A crown has always been the must-have of incumbent princesses and queens. The modern representatives of royal families are not exceptions – Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Great Britain have collections of these pieces of arts in their royal palaces. Here we are going to tell you about the most expensive and exclusive tiaras belonging to the representatives of different royal families.
Emerald Crown of the Queen of Norway
This is a real masterpiece of jewelry art. It was presented by Napoleon to his first wife Josephine, and since that time the decoration got its name – Emerald tiara of the Emperor Josephine. This tiara was made by Bapst jewelry house on a special order of the Emperor of France. Nonetheless, this headpiece is just a part of the jewelry ensemble – the full set includes necklace, earrings, and two brooches, but these pieces are not nearly as popular as the headpiece, regardless the fact that they are often seen together at different sorts of events. The tiara is made of white gold and silver, and can be easily recognized by the large square emerald in its center. It came to Norwegian Royal family as a result of long wanderings: after the death of Josephine, the tiara was roaming between her heirs until finally settled up in Sweden. Thus, the tiara has belonged to the Norwegian rulers since 1937, and is the favorite decoration of Queen Sonia.
Cambridge Lover’s Knot of the British Royal Family
Queen Elizabeth II presented ‘Cambridge Lover’s Knot’ to Princess Diana for her wedding. In 1914, the well-known jewelry house Garrard has specially designed ‘Cambridge Lover’s Knot’ for Queen Mary, a wife of George V. This tiara is decorated with pearls and 19 diamond arches. As Princess Diana said, it weighted so much that could cause headache. Nowadays, the wife of Prince William Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, wears this jewelry on festive occasions.
Diamond Tiara of Kate Middleton
Cartier Tiara consists of 16 ringlets and is decorated with 739 diamonds and 149 baguette-cut diamonds. In older times, it belonged to Queen Mary and then passed to Elizabeth II: George V presented it to his daughter for her 18th birthday. Princesses Margaret and Anne also wore it. However, this tiara became particularly important for Kate Middleton – it completed her wedding image.
The Burmese Ruby Tiara of Queen Elizabeth II
Unlike most of jewelries, Elizabeth II didn’t inherit this tiara, but ordered it by herself. In 1973, the jewelry house Garrard designed it of rubies, which Burmese people gifted the Queen for her wedding. They believe that rubies save people from different diseases. According to its design, the tiara looks like a wreath of roses with ruby knots in the centre of each flower with diamond petals.
Spain Heraldic Fleur de Lys Tiara or la Buena
Queen Letizia of Spain usually wears this famous heraldic tiara for the official events and meetings. This jewelry was a wedding gift by King Alfonso XIII to his bride Victoria Battenberg. It is made of platinum and incrusted with more than 500 diamonds. This tiara looks like a heraldic lily, and due to the strength of its metal, it can be bent in a crown.
Dutch Ruby Tiara
This ruby tiara is the most favorite jewelry of Crown Princess Mary. It is a part of Dutch Ruby Parure, which also includes necklace and earrings. A wife of King of Sweden and Norway Charles XIV John, Eugenie Desiree Clary firstly wore it on the crowing ceremony of Napoleon in 1804. Mary inherited a full set of jewelry, but she liked this tiara most of all.
Diamond Foam Tiara of Charlene, Princess Of Monaco
French-German jeweler Lorenz Bäumer designed this tiara for Charlene and Prince Albert evening wedding ball. The Diamond Foam should reflect her love to water as in the past Charlene Wittstock was a champion swimmer. The diamonds on this tiara evoke the spray of crashing ocean waves. The largest diamond is a whopping 8 carats alone. A total weight of the tiara is 60 carats. Interestingly, this jewelry can be disassembled into two separate pieces: a brooch and a hairpiece.
Queen Alia’s Cartier Tiara
This famous tiara of Jordanian royal family was specially designed for Queen Alia by jewelry house Cartier. Its design reminds either of a floral wreath or of snowflakes. After Alia’s death in 1977, her daughter Princess Haya inherited her mother’s tiara. Today Queen Rania of Jordan often wears this jewelry. At first, Haya loaned this tiara on various occasions to Rania (for example, coronation of Abdulla II). Finally, she sold it to the Queen.
Dutch Mellerio Ruby Tiara
This tiara is known as “cat ears” due to its unusual shape. In 1889, King Willem III ordered it from famed Paris jeweler Mellerio dits Meller for his wife, Queen Emma. The tiara was a part of Oranje-Nassau parure and nowadays it is among the jewelry collection of Queen Maxima.
Dutch Sapphire Tiara
Another favorite jewelry of Queen Maxima is the Dutch Sapphire Tiara designed by famed jeweler Mellerio. It is based on the brooch of Queen of Netherlands Anna Pavlovna who was a daughter of Russian Emperor Paul I. This platinum tiara includes 33 Kashmirian sapphires and 655 South African diamonds.
The Swedish Cut Steel Tiara
The Cut Steel Tiara has become a part of jewelry collection of Swedish royal family after Josephine Leuchtenberg and Oscar I got married. She took it as her trousseau. For many years, this tiara has been considered to be disappeared; however, finally Queen Silvia found it. Since then, it has appeared on many of the royal women. But Crown Princess Victoria is the one who wears this tiara most often.