Today marks the 150th Anniversary of the Birth of Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, who was born away on this day in 1876! The Bavarian Duchess who became the popular Queen, Queen Mother, and Queen Grandmother of Belgium, today we are featuring Queen Elisabeth of Belgium’s Art Deco Diamond Bandeau Tiara!
Queen Elisabeth’s Cartier Bandeau Tiara | Art Deco Diamond Bandeau Tiara | Diamond Bandeau | Pearl and Diamond Leaf Brooch | Diamond Stomacher
Composed of a striking geometric Art Deco Pattern, with a row of diamonds leaves, this Bandeau Tiara, which can also be worn as a Choker, was acquired by King Albert I of The Belgians for Queen Elisabeth in the mid 1920s.
Queen Elisabeth wore her Art Deco Diamond Bandeau Tiara on a handful of occasions during the 1920s and 30s, most notably for a visit from Prince and Princess Takamatsu of Japan in 1930.
In 1934, the recently widowed Queen Elisabeth gave the Art Deco Bandeau Tiara as a gift to her daughter-in-law, Queen Astrid, to mark the birth of her third child, the now King Albert II of Belgium, who was the namesake of his late grandfather. Queen Astrid wore the Art Deco Tiara on a visit to Sweden for the Wedding Gala of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Princess Ingrid of Sweden in 1935 and for Duke and Duchess of York’s visit to Brussels two months later, which came just weeks before Queen Astrid’s tragic death in a car crash.
In the 1950s, the Art Deco Diamond Bandeau was worn occasions by the Princess of Réthy as a Tiara, as a Choker, and also with the diamonds of the Nine Provinces Tiara for the Banquet at the American Embassy in Brussels in 1958.
The following year, when Prince Albert was marrying Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabri, Queen Elisabeth’s Art Deco Diamond Bandeau Tiara was given as a wedding present to the glamorous Princess Paola, who wore the Tiara for numerous royal occasions from the 1960s though the 1970s and 1980s, beginning from the Wedding Ball of King Baudouin in 1960, the British State Visit to Belgium in 1966, the Danish State Visit to Belgium in 1968, and the Dutch State Visit to Belgium in 1981.
After King Albert’s accession to the Belgian Throne in 1993, Queen Paola gained the Nine Provinces Tiara, but continued to wear the Art Deco Diamond Bandeau as a Tiara and as a Choker for royal events at home and abroad, among them the Belgian State Visit to Spain in 1994, King Carl XVI Gustaf’s 50th Birthday in 1996, and King Harald and Queen Sonja’s 60th Birthday in 1997.
In 1999, Queen Paola loaned the Queen Elisabeth’s Art Deco Diamond Bandeau Tiara to her daughter-in-law, Jonkvrouw Mathilde d’Udekem d’Acoz, when she married the then Duke of Brabant.
Queen Paola continued to wear Queen Elisabeth’s Art Deco Diamond Bandeau into the latter years of King Albert’s reign, preferring to wear the Nine Provinces Tiara for only the most important occasions. The Art Deco Diamond Bandeau was worn for the Wedding of Crown Prince Haakon of Norway in 2001, the Wedding of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark in 2004, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden’s 60th Birthday Banquet in 2006, the Wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden in 2010, the Wedding Ball of Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco in 2011, and the Wedding Gala of Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg and Countess Stephanie de Lannoy in 2012 among others.
After King Albert’s abdication in 2013, Queen Paola loaned the Diamond Bandeau to Lili Rosboch von Wolkenstein for her Wedding to Prince Amedeo of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este in Rome in 2014.
Most recently, Queen Elisabeth’s Art Deco Diamond Tiara was worn by Princess Astrid for a German State Banquet in 2016, the only time she has worn the Tiara. While it is unlikely that it will be worn by Queen Paola again, let’s hope the Tiara appears soon on Queen Elisabeth’s namesake, the Duchess of Brabant!
Cartier Diamond Tiara
Art Deco Diamond Bandeau
Diamond Bandeau
Pearl and Diamond Leaf Brooch
Empress Carlota’s Diamond Stomacher
Nine Provinces Tiara
Laurel Wreath Tiara
Wolfers Necklace Tiara
Queen Elisabeth’s Diamond Bandeau
Diamond Fringe Earrings
Wedding Earrings
Diamond Scroll Earrings
Tunisian Parure
Aquamarine Earrings
Diamond Earrings
Diamond Waterfall Brooch
Diamond Butterfly Brooch
Sapphire Brooch
Diamond Floral Bracelet
