Vasa Tiara

Happy Birthday to Princess Astrid of Norway, who turns 90 tomorrow! The middle child and second daughter of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Martha of Sweden, elder sister of King Harald, who served as ‘First Lady’ for her grandfather and father, the Princess has an illustrious jewellery collection, which includes today’s the Vasa Tiara!

Queen Alexandra’s Turquoise Circlet | Vasa TiaraNorwegian Emerald Parure | Queen Josefina’s Diamond Tiara | Diamond Bracelet Bandeau | Pearl Bow Brooch | Diamond Brooch

When Crown Prince Olav of Norway married Princess Märtha of Sweden in 1929, she received a spectacular Art Deco Tiara as a gift from the City of Stockholm. Made by C.F. Carlman, and set with nearly 1,000 diamonds in platinum, the design features stylized sheaf motifs representing the heraldic symbol of the House of Vasa, which had ruled the Kingdom of Sweden from 1523 to 1654.

As Crown Princess Märtha’s primary Tiara after her wedding, the Vasa Tiara got plenty of use after being worn at the Wedding Gala at the Royal Palace of Oslo in 1929. While she tended to borrow the Emerald Parure and Princess Ingeborg’s Turquoise Star Tiara for more important events, notable appearences of the Vasa Tiara came at King Haakon VII’s Silver Jubilee in 1930King Gustav V’s 80th Birthday in 1938the Wedding Gala of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Princess Ingrid of Sweden in 1935, and a important visit to the United States in 1939.

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After Crown Princess Märtha’s elder daughter, Princess Ragnhild, came of age in 1948, she wore the Vasa Tiara for a couple of occasions, most notably for a portrait in the early 1950s and at a Gala Performance during the British State Visit to Norway in 1955.

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The Tiara got its ultimate wearer in Princess Astrid, who first donned it for the Norwegian State Visit to Britain in 1951, when she joined her grandfather, King Haakon VII, and later wore the Vasa Tiara for the  Coronation Gala and the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. Princess Astrid often wore the Vasa Tiara in her years as ‘First Lady’ of the Kingdom, with notably appearences at the Order of Amaranth Ball in 1956, the Wedding Ball of King Baudouin and Doña Fabiola de Mora y Aragón at the Royal Palace of Brussels in 1960, a visit to the United States in 1960, the Wedding of King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway in 1968, the Swedish State Visit to Norway in 1974, and the British State Visit to Norway in 1981.

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The Vasa Tiara has continued to be a favourite of Princess Astrid up to this day, with notable appearences at King Harland and Queen Sonja’s Silver Anniversary in 1993, the Wedding of Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, the Spanish State Visit to Norway in 2006, Stortingsmiddag in 2018, the South Korean State Visit to Norway in 2019, and most recently . Princess Astrid has stated that the Tiara will eventually return to the main line of the Royal Family. There is no doubt we will continue to see this Tiara for years to come!

Queen Alexandra’s Turquoise Circlet | Vasa TiaraNorwegian Emerald Parure | Queen Josefina’s Diamond Tiara | Diamond Bracelet Bandeau | Pearl Bow Brooch | Diamond Brooch

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