It’s that time of year again! For the few days leading up to the New Year, we have a series of ‘Year in Review’ articles, compiling and featuring the Royal Highlights of 2023. It’s my birthday today, and since all birthdays should have Tiaras, today’s feature is a roundup of the Royal Tiaras of 2023!
Royal Christmas Cards 2023 | Royal Weddings 2023 | State Visits 2023 | Royal Tiaras 2023
Before we recap, some personal comments:
- This year’s most notable Tiara appearances came mainly from the Wedding Banquet of Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan, the Wedding Ball of Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, King Carl XVI Gustaf’s Golden Jubilee Banquet, and Prince Christian of Denmark’s 18th Birthday as well as the usual Royal Weddings and State Banquets in addition to a few special surprise appearances and portraits.
- Each Year, there is a Royal lady that has had more notable Tiara appearances than the others, and after Queen Mathilde in 2016, Queen Letizia in 2017, Queen Máxima in 2018, the tie of Empress Masako of Japan and Queen Azizah of Malaysia in 2019, numerous ties in 2020, and Queen Silvia’s victory in 2022, this year Queen Máxima of the Netherlands has the lead with eight appearance, followed by Crown Princess Mary who had six (of which all were equally disappointing). Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, Queen Silvia of Sweden, Queen Camilla, Queen Sonja of Norway, and Crown Princess Victoria jointly had five tiara appearances while Queen Mathilde, Queen Azizah of Malaysia, the Princess of Wales, Crown Princess Mette-Marit had three and Queen Letizia wore only two tiaras.
- There were also many Tiara debuts and important reappearances, at the splendid Royal and Noble Weddings, with other notable appearances of the Braganza Tiara, Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara, Burmese Ruby Tiara, Ruby Peacock Tiara, the Arabic Script Tiara, the Niarchos Ruby Parure, Queen Amélie’s Diamond Tiara, the Bavarian Sapphire Floral Tiara, and the York Diamond Tiara
- In addition to all the Tiara events, we have featured articles on hundreds of royal jewels throughout the year, which you can visit HERE and HERE, notably our articles this year on the Jewels of Queen Elizabeth II, the Jewels of Queen Mary, the Jewels of Queen Mathilde of Belgium, the Jewels of Queen Sofia of Spain, the Jewels of the Duchess of Kent, the and the Jewels of Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway.
Let us know your favourite tiara from this year, and would would you like to see next year!
(as always, click on the link/image to get to the detailed article on each Event/Tiara)
While there were no Tiaras at the Japanese New Year’s Reception, the Queen Margrethe wore the Pearl Poiré Tiara and Khedive of Egypt Parure, Crown Princess Mary was in the Danish Ruby Parure, and Princess Benedikte wore the Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Fringe Tiara for the Danish New Year’s Banquet at Christian VII’s Palace, Amalienborg.
Princess ‘Azemah Ni’matul Bolkiah of Brunei wore a Diamond Tiara and Queen Saleha’s Diamond Heart Tiara for her Wedding to Prince Bahar ibni Jefri Bolkiah at the Istana Nurul Iman in Bandar Seri Begawan.
At that month’s New Years Reception in Luxembourg, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg was in the Belgian Scroll Tiara, Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie wore the Aquamarine Bandeau Tiara and Parure, and Princess Alexandra wore the Chaumet Emerald Tiara for the first time.
Princess Anne-Hélène d’Arenberg wore a Diamond Tiara for her Wedding to Xavier Rehman-Fawcett at the Church of Notre-Dame du Sablon in Brussels.
Queen Sonja wore Queen Maud’s Pearl Tiara and Princess Astrid wore her Ruby Aigrette Tiara for the Diplomatic Banquet at the Royal Palace of Oslo.
Tunku Azizah Aminah, the Tengku Ampuan of Pahang and Raja Permaisuri Agong (Queen of Malaysia) was wearing the Gandik Diraja Tiara and Kalung Diraja Necklace for the Malaysian Opening of Parliament.
Tuanku Zara Salim, the Raja Permaisuri (Queen) of Perak wore the Perak Diamond Tiara for the Sultan’s Birthday in March.
