Napoleonic Amethyst Parure

~ Saad719

Happy Birthday to Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, who turns 45 today! The popular Heir who is set to become the first Swedish Queen Regnant in over 300 years, the Crown Princess has access to the massive Swedish Royal Jewellery Collection, and today’s piece is an heirloom that has become an iconic part of her look over the past few decades; the Napoleonic Amethyst Parure!

Baden Fringe Tiara | Laurel Wreath Tiara | Napoleonic Amethyst Parure | Swedish Cameo Parure | Connaught Diamond Tiara | Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara | Bernadotte Emerald Parure | Five Pearl Brooch | Diamond Epaulette Earrings | Diamond Stomacher Necklace | Swedish Royal Tiaras

Featuring large faceted Amethysts set in diamonds, the Parure consists of a large necklace that is now used as a tiara, a pair of earrings, two bracelets which are usually used as a necklace, a large brooch with a detachable pendant and an additional brooch which is one of the elements of the original necklace. Originating from Empress Josephine, the Parure passed to her daughter-in-law, the Duchess of of Leuchtenberg, and eventually to her daughter, Queen Josefina of Sweden and Norway, from whom the Parure passed into the Swedish Royal Jewellery Collection.

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The first Royal Lady to be photographed in the Napoleonic Amethyst Parure was Queen Louise, who wore pieces of the Parure on a visit to the United States in 1938, later pairing the Parure with the Braganza Tiara for the Danish State Banquet at the Royal Palace of Stockholm in 1947, during a Dutch State Visit, and with the 9-Prong Tiara for the British State Visit to Sweden in 1956 and on a State Visit to France in 1963.

 

With the exception of Princess Birgitta, the Napoleonic Amethyst Parure has been often worn by the Haga Princesses througout the years, with Princess Christina wearing the Parure when she was the First Lady of the Swedish Court, most notably for the Wedding of her cousin, Princess Benedikte of Denmark, and Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg in 1968 and the last Swedish State Opening of Parliament in 1974 and Princess Margaretha wore the Parure with the 9-Prong Tiara for King Carl XVI Gustaf’s Wedding Gala in 1976.

After the Wedding of King Carl XVI Gustaf in 1976, the new Queen Silvia found the Napoleonic Amethyst Parure too large and heavy to wear as a necklace, so she put the necklace on a frame to create a tiara and had the two bracelets joined to create a necklace, which could be worn with or without multiple pendants.

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Queen Silvia debuted the Napoleonic Amethyst Tiara at the Return Banquet during the Spanish State Visit to Sweden in 1979, with notable appearences during the Icelandic State Visit to Sweden in 1981, the Swedish State Visit to Spain in 1983, Crown Prince Haakon’s Confirmation in 1988, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway’s 18th Birthday Gala in 1991, and the Wedding Gala of Prince Joachim of Denmark in 1995, alongside several Nobel Prize Banquets.

The Haga Princesses have also worn the new version of the Napoleonic Amethyst Parure, with Princess Christina wearing the Parure for some State Banquets, Princess Margaretha wore Tiara and Suite for King Carl XVI Gustaf’s 60th Birthday in 2006, and Princess Désirée wearing the Amethyst Parure multiple times, most notably for the Wedding of Crown Princess Victoria in 2010.

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From 2000, when she wore at at the Gala to mark the turn of the Millennium, the Napoleonic Amethyst Parure has become an iconic jewel of Crown Princess Victoria, because, according to Queen Silvia, the Amethysts are of “a colour which fits her very well”. Notable appearences include the Swedish State Visit to Belgium in 2001, the Wedding of Princess Märtha Louise of Norway in 2002, the Swedish State Visit to Finland in 2003, a State Visit to Denmark in 2007, Queen Beatrix’s Abdication Dinner in 2013, various Nobel Prize Ceremonies and Banquets, and most recently, the Crown Princess wore parts of the Amethyst Parure for the Enthronement of Emperor Naruhito of Japan in 2019.

Though she had worn the pendant earlier, Princess Madeleine first wore the Napoleonic Amethyst Tiara for the Nobel Prize Ceremony in 2012 and the earrings and brooch in 2014, while in 2017, the Tiara was worn by Princess Sofia during the Canadian State Visit to Sweden. Later that year, Princess Madeleine wore the entire Napoleonic Amethyst Parure for the Nobel Prize Ceremony, though she pulled out of the subsequent Banquet due to pregnancy-related back pain. Princess Sofia has worn the Amethyst Earrings at the King’s Dinner for Nobel Laureates in 2019 and in the recent New Portraits of the Swedish Royal Family.

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Despite other members of the family wearing the Parure often, Queen Silvia remains the most frequent wearer of the Napoleonic Amethyst Parure these days, having worn it for the Wedding of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark in 2004, King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s Diamond Jubilee Banquet in 2006, the Wedding of Coutness Astrid Bernadotte in 2017, and Representationsmiddag in 2017. There is no doubt we will continue to see these splendid Heirlooms for years to come!

Baden Fringe Tiara | Laurel Wreath Tiara | Napoleonic Amethyst Parure | Swedish Cameo Parure | Connaught Diamond Tiara | Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara | Bernadotte Emerald Parure | Five Pearl Brooch | Diamond Epaulette Earrings | Diamond Stomacher Necklace | Swedish Royal Tiaras

The Braganza Tiara

Leuchtenberg Sapphire Parure

Queen Sofia’s 9-Prong Tiara

The Swedish Cameo Parure

The Connaught Diamond Tiara

The Baden Fringe Tiara

Napoleonic Amethyst Parure

King Edward VII Ruby Tiara

Swedish Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara

Napoleonic Cut Steel Tiara

Princess Lilian’s Laurel Wreath Tiara

Princess Sofia’s Wedding Tiara

Modern Fringe Tiara

Swedish Pink Topaz Parure

Bernadotte Emerald Parure

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