Last week, the Danish Queen and Crown Prince paid a state visit to their neighbour in the south, Germany. The visit lasted several days and successfully strengthened the economic, cultural, and military cooperation between the two nations.
However, behind the scenes, the evening of the state dinner in Berlin had hidden drama; parts of Queen Margrethe’s brooch suddenly disappeared.
Margrethe arrived wearing an emerald green dress. In her hair, the Queen had the priceless Perlepoire Tiara with a matching necklace. Just below the necklace sat the brooch. When Margrethe stood on the steps of the Bellevue Palace in Berlin, side by side with her host, the German President, five large pear-shaped pearls dangled from the brooch’s pendant. Shortly thereafter there were suddenly only four pear-shaped pearls left.
Queen Margrethe did not notice that part of the jewellery was gone until she was told after the dinner was over. An observant person associated with the Queen’s staff is said to have observed that the pearl was lost and found the pearl shortly after.
The Danish Royal Court confirms to the Danish magazine “Billed Bladet” that the pearl fell off and was quickly found again. However, it was not put on immediately; it only happened after returning from the German visit and was done by the Danish Royal Court Jeweller.
Several newspapers in the Nordic nations have pointed out that this was a special mistake, as the jewellery is checked many times before use by authorised personnel precisely to prevent the old jewellery from being damaged during use.
The brooch is a part of the magnificent Danish Perlepoire jewellery set, which, in addition to the brooch, consists of a tiara, necklace and earrings. It was made for Princess Louise of the Netherlands (1828 to 1871), who was the daughter of King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia. The Perlepoire jewellery set is Queen Margrethe’s private property and is part of what is called the “Royal Danish Løsørefideikommis.”
It is also possible for the Queen to take the jewellery abroad, unlike the crown jewels, which have a travel ban.
