she even ventured to buy a tiara at all! Good for her!

  2. I agree that this isn’t the very best quality tiara. To me the metal always looks dull and the gems don’t really sparkle as well as you would hope. But the scale is good on Mary and she has wonderful “tiara hair”. A beautiful talented and confident woman!

    1. It’s good that she has another option but I think this is a tiara that is for her daughters or daughters-in-law as soon as Mary becomes Queen

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