Norway's Royal Family with the President of Iceland and his wife, arriving for a State Dinner during the State Visit to Oslo on March 21st 2017
(photo NRK screengrab)
Norway's royals have been welcoming the President of Iceland and his wife to their country on a State Visit and you know what that means. Yes, here comes the State Dinner. There are no big tiara surprises here but there is a very spring like feel about the whole event from the diamond daisies to the pale pearls that are on show. Here are the State Dinner Sparklers from the evening that Norway welcomed Iceland.
Queen Sonja chose perhaps her most famous tiara for the event. This pearl and diamond diamond diadem (seen in an archive photo above) is associated with Queen Maud but the version Sonja wears is a modern replica. The original piece of arching diamond scrolls, topped with large pearls, was a wedding present to Princess Maud of Wales when she wed Prince Carl of Denmark in 1896. It came to Oslo when Carl became Haakon VII of Norway and Maud became his consort in 1905. In 1995, it was sent to Garrards in London for repairs but the jewellery house was targetted in an armed robbery and the piece was one of those stolen. Garrards made a replacement for Norway's royals and that's what Sonja wore last night for the State Dinner. It's a particular favourite of the Queen of Norway and one of her go to pieces for big events.
Crown Princess Mette-Marit chose one of her favourite pieces for the State Dinner. The Diamond Daisy Bandeau (again seen in archive above) is almost her signature set of jewels. The tiara is made up of - yes, you've guessed it - diamonds shaped into daisies and it was first worn by Mette-Marit for her marriage in August 2001. It was a wedding present from her in laws and it's believed to be another piece by Garrards.
Princess Astrid did what Princess Astrid does best - sparkled in her own style. King Harald's sister chose her aigrette tiara - this time in the version with diamond wings (there's one more archive photo above of the sparkler). It's a very discreet piece and combined with the rather striking coat dress she chose for the State Dinner (seen sweeping into action in the video below), took her right to the top of the royal style stakes at this event.
Compared to some State Dinners, this is almost low key but the relaxed air of the event came through in the speeches and there was enough glitter at the Royal Palace in Oslo to keep everyone happy. Norway's State Dinner sparklers have a magic all of their own.
No comments:
Post a Comment