Four Greek Royal Brides, One Sparkling Scandinavian Tiara
Prince Nikolaos's new bride, Chrysi Vardinogianni, wore an heirloom tiara yesterday that has been worn by his mother, his sisters, his sisters-in-law—and his former wife
Yesterday in Athens, Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark quietly married Chrysi Vardinogianni, the daughter of a Greek businessman, in a private ceremony in Athens. When the bride arrived for the wedding, she wore a lovely dress and a special heirloom tiara that has been worn by all of Queen Anne-Marie’s daughters-in-law as a bridal diadem—including Prince Nikolaos’s first wife.
The ladies of the Danish royal family love a bridal tiara tradition. Encouraged by their late matriarch, Queen Ingrid, the women of the family have worn a special heirloom jewel as a bridal diadem for more than half a century. The Khedive of Egypt Tiara, a legacy from Ingrid’s mother, Princess Margaret of Connaught, has been worn as a bridal tiara by all three of Ingrid’s daughters—Queen Margrethe, Princess Benedikte, and Queen Anne-Marie—and by all of Ingrid’s granddaughters, too.
Women marrying into the extended family, however, have not participated in the Khedive Tiara tradition. Instead, they have worn their own diadems. Queen Mary of Denmark wore an antique diamond tiara given to her by her new parents-in-law, and Princess Marie of Denmark donned a diamond floral tiara that had been worn by Danish princesses for three generations. Princess Carina, Princess Benedikte’s daughter-in-law, chose to wear her own modern diamond tiara for her wedding ceremony.
In Greece, where Queen Anne-Marie’s husband reigned from 1964 until 1973, another secondary bridal tiara tradition has been established. Anne-Marie has loaned one of her personal tiaras to all of her daughters-in-law: a jewel created by repurposing a diamond and pearl ornament that belonged to her great-grandmother, Queen Victoria of Sweden.
The Antique Corsage Tiara, as it is generally known, is the centerpiece of a parure of jewelry commissioned by Queen Ingrid of Denmark in the 1960s. As a way to mark their entrance into the world of gala functions, King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid provided each of their three daughters with a tiara to celebrate their eighteenth birthdays.
Princess Margrethe (later Queen Margrethe II) received an antique diamond drop tiara that had belonged to Frederik’s mother, Queen Alexandrine, in 1958. Four years later, in 1962, Princess Benedikte was given a newly-created tiara. The diamond jewel was designed around a floral brooch that had also come from Alexandrine’s jewelry collection. Two additional floral ornaments were created to flank the brooch. Together, the three pieces formed a neat floral tiara, and separately, all three could be worn as brooches.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Hidden Gems to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.