There’s really no other name for this one. Mary only has two tiaras in her personal armory: the Ruby Parure and her wedding tiara. The third in the rotation, the Midnight Tiara is a loaner. [We’ve heard rumor of a fourth, but it’s late at night to get started with conspiracies…] Still, Mary’s got to be psyched, Princess Marie is allowed access to only one and it has been specifically delineated as loan–not a gift–from the Queen, n’est-ce pas un cadeau. Ouch.

Anywho, tiara-in-law slights aside, Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik gave this tiara to Ms. Donaldson, soon-to-be Crown Princess Mary in 2004. Although it appears to be the typical fodder from David’s Bridal, it was supposedly purchased at auction. We find it odd that if it were purchased at auction then surely the petite tiara would have come with some notes about its history. Don’t all auction pieces come that way? [If they don’t, we’re right back to David’s Chinsy Bridal again, n’est-ce pas?] Hmmm. To be honest, her veil was so big and reminiscent of traditional Spanish lace that– *flustered exhale* That huge gold band in the back is really misleading, we always assumed there was more tiara in there until we sat down to write this post!

Turns out, there’s not much to it save diamonds and some more diamonds.  the Wedding tiara is also a transformer, reversing into a lovely necklace. The Crown Princess has rarely worn her wedding diadem as a necklace, most probably because having only two tiaras at one’s fingertips mandates a head role. If Mary wear it as a necklace, there’s no understudy for her head!

Diadem deserving derision? Of course not. Raise your hand if your in-laws gave you any sort of tiara for stealing away their son. It’s just that compared to grandeur of the Ruby Parure, Mary’s Wedding tiara is such an A cup. [Did I just said that? Too late. Tonight we work without a net.] If we get down to brass tacks, there are two extremes of the diadem spectrum: the migraine-inducing heavy-weights burst out for weddings and formal galas [Leutchenberg Sapphires, Luxembourg Empire] and the starter tiaras [Cartier Scroll, the Cyclops.] We don’t think Mary’s personal collection could illustrate this further, then again, color us impressed that she’s already received two as gifts from Queen Margrethe, from whom borrowing a tiara is akin to squeezing water from a stone.

So Crown Princess Mary wore the Wedding tiara to less formal events while the Ruby Parure appears during the New Years Gala, Crown Princess Victoria’s Wedding, Margrethe’s 40th Jubilee, [rubies are beyond appropriate for that affair.] Then, one fine May day in 2011, at a state banquet in South Korea, the Crown Princess appeared in her wedding tiara but things weren’t quite the same!

It was askew! Oh the humanity!

But seriously, Mary had beefed up the original by topping the smaller prongs with pearls and a matched pearl base added height and authority. Off-kilter or not, the new look definitely gives her wedding tiara the gravitas a future queen-consort requires. Bonus! The pearls are removable, so the tiara can revert back to its original form. You gotta hand it to Mary, the sly boots circumvents her mother-in-law’s rock-blocks yet she still avoids hurt feelings since it was a gift.

If the Pearl Poiré post illustrate the affinity the Danish royal family has for the Marble of the Sea, check out some of the other pearl jewelry Mary has to play off this new addition. We’ve numbered them for easy reference/discussion!

1. is that a neckace of Tahitian pearls we see *panting*
2. South Seas pearls, identical in size. [that’s a good sign they’re farmed. Beautiful none the less.]
3. the dangling earrings Mary wore at her wedding
4. a quintuple-strand pearl choker with a big honkin’ *aquamarine?* in the center
5. the same South Seas pearls from #2 but with a pendant attached?

before polling, let us know, do you prefer the tiara con o sin perlas?