Queen Mary of Denmark continues the tradition of her country’s queens by making changes to the Crown Jewels collection. Queen of Denmark for less than a year, the wife of King Frederik This week, Queen Mary was able to put on her new tiara for the first time.
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Queen Mary modifies one of the Crown Jewels
In 1746, on the death of Queen Sophie-Madeleine, already the widow of King Christian VI of Denmark, her collection of jewelry and precious stones was bequeathed to the Crown. There are four sets. According to the terms of her will, these four ornaments, which cannot leave the territory, must always be at the queen’s disposal. The queen therefore only wears them during major events organized in her country. The four jewels are: the emerald set, the pearl and ruby set, the brilliant set and the pink cut stone set. Only the emerald set includes a tiara. Other adornments include necklaces, brooches and earrings.
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On January 14, 2024, Queen Margrethe abdicated by surprise, on the day of her 52nd reign. Her son, Frederik X, succeeded her on this date, making her daughter-in-law Mary the new queen consort. Queen Mary now has her hands on the Crown treasure and as the new Queen, she has decided to make some changes to the jewelry making “reviving a centuries-old tradition of reshaping the Danish crown jewels to suit the changing needs of the times”explains the Royal Court.
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The rose-cut diamond set was rarely worn
Queen Mary was interested in the cut diamond set. Although the sets were those of Queen Sophie Magdalene, Queen Caroline Amélie, wife of King Christian VIII, made modifications to the jewelry in 1842, using the German jeweler Weishaupt & Sønner of Hanau. The jewelry has not been altered since then. When the crown jewels are not in use, they are displayed in the secure basement of Rosenborg Castle. The rosestone set was one of the least worn and Queen Mary therefore wanted to reclaim it by creating a tiara from the precious stones.
The rose-cut stone set consisted of a large brooch to wear on the corset, earrings and a heavy necklace which included several pendant elements. This necklace could be worn around the neck as well as as a “gürtel” type belt. This type of jeweled belt was very popular in European royal courts at the beginning of the 19th century, then fell into disuse. The jewelry was therefore difficult to wear as it was. During her 52-year reign, Queen Margrethe only wore the brooch twice and never wore the necklace.
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A contemporary tiara designed by Queen Mary
Queen Mary, in consultation with the Royal Collections, therefore worked on the creation of a new tiara in order to remove these precious stones from the window of Ronsenborg Castle. Now called the Rosenstein tiara (meaning rosestone in Danish), this headband tiara is made entirely of aligned stones. The stones are removable and screwed onto a new, very simple structure. This very contemporary and refined design was wanted by the Queen. The frame on which the stones of the new tiara are mounted was created by goldsmith Matias Hasbo Dinesen.
The rose size is an unusual size for tiaras. This name refers to a diamond that has 24 facets, which is less than the usual 52 facets of Crown Jewels, thus making them less brilliant. Its rosebud appearance gives it its name. Queen Mary also chose to set the stones encapsulated in a setting and therefore not visible from the back, which also makes them less shiny, since light cannot pass through them.
Nicolas Fontaine
Editor-in-chief
Nicolas Fontaine has been a designer-editor and author for numerous Belgian and French brands and media. A specialist in royal family news, Nicolas founded the site Histoires royales of which he is the editor-in-chief. [email protected]
