Happy Birthday to Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, who celebrates her 86th Birthday today! The exuberant Danish Sovereign for 52 years until her Abdication in 2024, Queen Margrethe has worn many splendid Heirlooms from the Swedish, British and German Royal Families, but one of her own commissions has been the striking Golden Poppies Tiara!
The Golden Poppies Tiara is one of the most avant-garde and artistic pieces in Queen Margrethe’s collection, which was a personal commission by the Queen herself from Danish jewellery designer Arje Griegst in 1976.
The poppy flowers are made of 21 carat gold hammered to very thin plates. Drops of aquamarines, carved opal and moonstones can be found inside some of the flowers or the leaves, usually in the form of carved insects All poppies in the hairpiece are detachable. The eight flowers are suspended from the gold haircomb-style frame while eight small leaves are suspended from the lower part of the frame.
The earrings each consist of a single poppy from which three smaller golden poppies hang on diamond-encrusted threads of varying sizes. The necklace is basically three rows of platinum chain; from the bottom links five small poppies hang.
The Golden Poppies Tiara was worn by Queen Margrethe on a State Visit to France in 1978, for the Romanian State Visit to Denmark in 1980, the Spanish State Visit in 1980, and also on a State Visit to Portugal in 1984.
Queen Margrethe also wore the Golden Poppies Tiara for the Return Gala during the Jordanian State Visit to Denmark in 1998, the Wedding Gala of Princess Alexandra of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Count Jefferson von Pfeil, and during the Bulgarian State Visit to Denmark in 2006.
Just a few Golden Poppies were worn during the Dinner held to mark the Engagement of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Mary Donaldson in 2003 as well as a Dinner held for the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall in 2012.
More recently, the Golden Poppies Tiara was among all of Queen Margrethe’s Jewels on display in the ‘A Queen’s Jewelry Box/En Dronnings Smykkeskrin‘ Exhibition at the Amalienborg Palace Museum for her Golden Jubilee in 2022, and seems to have been retained following her abdication, so it is only a matter of time before it reappears again!
