The Princess of Wales isn’t the only royal pulling a tiara surprise this week. Just hours after Kate made an appearance in a queens only tiara at the German State Banquet, the Queen of Norway made her own unexpected diadem choice. And a very stylish royal links them both.
Queen Sonja of Norway chose a tiara known as the Maltese Cross Circlet for a traditional celebration at Oslo’s Royal Palace. The diadem consists of a diamond bandeau that can be worn with three ‘toppers’ shaped as Maltese Crosses.
It was an appropriate pick as Queen Sonja was at the annual dinner for Norway’s bishops, along with her husband, King Harald, and their son, Crown Prince Haakon.
The tiara hasn’t been worn that often in public over the last thirty years, just like the Oriental Circlet tiara that the Princess of Wales surprised everyone with at the State Banquet at Windsor.
And just like Kate’s diadem, the Maltese Cross Circlet has a link to Queen Alexandra.
It was Alexandra who changed the Oriental Circlet to the form it is in today. The original tiara was designed by Prince Albert for Queen Victoria and is inspired by Indian architecture. It has huge diamond arches, based on Mughal designs, and Albert had them decorated with opals.
Queen Victoria left the tiara to the Crown and her daughter-in-law, Queen Alexandra, wanted the opals removed as she thought them unlucky. She had them replaced with rubies and that’s the design still used today.
The Maltese Crosses Circlet is also part of the considerable influence that Alexandra had on royal jewels. She was considered one of the most stylish royals of her generation and her fashion picks were followed by many.
This circlet, though, is even more impressive. For it was originally part of Alexandra’s Coronation jewels. The Court Jeweller explains that it began life as part of the gems commissioned by Alexandra for the spectacular ceremony when she was crowned alongside her husband, King Edward VII in 1902.
Alexandra’s youngest daughter, Maud, would become Queen of Norway in 1905. Maud only had one son, who became King Olav V of Norway, inherited many of his mother’s jewels. That’s how this circlet has ended up in the Norwegian royal jewellery box.
Queen Sonja is a bit of a style icon herself and paired the all diamond tiara with a bright red evening gown, echoing the colours of Norway’s flag in her outfit.
The Princess of Wales had worn the red and white jewels of the diamond and ruby Oriental circlet with a blue dress, making her own gesture towards the colours of the flag of the United Kingdom.
The two unusual tiara picks have also put a spotlight on the wide range of jewels that are rarely seen in public as royals tend to have go to tiaras that are already fitted and ready to wear for big events.
The sparkly revelations of this week have been a real Christmas surprise.
