To say the Spanish Wedding Gift Tiara is one bad-ass diadem is truly an understatement. This conveniently convertible coronet was a gift from the dictator. A dictator with whom I lamentably share the same surname. Even worse: it’s my maiden name! No blaming it on Mr. Blog Hostess. *heh, don’t ever tell him I called him that…* Interesting side trivia, this wasn’t the only tiara el Generalisimo gave away.

The Spanish Wedding Gift Tiara is about as literal a name We’ve seen in Tiara Time.  Baudouin of Belgium’s bride-to-be was Doña Fabiola de Mora y Aragón the fourth daughter of an achingly aristocratic family; her mother and father have no less than nine surnames between them, not including honorifics. Her father was the 4th Marques of Casa Riera and the 2nd Count of Mora. Her mother is the goddaughter of none other than Queen Victoria.

we go off the rails ever so briefly

Made around 1960, this fabulous halo was given to the future Queen of Belgium by none other than el Generalísimo! himself! Yes, Francisco Franco is here, with us, in the studio tonight to answer YOUR questions about the Spanish Wedding Gift tiara.

Now, hey, y’all might ask yourselves just why would el Generalísimo drag himself all the way down to Studio One, here at the rogue nation of Tiaras and Trianon. (Yes, We’ve taken leave of our senses and are running lean!)

Oh yes, now there of course we see Fabiola receiving her gift from Madame Franco in a wonderful pastiche of spontaneity; some private girl time on the couch. Your Blog Hostess scoffs but truly We appreciate the fact it’s unique. We particularly enjoy gawking at the heft of that velvet box. Drool. This tiara belongs exclusively to the Dowager Queen–like We’ve said before, Belgium is tiara-poor partly due to the lack of a foundation to keep the heirlooms in the country. It’s anyone’s guess what she intends to do with it. Ah, the glory of being Fabiola!

Nothing better than an ironically named tiara

I should rephrase that. The tiara’s name is confusing; most people and the almighty Google search engine are under the impression that this was a gift given to the Spanish Royal family and currently resides there. Perhaps you’ve noticed that moniker “Spanish Wedding Gift Tiara” is quite a mouthful. Well, the word ‘gift’ is actually an absolute necessity because Doña Fabiola did not wear for the royal wedding in Laeken. Instead she wore the Nine Provinces Tiara, originally given to Baudouin’s mother Astrid of Sweden when she married King Leopold III in 1926. Click here to check out this fabulous Art Deco piece.

it’s not just a ship, it’s a transformer!

Reminiscent of Spaceball One transforming into the statuesque, *tiara-wearing* Mega Maid, the Spanish Wedding Gift has a few convertible spaceships of her sleeve as well. The SWGT has diverse looks for any occasion. First we have the traditional coronet look, most likely inspired by the ducal coronet of Spain.

Or if you’re not in a duchess mood tonight, you simply remove a base and there you’ve got that tiara! Stunning! Yes, stunning, your Grace! That’s right, Mortimer! Couldn’t you just die! Now those are real diamonds set in gold among those leafy flowers. And see those big center stones? Aquamarines!

Last but not least, the necklace option! I know it’s just to die for! Here, somebody get a close-up of this can’t-miss necklace. [done in the BLANK style] I find it almost as enchanting as the and versatile like a fox! Yeah, you heard me…

But wait, there’s more!

Remember those unforgettable aquamarine center-stones?

What would you say if Mort and I told you that these stones come with a  back-up corbielle of rubies and emeralds! All three collections of such terrific precious gems adds up to…three times the coronet accessorizing options! Nary a color photo to document the coronet or “large” form of the tiara with emeralds to be found. *so sorry* Thus We defer to the top-left, having tinged it green.

Each set of stones fits the coronet, the tiara and the necklace for a total of not three, not four but nine different jewellery-911s!

Never again become the pariah of the Burke’s Peerage set, showing up to what you thought was a white-tie only event only to find its sandwiches and lawn archery! Oh, the humanity! We’ve all been there.

Personally, We prefer the necklace in emerald, as far as the tiaras–both coronet and “small”–frankly, We love them all. Thus we proffer these questions upon which We hope you’ll muse.

1. Which stones [rubies, aquamarines or emeralds] and which ‘mode’ [large/coronet, small/classic tiara or necklace] of the SWGT do you find more appealing?
2. What kind of Royal headgear do you think Mega Maid is wearing? Do you agree with my “kokoshnik & fringe” theory?
3. If you were watching late-night home-shopping, do you think you’d get suckered in and buy a tiara? (Everyone’s credit card’s got room at 3 am. You know what I’m talking about.)
4. I really enjoy looking at the different crowns and coronets for each rank and how they differ in appearance. Click for fun!
5. Would you take a gift from Generalísimo Franco if it were this freaking awesome? *morals weakening*

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• Tiara Time! the difference between a Tiara and a Diadem (really!) (tiarasandtrianon.wordpress.com)
• Tiara Time Pregame: Boning up on the Belgians (tiarasandtrianon.wordpress.com)
• Tiara Time! the Emerald Laurel Wreath Tiara (tiarasandtrianon.wordpress.com)