Today marks the Anniversary of the Birth of Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom, who was born on this day in 1844! The Danish Princess who was the longest-serving Princess of Wales and then a trendsetting Queen Consort, one of her most iconic jewels was her spectacular Diamond Kokoshnik Tiara!
Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara | Wedding Parure | Amethyst Tiara | Diamond Circlet | Turquoise Circlet | Diamond Chandelier Earrings | Sapphire Necklace | Diamond Link Choker | Edwardian Choker | Diamond and Pearl Brooch | Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee Chain
When the Prince and Princess of Wales were celebrating their Silver Wedding Anniversary in 1888, 365 ‘Ladies of Society’ raised funds to presented this Diamond Kokoshnik Tiara to the future Queen Alexandra. Originally composed of 77 graduated diamond bars, the Tiara, which can also be worn as a Necklace, was created by Garrard, the Crown Jeweller.
The design of the Tiara is based, at the request of Queen Alexandra, on the design of a Russian Diamond Kokoshnik Tiara worn by her sister, Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia, The Kokoshnik was a traditional Russian headdress, which was also a part of Russian Court Dress, becoming, by the early 19th-century, into Kokoshnik Tiaras, most popularly the Fringe Tiaras found in the British, Swedish, Danish, Thai, Monaco, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, and the Greek Royal Collections.
The Diamond Kokoshnik Tiara was presented to the Princess of Wales by the Marchioness of Ailesbury, who led the effort. Until that point, the Princess had only possessed her Wedding Parure so this Tiara was no doubt a welcome gift, along with the Amethyst Tiara presented by the Tsar.
The Diamond Kokoshnik Tiara was most notably worn by the Princess of Wales for the Wedding of her son, the Duke of York, and Princess May of Teck in the Chapel Royal of St. James’s Palace in 1893, with the base of the Tiara being supplemented with an additional diamond bracelet.
Two years later, the Diamond Kokoshnik Tiara was altered by Garrard, being put on a new new self-adjusting frame, and at some point, sixteen of the smallest diamond bars were removed, of the current Tiara is now composed of sixty-one graduated bars, set with a total of 488 diamonds.
At some point in the 1890s, Queen Alexandra loaned the Diamond Kokoshnik Tiara to her mother, Queen Louise of Denmark, for a portrait that was used by artist Josef Theodor Hansen to sculpted a relief of Queen Louise, that is now at Amalienborg Palace.
After Queen Alexandra’s death in 1925, the Diamond Kokoshnik Tiara was among the jewels inherited by her daughter-in-law, Queen Mary, who notably for it for a series of portraits taken by Hay Wrightson in 1934.
Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara was retained by Queen Mary after being widowed in 1935, and remained in her possession until her passing in 1953, with another notable appearance of the Tiara in her 80th Birthday Portraits, taken in 1947.
Queen Mary left Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara to her granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II, at the time just a few weeks away from her Coronation at Westminster Abbey. The Kokoshnik Tiara made its debut the following year, for the New Zealand State Opening of Parliament in 1954 and also for the Australian State Opening of Parliament in 1954, appearing several times during her six-month Commonwealth Tour.
On their Return to Britain, the Queen wore Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik for the Swedish State Visit to Britain in 1954, the Portuguese State Visit to Britain in 1955, the British State Visit to Sweden, the Iraqi State Visit to Britain, and the Banquet at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea in 1956, as well as the State Visit to France, the British State Visit to Denmark, the British State Visit to Portugal, the British State Visit to the United States in 1957, the German State Visit to Britain in 1958, and the British State Visit to the Netherlands in 1958.
In 1959, the Queen loaned Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara for the ‘Ageless Diamond’ Exhibit at Christie’s in 1959, along with The Cullinan Diamonds, the Queen’s South African Diamonds, the Northumberland Clover Coronet, the Sutherland Diamond Rivière and the Spencer Diamond Rivière.
Unlike the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara and the Vladimir Tiara, which were worn by the Queen for all sorts of events, Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara was reserved for more important occasions, like the French State Visit to Britain, a visit to India, a Tour of Pakistan, a State Visit to Iran, a visit to the Vatican, a Tour of West Africa in 1961, the Norwegian State Visit to Scotland, the New Zealand Opening of Parliament in 1963, a Tour of Australia, the Belgian State Visit in 1963, the State Visit to Ethiopia in 1965, a State Visit to Germany, State Visit to Belgium, a Tour of Canada in 1967, a Tour to Malta, the RAF Golden Jubilee Banquet, the Royal Danish Ballet Gala in London in 1968, the Italian State Visit to Britain, the Royal Variety Performance, and the Commonwealth Leaders’ Banquet at Buckingham Palace in 1969.
Through the 1970s, the Queen wore Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik for the Captain Cook Bicentenary Tour and the New Zealand State Opening of Parliament in 1970, the State Visit to Thailand, the State Visit to Malaysia, the Dutch State Visit, the State Visit to France, and the Luxembourg State Visit in 1972, reserving it for the most important State Visits, like the Danish State Visit in 1974, the Swedish State Visit to Scotland in 1975, the State Visit to Luxembourg in 1976, the British State Banquet at the White House in 1976, a Gala during the Montreal Olympics in 1976, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1977, and also during the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Tours.
Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara was a natural choice for the British State Visit to Norway in 1981 and for the Norwegian State Visit to Britain in 1988, in addition to being worn for the Nepalese State Visit to Britain in 1980, the Spanish State Visit to Britain in 1986, and the Saudi Return Banquet at Claridges Hotel in 1988. The Tiara continued to be reserved for rare appearances through the 1990s, being seen at the Diplomatic Reception at Buckingham Palace in 1991, during a State Visit to Germany in 1992, and for the Malaysian State Visit to Britain in 1993.
In recent decades, the Queen wore Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara for only a handful of occasions, including the Danish State Visit to Britain in 2000 and the British State Visit to Norway in 2001, both with a special connection to Queen Alexandra, and was also worn for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Tours in 2002. The Tiara was also worn for a South African State Visit in 2010, a Mexican State Banquet in 2015, a painting for the British Red Cross in 2016, but the most iconic image was for a portrait taken around the time of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012. With Queen Camilla debuting several spectacular Tiaras from the late Queen’s collection in recent months, there is no doubt we will se this splendid jewel worn again soon!
Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara | Wedding Parure | Amethyst Tiara | Diamond Circlet | Turquoise Circlet | Diamond Chandelier Earrings | Sapphire Necklace | Diamond Link Choker | Edwardian Choker | Diamond and Pearl Brooch | Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee Chain
