The Royalty Nerd

The end of the year calls for lists! Since I’ve already done my twelve days of outfits for each royal lady (and maybe I’ll do a couple more for other royal ladies…) here is a very sparkly compilation of my favourite jewel moments of 2023.

10: Tiara Debuts

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This was not the first time that the Princess of Orange and the Duchess of Brabant have worn tiaras (in fact, Amalia is quickly becoming a seasoned tiara wearer), but it was the first time that they’ve worn these exact tiaras: for Amalia, the Dutch sapphire necklace tiara and for Elisabeth, the Wolfers tiara.

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I was super excited to see both of these. The Dutch sapphire is one that we don’t see very often out of all of the tiaras in the Dutch collection. As for the Wolfers, Elisabeth made me appreciate it so much more; I didn’t like it too much when Mathilde wore it. These two royal ladies exploring their collections makes me so optimistic for next year’s possibilities!

9: The British Vaults Are Opened, pt. 1

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This year, King Charles III opened the vaults wide and told the British royal ladies to dig in, because this year we’ve seen numerous pieces that we haven’t seen in ages or just downright haven’t seen at all. This includes the beautiful devant-de-corsage that Queen Camilla is wearing. There was a lot of speculation around this piece, and it was believed to be part of the Greville bequest until it was confirmed earlier this month.

8: More Tiara Debuts

There were two royal weddings in Jordan this year! Princess Iman married Jameel Thermiotis in March and her brother, Crown Prince Hussein, married Rajwa Al Saif in June. This meant that we got two new tiaras in Jordan.

Above, the now Princess Rajwa wears her wedding tiara. It features Arabic text, which you can see if you look right above her ear.

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Princess Iman also has her own tiara now, which you can see the best in this photo from her wedding.

Jordan’s royal family doesn’t often break out the jewels, but if the occasion comes again soon, I would expect to see these two tiaras again.

7: Vienna 1900 Sale

When times get tough for royals, often the first things to go are the jewels. Lots of jewels with royal provenance end up on the auction block and every now and then, one will resurface as the owner decides to sell or perhaps passes away. This year though, Sothebys presented a large sale called Vienna 1900, and it was filled with jewels from several notable names. For instance:

This devant-de-corsage was originally from the collection of Archduchess Marie Therese of Austria-Teschen, Duchess of Württenburg and later Queen of the Two Sicilies. It sold for 1,054,100 CHF.

This badge of the Order of the Golden Fleece belonged to Ferdinand I, Tsar of Bulgaria. It sold for 69,850 CHF.

This beautiful tiara is one of my favourite pieces from the sale. It belonged to Princess Maria Immaculata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Archduchess of Austria-Tuscany. It sold for 812,800 CHF.

These are just a few pieces from the very impressive sale, but if it’s anything to go by, the whole collection was just as incredible as you can imagine.

6: More Wedding Tiaras

In October, Infanta Maria Francisca of Bragança, daughter of the current Duke of Bragança and claimant to the throne of Portugal married Duarte de Sousa Araújo Martins. The family has held on to quite a few of their jewels, including their grandest tiara: Queen Amélie’s diamond tiara, seen here.

This made the list because, due to the status of the family, we don’t often get to see their jewels anymore. It was lovely to see their big gun piece and Maria Francisca looked beautiful on her big day.

5: Pleasant Tiara Surprises

This entry is a bit of a double whammy: first of all, I was pleasantly surprised to see Princess Beatrice of York and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi attend the wedding of Crown Prince Hussein and Princess Rajwa, and second of all, I was even more pleasantly surprised to see the York tiara resurface.

This piece was created by Garrard for Beatrice’s mother, Sarah Ferguson, for her wedding to the Duke of York. The tiara hasn’t been seen in a long, long time, and I along with many others suspected it may have been quietly sold due to the amount of money issues Sarah has had over the years. She clearly held on to it though, and Bea sported the piece in Jordan to the delight of royal watchers everywhere.

4: My Favourite Jordanian Tiara

Like I said earlier, the Jordanian royal family do not often break out the jewels. This is a sad reality for many, because there are some beauties hiding in those vaults. My favourite Jordanian tiara is the Arabic Scroll tiara, and Queen Rania wore it for the reception of Crown Prince Hussein’s wedding. I adore this tiara (it’s honestly one of favourites, ever) and it’s because the Arabic text is so seamlessly woven into the design of the tiara that you almost miss it at first. It’s gorgeous, regal, and I was desperate to see it again. Thankfully Rania heard my pleas all the way from Canada.

3: Tiara Debuts, pt 3?

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One of the most well known tiaras in the British royal family collection is the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara. This piece was made iconic by Queen Elizabeth II, who wore it frequently throughout her reign. It was one of the tiaras that we were all wondering when we’d see again; would they hold off wearing it due to the close association with the late Queen? Was this it for the GGBI tiara?

Nope! Queen Camilla wore it with the frame open much wider in October to the reception and dinner in honour of the coronation at Mansion House. It was a wonderful surprise, and I have to say, I quite like the open frame!

2: The British Vaults Are Opened, pt. 2

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The Strathmore Rose tiara is one of those pieces that royal watchers thought was lost for good. It’s an old piece from the collection of the Queen Mother, who wore it in a very 1920’s style across her forehead. The floral piece was a major favourite but I think most of us were sadly resigned to it being left in the vaults due to age and wear and tear.

Until Catherine appeared in it for the Korean State visit! It was such a great surprise and proof that Charles was really letting the ladies dig through heirloom pieces. It’s obviously been spruced up a bit, but it’s just as lovely as ever. Let’s hope this one becomes a regular for the Princess of Wales, and not just a one off.

1: The Coronation

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The number one spot on this list goes to King Charles III, who was decked out in more jewels in one day than all of the other entries here. Just in this picture alone, he’s wearing the Imperial State Crown, which features almost 3000 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, and 269 pearls. That’s not to mention the Cullinan II, Stuart Sapphire, and the Black Prince’s Ruby. I’m not even going to get into the other jewels and pieces that were used throughout the ceremony.

I got into royal watching because of my dad. He’s a royal fan as well, and even though I had to wake up at around 3 AM to watch, I enjoyed texting with him about the ceremony and the jewels. I’ll leave this text exchange here:

Due to not only the sheer volume of jewels but the history of them, the coronation takes my top spot for favourite jewel moments of the year!