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June’s Jewels: Sweden’s Pearls

Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, 2010

We are taking a look at some of the Swedish Royal Family’s best pearls in our June series. While the Swedish pearls may not be as prominent as the diamonds, there are still some beautiful sets in the Swedish vaults.

Cameo Set

The Cameo Tiara is famous for being worn by both Crown Princess Victoria and Queen Silvia at their weddings. Before that, it was worn by Princesses Birgitta and Désirée at their weddings.

Its first owner was Empress Joséphine and was later brought to Sweden by Josephine of Leuchtenberg when she married King Oscar I in 1823.

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Featuring cameos surrounded in pearls, the tiara is in the shape of a traditional bridal crown. The diadem’s base is made of gold and seed pearls.

The set also features earrings, a necklace, brooch and two bracelets that match the tiara. The cameos on the necklace and bracelets are connected by small strands of pearls. Crown Princess Victoria also wore one of the bracelets on her wedding day.

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Princess Lilian’s Pearl Brooch

Beloved Princess Lilian wore a diamond and pearl brooch for most formal occasions and her wedding to Prince Bertil in 1976. The pin has diamond make up a ribbon bow with a large pearl in the centre. It also has two smaller pearls dropping from the ends of the ribbon.

Upon Lilian’s death, Queen Silvia inherited the brooch, and it has since been seen on the Queen at events.

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Princess Sofia’s Wedding Tiara

Of course, the newest pearl piece to the Swedish royal collection is the wedding tiara of Princess Sofia, which was a gift from King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia. The tiara was made from an emerald necklace of Queen Silvia’s that had been given to her by a Thai prince, and the jewels were sent back to Thailand to create the tiara in an effort to keep it a surprise for Sofia. The tiara is versatile as the emeralds can be exchanged for other jewels like pearls, turquoises and diamonds.

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Princess Birgitta’s Pearl Circle Tiara

Princess Birgitta was presented a pearl circle tiara by her grandfather, King Gustaf VI Adolf and his wife, Queen Louise upon her wedding to German Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern in 1961.

The tiara, made by Carlman, has seven pearl circles with a single diamond in the centre of each. Diamond flowers are dispersed in between the pearl circles.

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Princess Birgitta no longer wears the tiara, and it is now seen on her daughter, Princess Désirée at royal events like the wedding of Princess Madeleine to Chris O’Neill in 2013. Désirée also wore it for her first wedding in 1990, and her sister-in-law, Uta wore it to her wedding to Désirée’s brother, Prince Hubertus.

About author

Brittani is from Tennessee, USA. She is a political scientist and historian after graduating with a degree in the topics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in December 2014. She also holds a master's degree from Northeastern University. She enjoys reading and researching all things regarding the royals of the world. She's been researching, reading, and writing on royalty for over a decade. She became Europe Editor in October 2016, and then Deputy Editor in January 2019, and has been featured on several podcasts, radio shows, news broadcasts and websites including Global News Canada, ABC News Australia, WION India and BBC World News.