Queen Máxima wore the Dutch Emerald Tiara and Parure for the Dutch State Visit to Slovakia.
Princess Iman bint Abdullah of Jordan, wore a striking Diamond Tiara for her Wedding to Jameel Alexander Thermiotis in a Katb al Kitab Ceremony at the Beit Al Urdun Palace in Amman.
Queen Camilla wore the Greville Tiara and the Queen’s City of London Fringe Necklace for the State Banquet hosted by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and First Lady Elke Büdenbender at Schloss Bellevue in Berlin, during their State Visit to Germany.
Queen Máxima wore the Antique Pearl Tiara and Princess Laurentien wore the Laurel Wreath Tiara for the State Banquet in honour of President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam.
Princess Alexandra wore the Chaumet Choker Tiara for her Wedding to Nicolas Bagory at the Saint Trophyme Church in Bormes-les-Mimosas.
Queen Silvia wore the King Edward VII Ruby Tiara and Queen Sofia’s Nine Prong Tiara for the Swedish State Visit to Estonia.
Queen Letizia was wearing the Spanish Floral Tiara during the Colombian State Visit to Spain.
King Charles III was crowned with St Edward’s Crown before donning the Imperial State Crown, while Queen Camilla was crowned with Queen Mary’s Crown, during their spectacular Coronation at Westminster Abbey.
Queen Sonja wore Queen Josefina’s Diamond Tiara, Crown Princess Mette-Marit wore the Amethyst Necklace Tiara, Earrings, and Bracelets while Princess Astrid was wearing her Gold Bandeau Tiara for the Italian State Visit to Norway.
Sophie-Alexandra Evekink wore the Bavarian Sapphire Floral Tiara for her Wedding to Prince Ludwig of Bavaria in Munich.
Princess Sophie repeated the Bavarian Sapphire Floral Tiara for the Wedding Ball at Schloss Schleißheim, while the Duchess of Braganza wore Queen Amélie’s Diamond Tiara, Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria was wearing the Pearl and Diamond Floral Tiara, Duchess Marie-Caroline in Bavaria, Duchess Philipp of Württemberg was in the Douglas Floral Tiara, the Landgravine of Hesse wore the Hesse Star Tiara, the Princess of Prussia was in the Prussian Meander Tiara, the Margravine of Baden wore the Baden Sunburst Tiara, Hereditary Princess Kelly of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was wearing the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Turquoise Tiara, Princess Ekaterina of Hanover wore the Hanoverian Floral Tiara, the Princess of Ligne was wearing a Ruby Star Tiara with Princess Alix wearing the Ligne Diamond Tiara, the Princess of Oettingen-Oettingen und Oettingen-Spielberg was in the Oettingen-Spielberg Tiara, and Archduchess Priscilla of Austria wore Archduchess Yolande’s Tiara.
Rajwa Khaled bin Musaed bin Saif bin Abdulaziz Al Saif wore a splendid Diamond Tiara for her Wedding to Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah in a Katb Al Kitab Ceremony at the Zahran Palace in Amman.
In the evening, King Abdullah II and Queen Rania (wearing her Arabic Script Tiara) hosted a spectacular Banquet to celebrate the Wedding of Crown Prince Hussein and Princess Rajwa at the Al Husseiniya Palace in Amman.
Queen Máxima wore the Stuart Tiara while the Princess of Orange was wearing the Ruby Peacock Tiara, Duchess of Brabant was in the Vestey Tiara, Queen Azizah of Malaysia was in the Gandik Diraja Tiara, Queen Sofia of Spain was wearing the Niarchos Ruby Parure, Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein was in the Kinsky Tiara, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark was in her Diamond Necklace Tiara, Crown Princess Victoria was wearing Princess Lilian’s Laurel Wreath Tiara, the Princess of Wales was in Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara, Margareta, Custodian of the Crown of Romania was wearing the Romanian Greek Key Tiara, Princess Takamado was wearing her Wedding Tiara and Princess Tsuguko of Takamado was in her Tiara, and Princess Beatrice was wearing the York Diamond Tiara.
