In case you haven’t noticed, I have a bit of a sweet spot for the tiaras of the Swedish Royal family. They’re all so unique not to mention wildly historical. Think about the Cameo tiara. One of the oldest tiaras out there, it still exists today mainly because it was set with cameos rather than gems. If it had sported jewels or diamonds, there’s a good chance it would have been dismantled and reconstructed. (It’s not a bad thing; lots of tiaras go through it.)
Anyone who’s ever image searched “tiara” has probably come across this little Photoshop featuring some–but not all–of the tiaras included in the Bernadotte collection. However not all of them are part of the Bernadotte Foundation. Take the Cyclops; (second row from the bottom, center.) this Aquamarine Bandeau was a gift to Princess Madeleine from her parents. It may one day be added to the Foundation but for now it’s hers.
The pic is neat as it provides a little visual checklist for Swedish Tiara Time. Let’s recap together. We already covered the Aquamarine Bandeau. (I find the moniker “Cyclops” amusing but it seems to inspire ire in others.
the Napoleonic tiaras
This is the swag that Joséphine II brought with her when she married Oscar I, King of Sweden and Norway in 1844. Some of them originally belonged to her grandma, Napoleon’s Josephine, while the provenance of others, like the Steel Cut Tiara and the aforementioned Cameo Tiara may lead back to Queen Hortense of Holland, Josie II’s aunt and Joséphine I’s daughter.The Amethyst Tiara, with those mind-boggling egg-shaped (& sized!) gems turned me around on the subject of my birthstone. (I wasn’t a fan before.) Last but not least, we have the first of the Swedish tiaras about which I blogged, the Leutchenberg Sapphire tiara. Part of that glorious parure, if you haven’t heard your Blog Hostess gush about how she wished she was born in September instead of February or how she’d throw her body into rush-hour traffic just to borrow it for a month or so, you’re hearing it now. Well, if it’s rush hour traffic, maybe they should just give it to me. Yeah, that’s nice…
While I slip into the Land of Make-Believe, again, you may have noticed the Steel-Cut Tiara has been checked off. No, We haven’t covered that one yet. So you’ll never guess what tiara is coming up next!
I love stopping by! Another fabulous post….
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And you for stopping by! You readers are pretty much the most worthwhile part about this whole endeavor.
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You are such a hoot–rush hour traffic, really?!?
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Well, not rush-hour traffic on a West-Coast freeway! I won’t even drive on ’em.
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Did anyone else notice the Nine-Prong Tiara is also missing from our checklist?
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