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| Photos (clockwise from top left): Queen Elisabeth of Greece; Queen Anne-Marie of Greece; Queen Anne-Marie of Greece; Queen Anne-Marie of Greece; Queen Friederike of Greece |
The former royal family of Greece may have been exiled from their throne nearly forty years ago, but they still possess one of the most impressive jewel collections in Europe. This tiara, which is part of the family's emerald parure, is a piece with a serious pedigree.
The cabochon emeralds in the tiara (and the rest of the parure) came to Greece from Russia with Grand Duchess Olga Constantinovna, the teenage bride of King George I. Olga never wore the emeralds in a tiara proper, but she did use them to adorn one of her kokoshnik headdresses.
When Olga died in 1926, her grandson, King George II, inherited the emeralds. It was his wife, Queen Elisabeth, who set the emeralds in a tiara. The first version was a bandeau, worn low across her forehead; the second version was the kokoshnik-style tiara that we're used to seeing today. And, in one of my favorite tiara touches, Elisabeth had the jewelers use diamonds to create letter E motifs -- for her initial (and mine, of course, haha) -- between the emeralds.
Elisabeth's tiara also had a border of diamonds across the top, but when her sister-in-law, Friederike, became queen in 1947, she had those diamonds removed. The next queen, Anne-Marie, has kept the tiara largely the same since inheriting it from her mother-in-law in 1964. Even after leaving Greece, Queen Anne-Marie (whose sister is Queen Margrethe II of Denmark) has continued to wear the tiara frequently at royal events. It would make sense that this tiara holds a special place in Anne-Marie's heart: it was the first Greek tiara that she wore in public (at her pre-wedding ball, when she was only eighteen).
For more on this tiara:
Mad Hattery's TiaraPedia (Greece)
For more on this tiara:
Mad Hattery's TiaraPedia (Greece)
Well, I guess we have emeralds this week? JulieAnne
ReplyDeleteYou've got it!
DeleteI hope you will also include my personal favorite, the Danish Emerald Parure Tiara. I guess I can hope :)
DeleteSo happy the good Queen Elisabeth had the good sense to use the emeralds to make a stunning tiara. It certainly has some clout. As a bandeau it really misses the mark I think, so what a graduation!.
ReplyDeleteThis is a pretty tiara, and I like the way the letter E is entwined into the tiara with the emeralds. QAM looks very nice and it goes with her eyes, yes this is a very nice piece of jewelry. Glad to see that the jewels went with the Greek royal family, heaven only knows what would have happened to them like so many beautiful pieces of historical jewelry that have disappeared.
ReplyDeleteI find this tiara very impressive and it is interesting that such alarge tiara can be converted into a necklace. http://orderofsplendor.blogspot.com/2012/01/tiara-thursday-greek-emerald-parure.html
ReplyDeleteBeautiful set-I see photos of Queen Anne-Marie in this suite all the time.
ReplyDeleteI posted a comment about 12 hours ago, but it seems to be wandering aimlessly like some deposed minor grand duke looking for a home. Anyway... This is a gorgeous tiara. The emeralds are spaced perfectly and the diamond embellishments just add to the beauty of the whole piece. Plus who couldn't love the 'Es' I also like the curved shape of the base.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the Greeks were able to take their jewels with them when they left and are able to wear them fairly often for us to enjoy. So much better on the queen's head than in a vault in Teheran.
Dare I say it? I'm not a fan of emeralds, but I do like the design of this tiara very much - beautiful and just the right size. Now if the emeralds were replaced with rubies or sapphires.........
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my favorite tiaras. It is very pretty. But I think Deb W.
ReplyDeletehas a very good point. It is convertible to a necklace, but if there were other jewels that could be used in it then it would be my favorite tiara.
My solution - rather than being able to change the stones - would be to own several different tiaras with different stones. Hey... I can dream.
DeleteMy favorite emerald tiara...who wouldn't love it? Beautiful design, huge emeralds, graceful curves and lots of diamonds.
ReplyDeleteYummy!
One of my favorites! I love it. And H.M. is one of my favourite royals as well. I don't think it will look quite as good on the Crown Princess though.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a great blog!
Queen Anne-Marie looks stunning .. I liked this tiara ever since I set an eye on this photo(I don't recall when was that).. I hope the monarchy in Greece will be restored ..
ReplyDelete