Princess Iman was wearing her Wedding Tiara, Princess Salma was in the Boucheron Bracelet Tiara, Princess Muna was in a Pearl and Diamond Tiara, Princess Aisha was wearing Princess Muna’s Tiara as was Princess Zein, Princess Basma was wearing Queen Zein’s Diamond Tiara, and Princess Raiyah and wore Queen Noor’s Necklace.
Tunku Azizah Aminah, the Tengku Ampuan of Pahang and Raja Permaisuri Agong (Queen of Malaysia) was wearing the Gandik Diraja Tiara for the King of Malaysia’s Official Birthday in 2023, when a model of the Gandik Diraja was also displayed on the cake.
Doña Sol María de la Blanca de Medina y Orléans-Braganza, 54th Countess of Ampurias was wearing the Medinaceli Ducal Coronet for her Wedding to Pedro Domínguez-Majón at the Iglesia de San Esteban in Seville.
Queen Margrethe wore the Pearl Poiré Tiara and the Danish Crown Pearl and Ruby Parure, Queen Sonja was the Norwegian Emerald Parure, and Crown Princess Mary wore her Diamond Necklace Tiara at the Gala Dinner in honour of King Harald and Queen Sonja at Christian VII’s Palace in Amalienborg.
Queen Máxima wore the Sapphire Necklace Tiara and Queen Wilhelmina’s Diamond Trellis Necklace for the Diplomatic Gala at the Royal Palace of Amsterdam.
María Ybarra O’Neill wore an heirloom Tiara from the Ybarra Family for her Wedding to Ángel Colón de Mandaluniz, the 18th Duke of La Vega, son of the 18th Duke of Veragua and the 2nd Marquesa of Taurisano.
Queen Máxima wore the House Diamond Tiara and Necklace while Queen Mathilde wore the Nine Provinces Tiara, Diamond Fringe Earrings, and the Wolfers Necklace and Princess Astrid wore the Savoy-Aosta Tiara for the Dutch State Visit to Belgium. Queen Mathilde was wearing her Laurel Wreath Tiara as a Necklace for Return Concert.
Pélagie de Mac Mahon wore the Drummond Tiara for her Wedding to Prince Amaury of Bourbon-Parma at the Cathédrale Saint-Lazare d’Autun in Burgundy, while several heirloom jewels were worn for the Wedding Ball.
Tamara Falcó, Marchioness of Griñón an heirloom Art Deco Tiara from her grandmother for her Wedding to Íñigo Onieva, at her home, the Palacio El Rincón.
Queen Mathilde was wearing the Nine Provinces Tiara for the new Official Portraits of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium released to mark the 10th Anniversary of the King’s Accession.
Marie Friling wore an heirloom Diamond Tiara for her Wedding to Prince Ferdinand zu Schwarzenberg in Attersee am Attersee in Austria, while Queen Máxima of the Netherlands was wearing the Dutch Diamond Bandeau and the Princess of Orange was in the Ruby Peacock Tiara.
In July, the Greek Crown Jewels were rediscovered at Tatoi Palace after having been missing for over 40 years.
Sultanah Nur Zahirah of Terengganu wore the Terengganu State Diadem for the Sultan’s Birthday at the Palace Istana Syarqiyyah in Kuala Terengganu.
Celina d’Abo wore a Diamond Floral Tiara, which likely comes from the collection of the Dukes of Rutland for her Wedding to Jake Giordano.
Isobel Stanley, the niece of the 18th Earl of Derby and a granddaughter of the late 5th Baron Fermoy, wore the Derby Tiara for her Wedding to Tristram Coates at Ely Cathedral in July.
Duchess Amelie of Württemberg was wearing the Württemberg Bridal Diadem for her Wedding to Baron Franz-Ferdinand von Feilitzsch at Schloss Altshausen, wearing a Diamond Necklace Tiara at the Wedding Ball.
Helene von Pezold wore an Heirloom Tiara from her own family for her Wedding to Hereditary Prince Ludwig zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg, with the Princess of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg wearing the grand Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg Emerald Tiara and Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria was in the Bavarian Pearl and Diamond Floral Tiara at the Wedding Ball.
