A tiara from another age stars in a 21st century royal wedding

Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark married Matthew Kumar on 28 September in Athens. And a big part of the bride’s outfit was a tiara filled with family history and one that’s been used by a very exclusive club of princesses.

This royal wedding has been several years in the making. After getting engaged in 2018, the couple moved their wedding twice; first during the global health crisis in 2020 and then again in early 2023 when Theodora’s father, King Constantine II of Greece, passed away. As Princess Theodora walked into her wedding, she was wearing one of the most historic tiaras her wider family uses.

Theodora’s mother, Queen Anne-Marie, is the daughter of King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid of Denmark and this side of her family has a sparkling wedding tradition that Theodora can follow. It involves a tiara that belonged to a much loved matriarch.

The Khedive of Egypt Tiara was created by Cartier in 1905. The laurel wreath-inspired design has seven circular scrolls with seven floating diamonds above all set in platinum. 

Princess Margaret of Connaught met the future King of Sweden, Gustaf Adolf in Cairo, and the two quickly fell in love. When their engagement was announced, the Khedive (ruler) of Cairo wanted to give a suitable gift and thus Margaret received this Cartier sparkler. 

She wore the taira frequently but after her early death in 1920, the tiara then left Sweden when her daughter, Princess Ingrid, married Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark. 

Since then, all female descendents of that line have worn the Khedive Tiara on their wedding day, including Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and her sisters, Princess Benedikte and Queen Anne-Marie. Anne-Marie’s elder daughter, Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark, also wore it for her wedding.

Princess Theodora decision to wear the Khedive Tiara for the ceremony at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens, continues a family tradition.