Following the Civil Wedding Ceremony of Princess Alexandra and Nicolas Bagory at the Hôtel de Ville de Luxembourg last week, the couple will have a Religious Ceremony at the Saint Trophyme Church in Bormes-les-Mimosas at the end of this week, for which Princess Alexandra will likely be wearing the Grand Ducal Family’s unofficial bridal tiara: the Luxembourg Vine Leaves Tiara!
Luxembourg Vine Leaves Tiara | Congo Diamond Necklace Tiara | Grand Duchess Adélaïde Tiara | Grand Duchess Maria Theresa’s Wedding Earrings
A striking tiara composed of diamond vine leaves and berries, the Vine Leaves Tiara used to be termed the ‘large’ Floral Tiara, to differentiate from the ‘small’ Floral Tiara, but the Grand Dual Court refers to the piece as the Vine Leaves Tiara. The origin of the piece is unknown but it likely originates from the second half of the 19th century and was an heirloom of the house of Nassau despite not being publicly worn until the 1950s.
The Tiara first appears in 1950 when it was worn by Princess Alix of Luxembourg, the youngest daughter of Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Felix but the first to get married, for her wedding to the 13th Prince of Ligne.
The following year, the Vine Leaves Tiara was worn by Princess Marie-Gabrielle of Luxembourg, the third daughter of Grand Duchess Charlotte, for her Wedding to Count Knud of Holstein-Ledreborg.
Princess Elisabeth of Luxembourg, the eldest daughter of Grand Duchess Charlotte, also wore the Vine Leaves Tiara for her Wedding to the Duke of Hohenberg in 1956.
In 1958, the Vine Leaves Tiara was worn by Princess Marie Adelaide of Luxembourg, the second eldest daughte, for her Wedding to Count Karl Josef Henckel von Donnersmarck.
While Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte apparently wore the Tiara once, her successor, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, has worn the Vine Leaves Tiara quite a few times, like for King Harald V’s of Norways 70th Birthday Banquet in 2007, Queen Margrethe’s 70th Birthday Gala in 2010, and the Dutch State Visit to Luxembourg in 2012.
While Countess Stephanie de Lannoy wore the Lannoy Tiara for her Wedding to Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg in 2012, she continued the Wedding Tiara tradition by wearing the Vine Leaves Tiara for the Wedding Gala at the Palais Grand Ducal.
The following year, Claire Lademacher wore the Vine Leaves Tiara with Grand Duchess Maria Theresa’s Wedding Earrings when she married Prince Felix of Luxembourg, the second son of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, at the Sainte Marie-Madeleine Basilica.
Princess Tessy did not wear a Tiara for her Wedding to Prince Louis, the third son of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, in 2006, but she wore the Vine Leaves Tiara for the Luxembourg National Day Gala in 2016, when photographs were taken to mark their 10th Wedding Anniversary just a few months before the couple’s divorce.
Grand Duchess Maria Teresa continued to wear the Vine Leaves Tiara, most notably for the Luxembourg State Visit to Finland in 2016, while Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie wore the Tiara for a Romanian State Visit also in 2016.
Most recently, the Vine Leaves Tiara was worn by Princess Maria-Anunciata of Liechtenstein for her Wedding Reception at the Liechtenstein Gartenpalais in Vienna in 2021, an somewhat unusual choice as her mother and aunt had worn the Congo Diamond Necklace Tiara and cousins had chosen the Floral Tiara and the Grand Duchess Adélaïde Tiara, but it cemented the pieces reputation as a bridal tiara.
In 2024, the Tiara was worn by Princess Alexandra at the traditional New Year’s Reception at the Grand Ducal Palace in Luxembourg.
Luxembourg Vine Leaves Tiara | Congo Diamond Necklace Tiara | Grand Duchess Adélaïde Tiara | Grand Duchess Maria Theresa’s Wedding Earrings
