Royal Wedding Tiaras: Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands

Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands on their wedding day, May 19th 2001

On this day, in 2001, Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands married Laurentien Brinkhorst in a religious ceremony, two days after their civil marriage, and began a round of royal marriages over the next twelve months or so that saw the early part of the 21st century turn into a seemingly never ending party of white dresses, veils and tiara. Yes, tiaras. We saw plenty of wedding sparklers in the months to come but the diadem that Laurentien of the Netherlands chose to wed her prince is like the diamond bedrock of the royal wedding frenzy that followed. Here it is close up.

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Laurentien chose the Laurel Wreath Tiara from the Dutch Royal Collection for her big day, ticking lots of family boxes. Because this sparkler had been a favourite of her new mother-in-law, Beatrix, for many years.

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The tiara was first seen on Beatrix in the 1950s as she first started wearing tiaras and its provenance has been hotly debated ever since. Some reports have it as a brand new buy for the then heiress to the Dutch throne, a gift from her parents Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard. Others have it as a sparkler from the family vaults that first belonged to Princess Louise, the sister of Wilhelm I.

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Either way, it's believed to be about 200 years old and as well as being a favourite of Beatrix, it was well used by her sisters, Christina and Margriet, as they entered the sparkling world of tiara wearing.

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It's a traditional laurel wreath design with the leaves building to a small point in the centre of the piece with a round diamond at the meeting place. It's pretty, elegant and completely classic in its look - an all round perfect wedding tiara.

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Laurentien has worn it several times since and without all that veil (there was a lot of veil in this rather gorgeous if somewhat forgotten royal wedding outfit) the full width of the tiara can be seen.

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There's something timeless about the Laurel Wreath Tiara that makes it a go to choice in many ways and on May 19th 2001, when Laurentien wore it to become a royal bride, it was the perfect starting tiara for the royal wedding cavalcade that followed.

Photo credit: koninklijkhuis.nl