She was the royal bride who became a queen when she said ‘I do’ but who almost lost her crown just moments later in an assassination attempts. Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain returned to her new royal palace in a blood spattered wedding dress where she was greeted by her mother-in-law, Queen Maria Christina. Both women shared dramatic and tragic times as Spain’s consort and both also shared a fabulous jewellery collection including a diamond and pearl tiara that is now a favourite of a very modern queen indeed.
Upon her marriage in 1906, Victoria Eugenie, known as Ena, received a striking tiara from her mother-in-law, Queen Maria Christina of Spain. In its original, versatile form commissioned by Ansorena, this diamond tiara featured an additional row of pearls at the top that could be switched out for other gems. Queen Ena had it refashioned in the 1920s by Cartier, who changed it to a diamond swirl tiara with eight large pearls at the centre of each swirl.
(Casa de S.M. el Rey)
Then, the Spanish Royal Family went into exile in 1931, and Queen Ena ended up selling some of the jewels swapped with the pearls to raise funds for the family. After her death, she left the tiara to her daughter, Infanta Maria Christina, and it left the main royal branch.
When Infanta Maria Christina died in 1996, King Juan Carlos came into possession of the tiara again, though whether through inheritance or purchasing it from the family is unknown. Queen Sofía began wearing the tiara — and lent it out to Infanta Cristina on occasion — and Queen Letizia first wore it during the Portuguese state visit to Spain in 2018.
