The Swedish Royal Family loves a June wedding and several of the most important marriages in the modern dynasty’s history have taken place in that month. June is the month of pearls and that gem has also played a part in the romantic weddings that have helped shape a royal family.
Cameos for a queen on her wedding day
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.
[getty src=”3140398,104708582″ width=”594″ height=”396″]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.
[getty src=”158080598″ width=”594″ height=”395″]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.
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.
[getty src=”1080383874″ width=”396″ height=”594″]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.
[getty src=”477048212″ width=”594″ height=”396″]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.
Royal Central has published a special book about royal weddings. You can buy Royal Weddings: An Anthology via Amazon.
