Tag Archives: Désirée von Bohlen und Halbach

Birthday Celebration Of Swedish King: Extended Family

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It was no surprise that birthday celebrations for King Carl Gustaf this weekend included attendance by members of the extended Swedish Royal Family, many of whom wore hats and headpieces for the daytime events.

Princess Christina topped her blue jacquard suit with a feathered flower fascinator in the same hue. It’s not the most exciting of headpieces (I suppose it does have a festive vibe that fits well with this celebration) although the colour is lovely against her hair.

Princess Christina and Emma Magnuson, April 30, 2016 | Royal Hats  Princess Christina, April 30, 2016 | Royal Hats

Princess Christina’s three daughter-in-laws all wore cocktail percher hats. Emma Magnuson (seen above and below) chose a grey straw beret based piece with multiple bow loops and a soaring ribbon tail that coordinated with her grey lace skirt. Frida Bergström (below right) topped her floral dress with a white-rimmed grey saucer hat trimmed in silk roses while Vicky Magnuson (lower photo) wore a pale pink cocktail hat with beret base trimmed with a large bow and net tulle veil. Although the pink hat errs on the saccharine side of the spectrum, I thought it was a light and airy compliment to her navy dress.

Vicky Magnuson and Frida Bergström, April 30, 2016 | Royal Hats

Vicky Magnuson, April 30, 2016 | Royal Hats

Princess Birgitte, who I can’t remember wearing a hat in a very long time, surprised in this round grey percher design. With sharp white piping and a bedazzled button anchoring two large feather spines, the hat is bold and decidedly modern. I’m not sure grey was the best colour for Princess Birgitte but I’m going to ignore this quibble since she’s actually in a hat.

Princess Brigitte, April 30, 2016 | Royal Hats Princess Brigitte and Viky Magnuson, April 30, 2016 Photo taken by Sofia Svanholm | Royal Hats

Princess Birgitte’s daughter, Désirée von Bohlen und Halbach, photographed below with her mother and aunts, wore a pale taupe fascinator of straw and silk bow loops trimmed with feathers.

Princess Désirée von Bohlen und Halbach, Désirée von Bohlen und Halbach, Princess Brigitte and Princess Christina, April 30, 2016 Photo taken by Sofia Svanholm | Royal Hats

The King’s other two sisters, Princess Margaretha and Princess Désirée (seen above in the yellow dress), did not wear hats for this event. His aunt, Countess Marianne Bernadotte of Wisborg, attended in a gold brocade suit that she paired with an elaborate fascinator. Made up of large silk blooms and arrow trimmed gold feathers, the piece topped off a wonderfully regal and rather luxurious ensemble.

Countess Marianne Bernadotte of Wisborg, April 30, 2016 Photo taken by Sofia Svanholm | Royal Hats
Finally, Maline Sommerlath (wife of Queen Silvia’s nephew Patrick Sommerlath), wore an ecru straw fascinator made up of multiple bows and coordinating feather trim. The amazing pleated yellow and white hat worn by Princess Hisako of Takamado is something we’ll discuss more in the next post as we look at the hats worn by royal guests.
Maline Sommerlath, April 30, 2016 Photo taken by Sofia Svanholm | Royal Hats
While none of the King’s extended family wore pieces as large or dramatic as his wife and daughters, this group includes some lovely pieces. Which ones here stand out to you?
Special thanks to Sofia Svanholm for giving permission to sharing her fantastic photos of this event. I encourage you to peek at her blog and gallery of photos taken this weekend.
Photos from Getty as indicated; TT/Stella, SVT1 Screen shots and Sofia Svanholm 

Swedish Royal Wedding: Extended Swedish Royal Family

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Royal Hats  With many members of the extended Swedish Royal Family in tiaras for the wedding of Prince Carl Philip of Sweden and Sofia Hellqvist today, a significant part of the Swedish collection of jewels was on display.  Princess Christina wore the Six Button Tiara. It’s a rather clunky piece but Christina’s hair colour and style provided soften the linear base of the tiara and make the buttons seem less disjointed as they usually do. This is one of the rare cases when I think this tiara works better than the rest of what she is wearing.

Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld topped her bright pink caftan gown with the Cut Steel Tiara. The gold frame of this tiara is a great match with Désirée’s warm-hued hair and while this pairing of gown and tiara would not have been my first choice, surprisingly, they worked well together.

