Today marks the 50th Anniversary of the Death of Princess Sibylla of Sweden, who passed away on this day in 1972! The Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Princess who married the Swedish Heir that died tragically young, leaving her to raise five children including the current King Carl XVI Gustaf, the Princess wore some spectacular jewels, but the one we’ve been waiting to feature is the Swedish Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara!
Connaught Diamond Tiara | Swedish Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara | Swedish Cameo Parure | Leuchtenberg Sapphire Tiara | Sapphire Necklace | Diamond Bracelet Bandeau | Bernadotte Emerald Parure | Pink Topaz Parure | 5-Strand Pearl Necklace
Composed of seven massive Aquamarines set in a diamond trellis Kokoshnik, the Tiara does not have apparent Russian connections, but in reminiscent of other Tiaras from the era, like the Prussian Meander Tiara. The Tiara originates from the first decade of the 20th century, and was not among the illustrated wedding gifts when Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden married Princess Margaret of Connaught at Windsor Castle in 1905, so it may have been acquired or inherited later.
Pictures of Crown Princess Margareta wearing the Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara are very rare, so we are exclusively sharing an image of her wearing the Tiara for a Ball at some point in the 1910s, along with what appears to be the Aquamarine Pendant now worn by her granddaughter, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece.
When Crown Princess Margareta tragically passed away in 1920, she left the Khedive of Egypt Tiara to her only daughter, Queen Ingrid of Denmark, while the second son, Prince Sigvard, received the King Edward VII Ruby Tiara, Prince Bertil inherited the Laurel Wreath Tiara, and Prince Carl Johan got a Diamond Necklace Tiara. The eldest son, Prince Gustaf Adolf, inherited the Connaught Diamond Tiara and the Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara, which remained unknown until 1932, when he was marrying Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who first wore the Tiara for her Wedding Gala at the Veste Coburg in Germany.
While not worn as much as the Connaught Diamond Tiara, which is known as Princess Sibylla’s Tiara in the family, the Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara was worn quite regularly, for portraits and for Galas, including the Wedding Gala of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Princess Ingrid of Sweden in 1935, and also for King Gustav V’s 90th Birthday Gala in 1948, which came not long after the death of Prince Gustaf Adolf in a plane crash, leaving the Princess a widow with five young children.
Since her hair had become white and Princess Sibylla stopped wearing the Swedish Cameo Parure, the Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara was worn alternately with the Connaught Diamond Tiara throughout the 1950s and the early 1960s, with events including the Nobel Prize Ceremony in 1953, the British State Visit to Sweden in 1956, and the Dutch State Visit to Sweden in 1957, as well as numerous Nobel Prize Ceremonies, Openings of Parliament, and Banquets.
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Embed from Getty Images
By the early 1960s, Princess Sibylla had begun loaning the Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara to her elder daughter, Princess Margaretha, the namesake of her late grandmother, most notably for King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden’s 80th Birthday Gala in 1962, before she received the Tiara as a Wedding Gift from her mother in 1964, wearing it for the Wedding Ball at the Royal Palace of Stockholm.
Since she moved to the United Kingdom and was not an active member of the Royal Family, the Tiara was mainly worn by Princess Margaretha for family occasions like the Wedding Ball of Princess Beatrix of The Netherlands in 1966, the Wedding of her cousin, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark in 1967, the Wedding of Princess Benedikte of Denmark and Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg in 1968, King Gustaf VI Adolf’s 90th Birthday Celebrations in 1972, the Wedding of her sister, Princess Christina of Sweden, in 1974, and also the Spanish State Visit to Sweden in 1979.
In 1998, the Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara was worn by Princess Margaretha’s daughter, Sibylla Ambler, for her Wedding to Baron Cornelius von Dincklage, the first time the Tiara had been seen in decades.
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By the time of the Wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden in 2010, speculation was rife if Princess Margaretha had sold the Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara, and despite the Connaught Diamond Tiara being listed in the press release, Princess Margaretha appeared in the Aquamarine Kokoshnik fro her niece’s wedding, also wearing the massive Aquamarine Brooch.
The Royal Court confirmed that while Princess Margaretha retained ownership of the Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara, she had left it in Sweden at the use of ladies of the Swedish Royal Family, the first being her sister, Princess Christina, who wore the Tiara in 2014 and in 2015, after her own Tiara had been stolen.
Princess Margaretha wore her Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara for the Wedding of Prince Carl Philip of Sweden in 2015, and the following year, it was worn for King Carl XVI Gustaf’s 70th Birthday Banquet at the Royal Palace in Stockholm.
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Embed from Getty Images
In 2015, the Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara was worn for the first time by Princess Madeleine of Sweden at the Nobel Prize Ceremony, and the following year, she wore it for the Min Stora Dag Party at the Royal Palace of Stockholm, when new Official Portraits were taken. The following year, Princess Madeleine wore the Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara for the Canadian State Visit to Sweden and has also worn it for the Nobel Prize Ceremony in 2019.
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The Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara has also been worn by Crown Princess Victoria who debuted the heirloom at the Nobel Prize Ceremony in 2017, adding an additional diamond riviere to the base. The Tiara was also worn last year, for the the State Banquet in honour of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain at the Royal Palace of Stockholm. There is no doubt this spectacular Royal Heirloom will be worn for years to come!
Connaught Diamond Tiara | Swedish Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara | Swedish Cameo Parure | Leuchtenberg Sapphire Tiara | Sapphire Necklace | Diamond Bracelet Bandeau | Bernadotte Emerald Parure | Pink Topaz Parure | 5-Strand Pearl Necklace
Swedish Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara
Princess Lilian’s Laurel Wreath Tiara
Princess Sofia’s Wedding Tiara