Princess Teresita of Saxony, Duchess of Saxony wore a spectacular Aquamarine, Diamond and Pearl Tiara for her Wedding to Count Béryl de Saporta at the Hofkirche in Dresden.
Caterina Fontana Sánchez wore an heirloom Diamond Tiara for her Wedding to Álvaro Fernández de Villaverde y Bernaldo de Quirós, Marquess of Viso at the Palacio de Los Hornillos in La Casona de las Fraguas in Cantabria.
There was a big Royal Gathering for King Carl XVI Gustaf’s Golden Jubilee Banquet in September, with Queen Silvia leading the group wearing the Braganza Tiara, Queen Margrethe wearing the Pearl Poiré Tiara, Queen Sonja in the Norwegian Emerald Parure, and Queen Anne Marie wearing the Khedive of Egypt Tiara.
Crown Princess Mary wore her Wedding Tiara, Crown Princess Victoria wore the Baden Fringe Tiara, Princess Sofia in her Wedding Tiara, Princess Madeleine wore the Modern Fringe Tiara, while Princess Christina, Mrs Magnuson was in the Connaught Diamond Tiara.
Che Puan Sofie Louise Johansson Petra wore a Diamond Tiara for the Sultan’s Birthday.
Infanta Maria Francisca de Bragança, Duchess of Coimbra wore Queen Amélie’s Diamond Tiara for her Wedding to Duarte de Sousa Araújo Martins at the Basílica Palácio de Mafra inside the Palácio Nacional de Mafra.
For the Wedding Gala, the Infanta wore an heirloom Emerald and Diamond Brooch, with Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg wearing Queen Victoria Eugenie’s Aquamarine Earrings and Bracelet and Princess Anna Cecilia of Bourbon-Parma wearing the Duchess of Aosta’s Ruby Necklace.
The other major royal gathering was for Prince Christian of Denmark’s 18th Birthday Banquet in Copenhagen, with Queen Margrethe wearing the Pearl Poiré Tiara, Crown Princess Mary in her Wedding Tiara, and Princess Marie in Princess Dagmar’s Diamond Floral Tiara.
Queen Anne Marie wearing the Khedive of Egypt Tiara, Princess Benedikte wore wore the Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Fringe Tiara, Crown Princess Victoria wore the Laurel Wreath Tiara, Crown Princess Mette-Marit wore her Diamond Daisy Bandeau, Princess Ingrid Alexandra wore Princess Ingeborg’s Boucheron Pearl Circle Tiara, the Duchess of Brabant wore the Wolfers Necklace Tiara, the Princess of Orange was in the Dutch Sapphire Necklace Tiara, Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece wore Queen Sophie’s Diamond Tiara, and the Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg who was wearing the Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Diamond Spike Tiara.
Queen Camilla wore the iconic Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara with the Queen’s South African Diamond Necklace and Bracelet for a spectacular Reception and Dinner at Mansion House in London, held by the City of London in honour of the Coronation.
Queen Sonja wore Queen Maud’s Pearl Tiara, Crown Princess Mette-Marit wore the Norwegian Amethyst Tiara and Princess Astrid the Ruby Aigrette Tiara for the Stortingsmiddag at the Royal Palace of Oslo.
Queen Letizia wore the Spanish Fleur-de-Lys Tiara , Queen Margrethe II of Denmark wore the Danish Emerald Parure, Crown Princess Mary was wearing her Diamond Necklace Tiara while Princess Benedikte wore the Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Fringe Tiara for the Spanish State Visit to Denmark.
King Charles wore the Imperial State Crown and Queen Camilla wore the George IV State Diadem for the King’s first State Opening of Parliament. Princess Antonia, Duchess of Wellington was wearing the heirloom Wellington Tiara, the Marchioness of Lansdowne wore the spectacular Lansdowne Diamond Floral Tiara, Baroness Geddes was wearing the Hesse Turquoise and Moonstone Tiara and there were numerous other bejeweled Peeresses.
Queen Máxima wore the House Diamond Tiara and Necklace in new Official Portraits of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands to mark the 10th Anniversary of the King’s Accession.
