Waldeck and Pyrmont Tiara

Happy Birthday to the Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont, who turns 70 today! The Countess von Goëss-Saurau who married the head of the House of Waldeck and Pyrmont and is the mother of the current Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, today we are featuring the magnificent Waldeck and Pyrmont Tiara!

The exact origin of this spectacular Diamond Floral Tiara is unknown, but it may have been created from various family heirlooms of the Dukes of Nassau-Weilburg when Princess Helena of Nassau married the Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont in 1853.

The family jewelry of the Princes of Waldeck and Pyrmont consists of several small bouquets of flowers: fully bloomed blossoms with large diamonds as their centerpiece, buds and half-open flowers such as fuchsias, and their leaves and tendrils, all lavishly set with diamonds. It also includes a large floral brooch that appears to be bound from three branches. The diamond jewelry is very versatile and can be worn as a tiara or necklace with pendants and several smaller brooches

While Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont was depicted wearing the Diamond Floral Tiara and an heirloom Diamond Necklace when she married Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, the youngest son of Queen Victoria, she wore another Diamond Floral Tiara and a Diamond Fringe Necklace. However, even Queen Victoria mentioned the Tiara in her Diary:

A lovely sight she was, her white satin dress & train, embroidered with silver lilies, & trimmed with Brussels lace. She wore on her head a diamond diadem, in the shape of flowers (a Waldeck family jewel), surrounded by a bridal wreath & a long tulle veil.

Instead, elements of the Diamond Floral Tiara were worn as brooches on the bodice of the bride’s mother, the then Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont, born Princess Helena of Nassau, for the Wedding of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany and Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont at Windsor Castle in 1882.

The Diamond Floral Tiara was also worn by the next Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Princess Bathildis of Schaumburg-Lippe, for a few portraits.

Her successor as Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Duchess Altburg of Oldenburg, was pictured in the Diamond Floral Tiara at an old age.

The current Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont, born Countess Cecilia von Goëss-Saurau, wore the Diamond Floral Tiara for the Wedding Ball of Duke Friedrich of Württemberg and Princess Marie of Wied at Schloss Altshausen in 1993.

The Diamond Floral Tiara was also worn by the Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont for the Wedding Ball of Duchess Fleur of Württemberg and Count Moritz von Goëss at Schloss Altshausen in 2003.

Most recently, the Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont wore the Diamond Floral Tiara for the Wedding of Prince Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Carina Axelsson at Schloss Berleburg in 2022 and there is no doubt we will continue to see it worn for years to come!