A striking royal tiara bought as a romantic wedding gift and sold in the middle of a regal row

July has the fiercest and fieriest of birthstones, rubies. And among the most striking tiaras in current use to feature that stone belongs to the royal family of Sweden.

The tiara in question is a towering powerhouse of gemstones, filled with glittering diamonds and scatted with sparkling rubies. It began life as a royayl wedding present. The marriage in question was that of Princess Margaret of Connaught, elder daughter of Queen Victoria’s third son, Arthur, Duke of Connaught. She became the bride of Gustaf Adolf, Crown Prince of Sweden in 1905 just months after the couple fell in love when Margaret and her sister, Patricia, were taken on a tour of Europe as potential royal brides for kings in waiting. Margaret’s uncle, Edward VII, and his wife, Queen Alexandra, gave their niece this tiara as her wedding present.

Fittingly for a right royal romance, it’s rather romantic itself. There are swirls of diamonds across the base and these rise into three heart shaped sets of sparklers. In the centre of each of the hearts is a pounding, pulsating, passionate ruby while more red gems glitter along the bottom of the tiara. It’s rather Edwardian looking but filled with symbolism.

Margaret’s story had a far from happy ending. While expecting her sixth baby, she died of an infection leaving her husband and children heartbroken. Her jewels were shared among her family with her son, Prince Sigvard, inheriting the ruby tiara. He lost his royal title when he married a commoner and would later sell the diadem before claiming it was merely a loan. Eventually, the current King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, bought the jewel which put an end to the sorry saga. However, it’s a long way from the romance of its beginnings.

The tiara is rather grand and also quite light looking. The scrolling is quite spaced out leaving big gaps between the gems and for this reason it can look a little bit thin sometimes. But what it misses out on in substance it makes up for in height – this set of rubies reaches for the sky and makes it. Overall. it’s very regal.

The rubies in this tiara are quite subtle and don’t dominate the diadem. Queen Silvia has worn it from time to time while her younger daughter, Princess Madeleine, surprised everyone by popping it on for a recent gala appearance. It’s a great setting for the fabulous ruby that is the birthstone of July.