Jovia Mutesi wore two Tiaras for her Wedding to King William Gabula Nadiope IV of Busoga in Bugembe, the Capital of the Kingdom of Busoga.
Tuanku Zara Salim, the Raja Permaisuri (Queen) of Perak wore the Perak Diamond Tiara for the Sultan’s Birthday in November.
Queen Raja Zarith Sofiah and Crown Princess Khaleeda wore Tiaras for the Sultan of Johor’s 65th Birthday in the Throne Hall of the Istana Besar.
Archduchess Ildiko of Austria, Princess of Hungary wore the Orléans-Braganza Diamond Tiara, Countess Lara-Cosima Henckel von Donnersmarck wore the Couteulx Floral Diamond Tiara, Marchesa Barbara Berlingier was wearing a Ruby and Diamond Brooch/Hair Ornament, Hannah Husain wore the magnificent Orléans Emerald Necklace, and Angelina Jordan wore an Emerald and Diamond Tiara for Le Bal des Débutantes at the Shangri La Hotel in Paris.
Queen Mathilde wore the Bandeau of the Nine Provinces Tiara on a State Visit to the Federal Republic of Germany.
Queen Camilla debuted the Burmese Ruby Tiara paired with Queen Victoria’s Crown Ruby Necklace, the Princess of Wales wore the Strathmore Rose Tiara, Princess Anne wore her Diamond Festoon Tiara, Festoon Necklace and Diamond Bow Brooch, the Duchess of Edinburgh wore her Aquamarine Necklace Tiara, the Duchess of Gloucester wore the Gloucester Diamond and Emerald Bandeau Tiara, Katharine, Lady Brooke wore Lady Susan’s Waldegrave Tiara for the State Banquet for the South Korean President and First Lady at Buckingham Palace.
At the Guildhall Banquet, the Duchess wore the Gloucester Honeysuckle Tiara, Topaz and Diamond Jewellery from Queen Mary.
Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin, the Tengku Permaisuri (Queen) of Selangor wore the Selangor Diamond Fringe Tiara for the Sultan’s Birthday.
Queen Camilla wore the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara while the Princess of Wales was wearing Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara the Greville Diamond Chandelier Earrings, for the Diplomatic Reception at Buckingham Palace.
Queen Silvia was wearing the Nine-Prong Tiara, Crown Princess Victoria wore the Napoleonic Amethyst Parure, Princess Sofia was wearing her Wedding Tiara, and Princess Christina was in the Six-Button Tiara for the Nobel Prize Ceremony in Stockholm.
Queen Silvia was wearing the Leuchtenberg Sapphire Parure, Crown Princess Victoria was in the Connaught Diamond Tiara, Princess Sofia was wearing her Wedding Tiara, and Princess Christina was in the Six-Button Tiara at the King’s Dinner for Nobel Laureates.
Queen Máxima wore the Mellerio Ruby Tiara, Ruby and Diamond Stomacher, and two Ruby and Diamond Bracelets for the South Korean State Visit to The Netherlands.
Royal Christmas Cards 2023 | Royal Weddings 2023 | State Visits 2023 | Royal Tiaras 2023
So Queen max wore diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds and pearl tiaras. That’s impressive.
Happy Birthday to you!
What a wonderful tiara year we’ve had.
The weddings in Bavaria and Jordan provided a cornucopia of tiaras, including new ones, old favourites and a reappearance on Princess Beatrice, who tied in my book with the stunning Bride Rajwa and her new tiara in the wedding class.
Although Maxima was the tiara winner for most appearances, it was wonderful to see her daughter Amalia wear two more tiaras and look stunning in both, and to see the other tiara debutantes play with the ones in their vaults.
A shout out goes to the Princess of Wales, for reviving the Strathmore Rose, but my overall winner of the year was my Queen Camilla. Not only did we see her in her Coronation Crown, but the George IV Diadem and four other different tiaras. And she did it so well. Who knew the reviled “Corgi Paw” Sapphires and the “Crab Claws” Rubies could be worn to such fabulous effect and that the late Queen’s iconic GGB could look just as good on someone else? Can’t wait to see her in the Diamond Kokoshnik and the emerald Vladimir now!