Stuart Diamond Tiara

Happy Birthday to Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, who turns 53 today! The vibrant Argentinian financier who became the first Dutch Queen Consort in over a century and the main wearer of the magnificent Dutch Royal Jewellery collection, Queen Máxima was worn a variety of spectacular heirloom jewels, with the most magnificent being the Stuart Diamond Tiara!

In 1690, British King William III, Prince of Orange bought the large rough diamond as a present for his wife, Queen Mary II; a rose-cut pear shaped diamond weighing 39.75 carat of an extremely rare Sea Blue (Greenish) colour, that as property of the House of Orange, was returned to The Netherlands upon the death of the King in 1702.

The ‘Stuart Diamond’ returned to England almost a century later with Prince Willem V, when it was reset by Rundell & Bridge into a detachable pendant suspended from a necklace for Princess Wilhelmina, and began to be also known as the ‘Holland Diamond’. An inventory of the jewellery of the House of Orange in 1874 stated that the ‘Holland Diamond’ was surrounded by 22 brilliant cut diamonds and was set in an Agraffe (a decorative hook or clasp for clothing), but in 1879, King Willem III had the Stuart Diamond reset into a spectacular necklace for his young bride, Queen Emma, who most notably wore it for the Wedding of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany and her sister, Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont, in Windsor Castle in 1882.

In 1898, Queen Emma commissioned Eduard Schürmann in Frankfurt to create a new Parure from ‘House Diamonds’ for her young daughter, Queen Wilhelmina, ahead of her Inauguration. Topped with the ‘Stuart Diamond’, as Queen Wilhelmina always called it, the Tiara consists of six principle sections graduated to the central motif and has an ornate openwork scroll & floral design, topped with ten other large rose cut diamonds, which are all detachable to allow the Tiara to be worn in several configurations, while the individual elements cane be worn as earrings, brooches, and rings.

The Diamond Necklace also contains a rare selection of centuries old diamonds from the collection of the House of Orange, with each element being versatile and detachable to be worn as pendants and brooches.

The versatile diamond devant de corsage in the shape of a large diamond bow contains two very rare triangular cut diamonds that are said to have belonged to Princess Anna of Hanover, Princess Royal, wife of Stadholder Willem IV, while two of the diamond pendants are now used as a spectacular pair of Earrings, using pear-shaped diamonds that also reportedly belonged to Princess Anna.

Queen Wilhelmina most notably wore the Stuart Diamond Tiara for her Inauguration at the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam.

Three years later, the larger diamonds on top of the Tiara were removed by Queen Wilhelmina to be worn for her Wedding to Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin at the Grote of Sint-Jacobskerk in The Hague in 1901.

Queen Wilhelmina wore the Stuart Diamond Tiara for a Portrait a few years later, and also wore various elements of the House Diamond Parure for her Silver Wedding Anniversary in 1926.

Several years later, the Stuart Diamond Tiara and House Diamond Parure were worn by Queen Juliana for a Gala Performance in Amsterdam following her Inauguration in 1948.

Queen Juliana wore the Stuart Diamond Tiara quite often throughout her Reign, worn for the Danish State Visit to The Netherlands in 1954, the British State Visit to the Netherlands in 1958, the Dutch State Visit to Belgium in 1960, and the Dutch State Visit to Austria in 1962.

Queen Juliana wore the House Diamond Parure on numerous occasions with the Dutch Diamond Bandeau, including for the Dutch State Visit to Luxembourg in 1951, the Dutch State Visit to Denmark in 1953, her Silver Wedding Anniversary Gala in 1962,

Queen Juliana also wore the Stuart Diamond Tiara and House Diamond Parure for her Silver Anniversary Gala in 1962, the Wedding Ball of King Constantine II of Greece and Princess Anne Marie of Denmark in 1964, and the Wedding of Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik of Denmark.

The Stuart Diamond Tiara and House Diamond Parure were worn for a final time by Queen Juliana during the Dutch State Visit to Britain in 1972, after which it disappeared from public view for decades, never being worn by Queen Beatrix.

Ahead of the Inauguration of King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands, it was announced that the Stuart Diamond Tiara and House Diamond Parure was being refurbished, with the Stomacher being worn by Princess Laurentien along with the Aquamarine Tiara for Queen Beatrix’s Abdication Dinner, while Queen Máxima wore the Necklace for the Argentine State Visit to The Netherlands and the Jordanian Official Visit to the Netherlands.

In 2018, Queen Máxima wore a smaller version of the Stuart Diamond Tiara, without the Stuart Diamond, and the other two larger Diamonds as Earrings for the State Banquet during the Dutch State Visit to Luxembourg.

Later that year, Queen Máxima wore the full Stuart Diamond Tiara for the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace during the Dutch State Visit to Britain, with Queen Máxima saying:

In recent years, Queen Máxima has really embraced the versatility of the Stuart Diamond Tiara and House Diamond Parure, wearing the two of the largest diamonds, part from the Stuart Diamond, as a pair of Earrings, sometimes suspended from two of the slightly smaller diamonds, which have been worn for the Cape Verde State Visit to The Netherlands, Royal Ascot in 2019, the Dutch State Visit to India, the Enthronement of Emperor Naruhito of Japan, the Dutch State Visit to Greece, the Iris van Herpen Exhibition, and the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.

Queen Máxima debuted another version of the House Diamond Tiara, without any of the larger Diamonds, being worn for the State Banquet at Schloss Bellevue during the Dutch State Visit to Germany in 2021.

The next year, Queen Máxima wore the House Diamond Tiara with only one central diamond, along with the House Diamond Necklace for Princess Ingrid Alexandra’s 18th Birthday Banquet at the Royal Palace of Oslo.

Later that year, Queen Máxima wore another version of the House Diamond Tiara, with a larger diamond in the central element, for the State Banquet hosted by the King and Queen of Sweden at the Royal Palace of Stockholm during the Dutch State Visit to Sweden.

Queen Máxima wore the smallest version of the House Diamond Tiara with the Diamond Earrings for the Wedding Banquet of Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan in Amman in June 2023.

Later that month, Queen Maxima wore the House Diamond Tiara with the larger central diamond and the House Diamond Necklace for the State Banquet hosted by King Philippe and Queen Mathilde at the Royal Chateau of Laeken during the Dutch State Visit to Belgium.

A few months later, Queen Maxima repeated the same gown with the House Diamond Tiara with the larger central diamond, Diamond Earrings, and the House Diamond Necklace for new Official Portraits to mark the 10th Anniversary of the King’s Accession.

Most recently, Queen Máxima wore the full Stuart Diamond Tiara with the Stomacher and Diamond Earrings for the State Banquet in honour of King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain at the Royal Palace of Amsterdam during the Spanish State Visit to The Netherlands last month. There is no doubt we will continue to see the Stuart Diamond Tiara worn for years to come!