Princess Margaretha topped a beautiful grey brocade tunic and jacket with the exquisite Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara. Pairing aquamarines can be tough as the pale stones are easily washed out with too much contrasting colour but this pairing was perfect. What was less than perfect, however, was Princess Brigitte’s ensemble. Her  tiara, the Baden Fringe Tiara, is certainly striking but her choice to wear it with a fur jacket and pink palazzo jumpsuit is absolutely bizarre.

Princess Brigitta’s daughter, Désirée von Bohlen und Halbach, wore the Pearl Circlet Tiara. We seldom see all pearl tiaras and Désirée showed this one off beautifully with the choice of her royal blue gown.

Countess Marianne Bernadotte of Wisborg wore a delicate diamond tiara. The tiara alone is beautiful but I’m afraid that the rest of the ensemble- lace dress, bow cuffs, pearl choker, fur trimmed stole, embroidered purse- was a case of too many beautiful statement pieces at the same time.

Finally, Countess Bettina Bernadotte of Wisborg topped her blue gown and jacket with a small diamond tiara. The tiara, made of of triangular peaks, is a rather spiky one that might have benefited from a softer hairstyle. It is not a piece I have seen before and suspect it does not get out much.

That concludes our look at all the Swedish royal tiaras! Next, we will start looking at the tiaras worn by royal guests.

Photos from Getty as indicated

Swedish Royal Wedding: The Bride’s Extended Family

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A wedding The extended Swedish Royal Family pulled out majority of their collection of tiaras for this wedding. Let’s start with the two tiara surprises, worn by the King’s eldest sisters, Princess Birgitta and Princess Margaretha. Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler (in purple) wore the Baden Fringe Tiara, a tiara thought to be reserved for Crown Princesses and one we normally associate with Princess Victoria (see here and here for more information on this tiara). I thought it was a great tiara on her and fit especially well with her colour and style of hair.

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Princess Birgitta of Hohenzollern Sigmaringen wore what the Swedish Monarchy website called “Princess Sibylla’s Tiara”, a tiara we know as the Connaught Diamond Tiara (for great background information on this tiara, see here or here).  Princess Madeleine wore this tiara for her sister’s wedding three years ago and it was a tiara many guessed she would choose for her own wedding today. It’s another spiky tiara that looked well enough on Birgitta. I just wished they would have removed the dark velvet ribbon wrapped around its base and replaced it with something closer to her hair colour.

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Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld wore the Cut Steel Tiara. This is one of the more unusual tiaras in the Swedish cache of jewels and to be honest, not one of my favourites. Princess Désirée, however, wore it very well today with her glittering gold dress and volumous hair, which balanced out the top feathery plume of the tiara. If it’s got to be worn, this is how to wear it.

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Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson wore the Six Button Tiara. I’m not a fan of the Swedish Button Tiaras in general but Christina’s hair colour and style provided a soft backdrop for this tiara and kept the diamond buttons from appearing as disjointed as they usually do. I thought she looked quite lovely.

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Countess Gunnila Bernadotte of Wisborg (widow of the King’s uncle Prince Carl Johan of Sweden) wore her usual rather unusual tiara. To me, it looks like a diamond and pearl brooch stuck on a metal headband that thankfully, is hidden in her curled grey hair. She wore this same tiara to Crown Princess Victoria’s wedding in 2010. I initially thought that Countess Marianne Bernadotte of Wisborg (widow of the King’s uncle Prince Sigvard of Sweden)was wearing the Napoleonic Amethyst Tiara (she’s on the right below) but this one looks different. Does anyone know the identity and history of this tiara?

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Mrs. Désirée von Bohlen und Halbach, daughter of Princess Brigitta (named after her sister Princess Désirée) wore the Pearl Circlet Tiara. Like the Six Button and Amethyst Tiaras above, this one is a little flat. I suppose it is a good choice for a more distant relative and I can not imagine Désirée has many other tiaras at her disposal so it likely was her only choice. A small tiara is always better than no tiara (hear that Princess Charlene of Monaco?!?!).

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Countess Alice Victoria Trolle-Wachtmeister (Swedish Mistress of the Robes and former lady-in-waiting to Queen Silvia) topped her turquoise gown with a diamond floral tiara.

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Photos from Getty as indicated