Queen Anne Marie’s Diamond Swan Brooch

Happy Birthday to Queen Anne Marie of Greece, who turns 77 today! The Danish Princess who married the Greek King in 1964, before being exiled for more than five decades. The sister of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, sister-in-law of Queen Sofia of Spain, cousin of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, King Harald V of Norway, and the Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Anne Marie attends a plethora of glittering events, where she wears pieces from her spectacular jewel collection, that includes this splendid Diamond Swan Brooch!

To mark the birth of Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece in 1967, King Constantine II presented this striking pave-set Diamond Swan Brooch, likely make by Van Cleef & Arpels, as a gift to Queen Anne Marie, which was worn for the Crown Prince’s first presentation to the Press, and on a visit to Canada that summer that came at a politically turbulent time just months before the Royal Family fled Greece into decades of exile.

Queen Anne Marie retained her Diamond Swan Brooch in exile and notably wore it for the Christening of her nephew and godson, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, in 1968 and during her father, King Frederik IX of Denmark’s 70th Birthday Celebrations in 1969, as well as for several portraits and daytime events including the Christening of Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Orange-Nassau in 1970 and the Wedding of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips in 1973.

During the 1980s, Queen Anne Marie notably wore the Diamond Swan Brooch for the Christening of Princess Theodora of Greece in London in 1983 as well as for the Wedding of Princess Astrid of Belgium and Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este in 1984.

One of the most notable appearances of the Diamond Swan Brooch came in 1995, when Queen Anne Marie wore it for the Wedding of Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece in London, a fitting choice since the Brooch had been given to mark his birth.

Queen Anne Marie wore the Diamond Swan Brooch on numerous occasions while the King and Queen were exiled in London and also for Royal Events around Europe, including the Wedding of her nephew, Crown Prince Felipe of Spain, in 2004, Crown Princess Victoria’s Wedding Gala in 2010, Queen Margrethe’s Ruby Jubilee Gala in 2012 and also the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Lunch at Windsor Castle in 2012.

The most recent appearance of the Diamond Swan Brooch came earlier this year, when Queen Anne Marie wore it for the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Westminster Abbey. There is no doubt we will continue to see this spectacular Heirloom worn or years to come!