Monthly Archives: June 2015

Swedish Royal Wedding

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Prince Carl Philip of Sweden and Sofia Hellqvist were married yesterday at the Royal Chapel in the Royal Palace in Stockholm. While this was the final Swedish royal wedding for a generation, it was a smaller, quieter affair with more personal touches than grand fanfare. Here is a review of the headpieces and tiaras that attended this event and a look at the formal wedding portraits.

Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia, June 13, 2015

The Bridal Couple

Swedish Royals
Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Madeleine, Princess Estelle

Extended Swedish Royals
Princess Margaretha, Princess Birgitte, Princess Désirée, Princess Christina, Désirée von Bohlen und Halbach,
Countess Marianne Bernadotte of Wisborg and Countess Bettina Bernadotte of Wisborg

Danish Royals
Queen Margrethe, Crown Princess Mary and Princess Marie

Norwegian Royals
Queen Sonja, Crown Princess Mette-Marit Princess Märtha Louise

Guests from Other Reigning Royal Families
Queen Mathilde, Queen Máxima, the Countess of Wessex,
Princess Hisako of Takamado

Guests from Non- Reigning Royal Families
Princess Tatiana of Greece
Princess Ursula of Bavaria, Princess Anna of Bavaria

Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia, June 13, 2015

Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia, June 13, 2015

Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia, June 13, 2015 Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia, June 13, 2015

Swedish Royal Wedding: Non- Reigning Royal Families

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Royal Hats The wedding of Prince Carl Philip of Sweden and Sofia Hellqvist yesterday also saw a number of guests from non-reigning royal houses. Representing the Greek royals, Princess Tatiana wowed in an exquisitely beaded Celia Kritharioti gown in dove grey. The light gown was perfectly complimented by Tatiana’s small diamond tiara, a piece not previously seen before. I hope this is a permanent addition to Tatiana’s jewel vault because the proportion, scale and delicacy of it are lovely on her.

Princess Tatiana, June 13, 2015 | Royal Hats Princess Tatiana, June 13, 2015 | Royal Hats

One of the biggest tiara surprses at this wedding appeared on Princess Ursula of Bavaria. While the scrolled diamond tiara looked lovely on her, it is eerily reminiscent of the famous Spencer tiara. The Bavarian royals have sent several larger tiaras to auction in recent years and this piece has a few royal jewel watchers wondering if it is a new purchase or has been pulled out from the depths of the family vault.  Its history aside, this tiara is a beautiful one that I thought would have benefited from either Ursula’s large drop earrings or multiple strands of pearls but not both.

Princess Ursula’s daughter-in-law, Princess Anna of Bavaria, repeated the small diamond fringe tiara we saw her wear to Princess Madeleine’s wedding two years ago. This time, however, she paired it with a grand up-do which showed the piece to much greater effect. With her dramatic diamond earrings and navy and silver dress, Anna looked stunning.

That covers our review of all the tiaras worn by guests at the Swedish royal wedding! Stay tuned for a final post with all the official wedding portraits to tie up coverage of this event.

Photos from Albert Nieboer/dpa and Albert Nieboer/dpa via Corbis; Getty as indicated

Swedish Royal Wedding: Royal Guests

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Royal Hats A number of other reigning royal houses were represented among the guests at Prince Carl Philip and Sofia Hellqvist’s wedding yesterday. Queen Mathilde of Belgium topped her blue gown with the bandeau bottom piece of the Nine Provinces tiara. The simple scroll motif and low height of this tiara make it a more modest piece but in combination with her diamond and pearl drop earrings and diamanté studded off the shoulder gown (in what is THE most perfect shade of blue on her), Mathilde looked classically beautiful.

Queen Máxima wore her Mellerio Ruby tiara, a piece made up of three large scrolls connected by suspended diamond swags. With a matching necklace and bracelet, the tiara makes a grand but very light, delicate statement. I thought it was the perfect piece to pair with her embroidered lace Jan Taminiau gown, a gown many of you will recognize from her and King Willem-Alexander’s inaguration in April 2013. As she often does at such formal events, Máxima looked incredible.

Queen Máxima and Queen Mathilde, June 13, 2015 | Royal Hats

The Countess of Wessex wore her Aquamarine tiara made up of diamond scrolls around a central aquamarine. It was beautifully paired with small drop earrings, an aquamarine pendant and a grey lace dress by Czech designer Taťána Kovaříková. While some might be underwhelmed by the streamlined gown, it was exactly the right cut and shade to show the aquamarines to greatest effect and I thought Sophie looked very elegant.

Countess of Wessex, June 13, 2015 | Royal Hats

Princess Hisako of Takamado wore a diamond tiara with small pearl drops that, like the tiara she wore for Princess Madeleine’s wedding two years ago, I assume is one from the vast Japanese Royal collection allocated for her use. This piece is a perfect proportion for petite Princess Hisako; it appears that it combines with her earrings and delicate necklace to form a diamond and pearl parure. Throughout the video stream yesterday, Princess Hisako seemed to be enjoying herself immensely, wearing a wide smile and looking most lovely in her pale green, gold embroidered gown.

