Saturday 14 May 2016

Royal Wedding Tiaras: Crown Princess Mary of Denmark




All royal brides need a tiara and when saying 'I do' puts them in line to become a queen then diamonds are compulsory. Mary Elizabeth Donaldson donned a diadem on her wedding day, of course, so as she and hubby, Fred, celebrate twelve years of marriage, here's a look back at the tiara chosen by the Crown Princess of Denmark for her nuptials.




 


It wasn't like she had a huge choice - she was relying on her future in laws having no tiara collection of her own back home in Hobart. But they came up trumps and then some, buying Mary a diamond tiara as a wedding gift. It's clearly a present she treasured because it has been worn many times since.




It's a very delicate piece with the stones arranged in fleur de lys shapes. Mary had some pearls added in 2011 (although not a permanent change) but on her wedding day this was definitely all diamonds.

It is very pretty and very delicate. The only problem was that with the veil (more on that in a moment) and the hair, it could barely be seen from some angles. We knew it was there because we'd been told it was there but in a lot of the wedding photos you have to strain to see it.



That's not taking away from its loveliness when it's shown up close and personal. It was the perfect match for Mary's unusual wedding gown and added the necessary regal twist to the whole outfit without overshadowing it.



It also left plenty of attention for Mary's stunning new earrings, A lot had been made of her Australian background and the fact that she was the first person from that country to be in line to be consort of a European monarchy. So for her wedding she wore a pair of South Sea pearl and diamond earrings designed by Marianne Dulong (who later added the pearls to the tiara). There is no missing these sparklers, they are stunning.




The future queen of Denmark also continued another tradition on her wedding day by wearing the wedding veil of Margaret of Connaught.  Margaret married Gustav Adolf of Sweden in 1905 and her only daughter, Ingrid, wore the veil for her own wedding in 1935 to her Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark.  It contains Irish lace and all of Margaret's female descendants have worn the veil for their own marriages - Mary became the first non royal to wear it when she added it to her outfit on May 14th 2004.



Mary's tiara now has its own place in royal history - it is very definitely hers and will forever be associated with her as it makes its way into the royal jewellery box. And on May 14th 2004, it became the first tiara she wore when she began her role as Crown Princess and her journey towards becoming a queen.

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