Austria: The Habsburg Diamond and Pearl Bandeau Tiara

Francesca von Habsburg

The Habsburg Diamond and Pearl Bandeau Tiara

This tiara was worn by Archduchess Francesca on her wedding day in 1993. It is an antique bandeau made of diamond floral motifs with pearls at their centers; according to some sources, the tiara was once owned by Empress Elisabeth "Sissi" of Austria.

Austria: The Emerald and Diamond Wreath Tiara

Francesca von Habsburg

The Emerald and Diamond Wreath Tiara

Sources suggest that this piece, which is worn both as a tiara and a necklace by Archduchess Francesca von Habsburg, the wife of Archduke Karl (the current head of the House of Habsburg), was originally owned by the Hanoverian royal family but sold at auction. The piece is composed of diamond wreath elements interspersed with large emeralds.

Belgium: The Spanish Wedding Gift Tiara

The Spanish Wedding Gift Tiara

ca. 1960

(all photos show Queen Fabiola of Belgium)

The Belgian royal family is one of the tiara-poorest in Europe.  While many other royal families have preserved their royal jewel collection by starting family foundations designed to keep their jewels in the country, the Belgians have seen tiaras exit the family through the marriages of various princesses, including Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg and Queen Maria José of Italy.  The biggest loss of the last century occurred when Princess Lilian, the widow of the late King Leopold III, reportedly auctioned off a good number of significant Belgian pieces.

But some tiaras remain in the family, including this tiara, which belongs to the Spanish-born Queen Fabiola.  Fabiola was born Doña Fabiola de Mora y Aragón.  Although she was a part of an aristocratic family, she was working as a nurse when she met King Baudouin of the Belgians through connections with the Spanish royal family.  She became queen when she married Baudouin in 1960, and this tiara was one of her wedding gifts, given to her by General Franco, then the Spanish head of state, and his wife, Carmen.

The tiara is one of the most versatile of any found in royal collections.  It can be worn in two different tiara configurations -- with the floral elements mounted atop spikes, giving the tiara the feeling of a crown, and with the floral elements forming a wreath-like arrangement -- and as a necklace.  The center of the tiara's floral elements can be worn with different interchangeable gems as well: aquamarines, emeralds, and rubies.

The tiara remains the personal possession of Fabiola.  Some have speculated that perhaps she will eventually leave the tiara to her nephew's wife, Princess Mathilde, who will one day be queen.  Fabiola has never spoken about her plans for her personal jewelry collection.

United Kingdom: The Cartier Halo (Scroll) Tiara

The Cartier Halo (Scroll) Tiara

ca. 1936

(clockwise from top left: Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, the Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Anne)

This heirloom British tiara has been the talk of the town for the past few weeks, after the Queen lent it to Catherine Middleton for her wedding to Prince William, now the Duke of Cambridge.  It's also experienced a re-naming.  For years, royal watchers have called it the "Scroll Tiara," but the official notes released on the Cambridges' wedding day revealed that its name within the royal family is the "Cartier Halo Tiara."

The small diamond tiara dates back to 1936, when the Duke of York (later King George VI) purchased it from Cartier as a gift for his wife, the Duchess of York (later Queen Elizabeth, later the Queen Mother).  When their daughter, Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) turned eighteen, they gave her the tiara as a birthday gift.  Tiaras are a common eighteenth birthday gift for royal women; though there are no hard-and-fast rules against wearing tiaras before eighteen, most women don't don their first sparkler in public until they are adults.

There are no photos of the Queen wearing the tiara, and shortly after she ascended to the throne, her younger sister, Princess Margaret, began wearing the tiara in public.  However, the tiara was only on loan to Margaret, and the next royal wearer was the Queen's only daughter, Princess Anne.  

Anne wore the tiara several times in the 1970s, but it didn't see the light of day for decades, until it appeared on the head of the Duchess of Cambridge as she rode to Westminster Abbey.  The press release on the wedding day indicated that this was again a loan, meaning that the Duchess does not have permanent ownership of the tiara.  However, as the shape of the earrings she wore on her wedding day echoes the design of the tiara, it seems likely that the loan is a long-term one.

Norway: Queen Maud's Pearl Tiara

Queen Maud's Pearl Tiara

ca. 1896 (1993)

(clockwise from top left: Queen Sonja of Norway, Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, Queen Maud of Norway, Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway)

One of the more fascinating baubles in the Norwegian royal jewel box is the pearl tiara that once belonged to Queen Maud.  Maud, born Princess Maud of Wales, was the youngest daughter of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and his wife, Princess Alexandra of Denmark.  In 1896, Maud married her first cousin, Prince Carl of Denmark, and her parents gave her this pearl tiara as a wedding present.  She settled down, surely anticipating a long future as a minor member of both the Danish and British royal families, and gave birth to a son, Prince Alexander of Denmark.

Then, in 1905, a newly-independent Norway decided to elect a king.  Their choice was Maud's husband, Prince Carl.  He accepted the role, becoming Haakon VII of Norway, making Maud queen, and making this tiara a part of the Norwegian royal jewels.  Their son's name was changed from Alexander to Olav; he would later follow his father to the throne.  Olav's son, Harald, is the current king.

Maud died in 1938, leaving behind a great legacy of tiaras and jewels to the women in the family, including this tiara.  The pearl tiara is actually a convertible piece; as you can see in the photos above, it can be worn in two different configurations.  The full version of the tiara includes a large center piece with a scrolling motif and three large pearls.  When this section is removed, the tiara can be worn in its smaller version, with the large pearls placed level to the other pearls in the tiara.

The current queen of Norway, Sonja, regularly wears the pearl tiara in both its smaller and larger versions.  Her daughter, Princess Märtha Louise, chose the small version of the tiara for her wedding to novelist Ari Behn in 2002.  (She later named their first daughter Maud after the tiara's original owner.)  And Crown Princess Mette-Marit got to wear the small version for the first time in 2010, at the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.

But there's a catch -- the tiara that these three women wear these days is not actually the original tiara given to Maud.  In 1993, the Norwegian royals sent the tiara to Garrard & Co., the British jewelers who originally made the tiara, to be cleaned.  While at Garrard, the tiara was stolen, and it has never been recovered.  To try to atone for the loss, the jewelers made a replica tiara, complete with precious stones, that looks nearly identical to the original.  The replica is the tiara worn by the women of the Norwegian royal family today.