Just two posts remain in our coverage of the Swedish royal wedding- royal representatives from non-reigning royal families are up next.

Photos from Splash News,  Patrick van Katwijk/dpa and Patrick van Katwijk/dpa via Corbis; Getty as indicated

Swedish Royal Wedding: Norwegian Royals

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Royal Hats While the Norwegian Royal Family are not direct relations of the Swedish Royal Family, they are close friends. As such, the Norwegian royals were well represented yesterday at the wedding of Prince Carl Philip and Sofia Hellqvist.

Queen Sonja wore Queen Maud’s Pearl and Diamond Tiara, a beautiful piece made of up diamond scrolls and festoons topped with upright pearls. This piece looks great on Sonja, whose hairstyle does much to soften its high, central peak. What didn’t look so great, I’m afraid, is the voluminous, pleated, bright yellow silk dress. But then, I think anything with a large neckline ruffle should be outlawed.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit wore what is known as the Diamond Daisy Tiara, a piece gifted to her from King Harald and Queen Sonja on the occasion of her own wedding in 2001. The narrow piece features round diamond daisy flowers held within diamond circles that create a scalloped bandeau shape. As far as tiaras go, this one is very simple but it is a great fit with Mette-Marit’s clean lined fashion aesthetic. She wore a Temperley patterned silk skirt for the wedding today- a piece that seems so very her. I thought her ensemble was fresh, modern and very pretty.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit, June 13, 2015 | Royal Hats

Princess Märtha Louise wore the tiara we have seen on her most over the years, the King Olav Gift Tiara. Another narrow piece, this tiara features ears of wheat studded with small pearls. It is a delicate piece befitting of a princess with a minor royal role and I thought its placement yesterday, tucked back over Märtha Louise’s chignon, worked well. What did not work as well, however, were her large earrings, which looked like costume pieces. A delicate dress, delicate necklace and delicate tiara needs delicate earrings, don’t you agree?

Princess Märtha Louise, June 13, 2015 | Royal Hats   Princess Märtha Louise, June 13, 2015 | Royal Hats

Next up, a look at the tiaras worn by other royal guests.

Photos from  BrauerPhotos (c) G.Nitschke/Sabine Brauer Photos, Patrick van Katwijk/dpa and Patrick van Katwijk/dpa via Corbis; Getty as indicated

Swedish Royal Wedding: Danish Royals

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Royal Hats With close relations between the Swedish and Danish Royal Families (the King Carl Gustav and Queen Margrethe are first cousins and Queen Margrethe is Prince Carl Philip’s godmother), there was a predictably large group of Danish Royals in attendance at the Swedish royal wedding yesterday in Stockholm.

Queen Margrethe wore the most romantic of royal tiaras, the Baden Palmette Tiara. The heart-shaped scrolls on this piece are delicately pretty on Margrethe but its pairing with her cupid red gown (a stunning gown on its own) for a wedding felt a little cheesy. If I saw this ensemble at a royal banquet I would absolutely adore it but yesterday, I would have preferred a different tiara with this gown.

Queen Margrethe, June 13, 2015 | Royal Hats   Queen Margrethe, June 13, 2015 | Royal Hats

Crown Mary wore her Wedding Tiara, utilizing the piece’s option to add pearls to beef it up. I like this tiara much more with the pearl additions- it is an elegant piece that works well with her pearl drop earrings and stands out against Mary’s dark hair. Her ice blue gown was a great pairing with these jewels and while it looked great from a distance, a few issues with construction (wonky bust darts and oddly placed lace slapped on the front midsection) made me more a fan of the tiara than the dress.

Interestingly, Princess Mary tucked a diamond brooch into her chignon. I’m just not sure the addition was necessary or that the two pieces worked together.

Princess Mary, June 13, 2015 | Royal Hats

Princess Marie wore the tiara she usually wears, her Diamond Floral Tiara. I adore the lightness and intrinsic beauty of floral tiaras and Marie wears this one well. Her fresh green dress was a great choice for a summer wedding although I would have preferred it much better without the oddly placed, pleated cummerbund.

Princess Marie, June 13, 2015 | Royal Hats   Princess Marie, June 13, 2015 | Royal Hats

The Danish royal’s fashion choices were not as successful as I would have hoped but  they looked to be having great fun at this event. I suppose in the end, that’s what matters most. Next, we’ll look at tiaras worn by the Norwegian royals.Princess Marie and Princess Mary, June 13, 2015 | Royal HatsPhotos from Patrick van Katwijk/dpa, Patrick van Katwijk/dpa, Patrick van katwijk/dpa,  Patrick van Katwijk/dpa, Patrick van Katwijk/dpa, and Splash News via Corbis; and Getty as indicated