Today marks the Anniversary of the Birth of Princess Ingeborg of Sweden and Denmark, who was born on this day in 1878! The Danish Princess who married a Swedish Prince, becoming the mother of Queen Astrid of Belgium, Crown Princess Martha of Norway, and Princess Margaretha of Denmark and the grandmother and great-grandmother of King Baudouin of Belgium, King Harald V of Norway, Grand Duchess Joséphine Charlotte of Luxembourg, King Philippe of Belgium, and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, Princess Ingeborg possessed one of the most spectacular Jewellery collections, which included these three magnificent Emerald and Diamond Brooches!
Napoleonic Emerald Parure | Boucheron Pearl Circle Tiara | Turquoise Star Tiara | Gold Bandeau Tiara | Diamond Tiara | Pearl Brooch | Turquoise Brooch | Emerald Brooches | The Jewels of Princess Ingeborg of Sweden
These antique Emerald and Diamond Brooches is unknown originate from the legendary collection of her great-grandmother, Princess Louise of the Netherlands. Princess Ingeborg inherited the Brooches from her mother, Queen Lovisa of Denmark, and coordinated with the Napoleonic Emerald Tiara and Parure she inherited from her mother-in-law, Queen Sofia of Sweden.
Among them were three brooches or clasps consisting of a square emerald of a rather pale green colour surrounded by one row of small diamonds and one row of larger diamonds.These three can be traced back to Princess Ingeborg’s great-grandmother, Princess Louise of the Netherlands, the wife of the fabulously wealthy Prince Frederik. After her death in 1870, it was part of the so-called «Dutch collection» of jewels that passed to her daughter, Queen Louise of Sweden and of Norway. She died the following year, whereby the entire Dutch collection passed to her only surviving child, Louise, Crown Princess and later Queen of Denmark (consort of Frederik VIII), who had a huge collection of jewellery.While she made some pieces part of the jewels of the crown, the majority of her jewels were left to her seven surviving children and the children of her late daughter Louise. These three brooches or clasps were left to Princess Ingeborg upon her mother’s death in 1926.
Princess Ingeborg wore one of the Emerald and Diamond Brooches with the Napoleonic Emerald Tiara and Parure for the Wedding of Crown Prince Leopold of Belgium and her daughter, Princess Astrid of Sweden, in Brussels in 1926.
Princess Ingeborg wore the Emerald and Diamond Brooches on numerous occasions through the 1920s and 1930s, sometimes suspended from a long Diamond Riviere.
Princess Ingeborg seems to have worn two of the Emerald Brooches with the Napoleonic Emerald Tiara for the Wedding Gala of her nephew, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, and niece, Princess Ingrid of Sweden, at the Royal Palace of Stockholm in 1935.
Princess Ingeborg also wore three of the Emerald and Diamond Brooches with Napoleonic Emerald Tiara for King Christian X’s Silver Jubilee Banquet in Copenhagen in 1937, as well as for the Wedding of Prince Christian of Schaumburg-Lippe and Princess Feodora of Denmark, and King Gustaf V’s 80th Birthday in 1938.
After her death in 1958, many of Princess Ingeborg’s remaining jewels like her Boucheron Pearl Circle Tiara or her Turquoise Star Tiara were inherited by her descendants in Norway and Denmark, while the three children of the late Queen Astrid of Belgium inherited the three Emerald and Diamond Brooches.
The Brooch inherited by King Baudouin of Belgium was worn sporadically by Queen Fabiola, sometimes suspended from an element of her Spanish Wedding Gift Tiara. The current location of the Brooch is unknown.
Queen Paola wore Princess Ingeborg’s Emerald Brooch which had been inherited by King Albert II of Belgium on numerous occasions from the 1960s up until the 1990s, but it hasn’t been worn for several years.
Princess Ingeborg’s eldest granddaughter, Grand Duchess Joséphine Charlotte of Luxembourg, inherited one of the Emerald Brooches along with Princess Ingeborg’s Pearl Brooch. Grand Duchess Joséphine Charlotte wore the piece as a Brooch and also a Pendant frequently paired with the Emerald Peacock Tiara or the Chaumet Emerald Tiara, as well as Queen Astrid’s Emerald Earrings.
More recently, Princess Ingeborg’s Emerald Brooch has been worn by Grand Duchess Maria Teresa on several occasions, and there is no doubt this special heirloom will be worn for years to come!
Emerald Parure
Boucheron Pearl Circle Tiara
Turquoise Star Tiara
Gold Bandeau Tiara
Diamond Tiara
Pearl Brooch
Emerald Brooches
