Royal jewels, including tiaras and combs, possess a captivating history, significant economic value, and undeniable glamor. The Swedish Crown Jewels are no exception. Beyond their aesthetic appeal, these pieces often carry stories of royal lineage, diplomatic gifts, and personal significance. This article explores the fascinating history of Swedish crown combs and related royal jewels, delving into their origins, transformations, and the prominent figures who have worn them.
The Swedish royal collection boasts an array of stunning tiaras, each with a unique history and design. These tiaras have been worn by queens, princesses, and crown princesses, marking significant events and solidifying their place in royal history.
This diadem was inherited by Queen Josefina of Sweden from her mother, Augusta Amalia, Duchess of Leuchtenberg. The jewelry set, likely crafted by Marie-Etienne Nitot in Paris, features a diadem divided into eleven parts for a flexible shape.
This jewelry set, composed of amethysts and brilliants set in silver and gold, was likely made in Paris around 1805 for the French empress Joséphine. It was later passed down to her granddaughter, Queen Josefina of Sweden. The set includes a tiara (formerly a necklace), bracelets, earrings, and two brooches.
Queen Silvia first wore this tiara in the mid-1980s. Made of brilliants, it is privately owned by the royal family and can also be worn as a necklace.
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Queen Sofia brought this fan-shaped diadem with her from Germany (then the Duchy of Nassau) when she married Crown Prince Oscar II in 1857. It is believed to have originally been a jeweled comb that was reworked in the late 1800s. In English, the jewelery is called The Nine Prog Tiara.
This diadem came to Sweden when Crown Prince Gustav VI Adolf married Princess Margaret of Great Britain and Ireland in 1905. Princess Margaret received the ruby diadem as a gift from her uncle and aunt, King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. The diadem, made of diamonds and rubies, can be converted into a necklace.
Originally belonging to Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden, this diadem features a Russian kokoshnik model with five large aquamarines surrounded by brilliants. It was a wedding gift from her parents when she married Crown Prince Gustaf VI Adolf in 1905. The diadem is currently owned by the Swedish king's sister, Margaretha, who received it as a wedding gift in 1964.
This tiara consists of a tiara and a steel hair comb, believed to be part of "The Steel Tiara." Queen Silvia of Sweden reportedly discovered the diadems hidden in an old cupboard in the royal Swedish castle.
This diadem, made of diamonds, came to Sweden in 1881 with Victoria of Baden, wife of Gustaf V. Its design reflects the popularity of the Russian kokoshnik headdress during that time, leading to its alternate name, "tiara russe." According to Queen Victoria's will in 1930, the tiara should primarily be worn by the country's crown princess.
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The Four Button Diadem consists of bows/buttons in a star design. These four diamond rosettes were converted into a diadem for the Norwegian state visit to Sweden in 1959. Princess Margaretha wore it at the gala dinner. There is also a diadem with six buttons/bows, called the Karl Johan diadem or the Six Button Diadem. These six buttons are designed as flowers with small leaves and can be traced to King Karl XIV Johan, who had these diamond rosettes attached to Erik XIV's royal crown from 1560 before his coronation in 1818. Together, the above-mentioned diadems are called the Rosette diadems or the Button diadems.
This set, consisting of a necklace, brooch, and corsage made of brilliants and pink topazes, came to Sweden with Victoria of Baden in 1907. The jewelry originated in Russia, where it was ordered by the Dowager Empress Maria Fyodorovna for her daughter Maria Pavlovna as a gift when she gave birth to her daughter Augusta in 1811. Augusta later received the jewelry set as an inheritance or gift when she married Emperor William I of Germany in 1829.
This diadem, which can be converted into a necklace, is made of brilliants and designed as five wreaths. Each wreath contains a diamond clasp, and between each wreath is a diamond rosette with a flower. The diadem came to Sweden with Princess Margaret of Great Britain and Ireland when she married Prince Gustaf Adolf in 1905. Made in 1904 by Garrard & Co, the British court jeweler, it was a wedding gift from the Crown Princess's parents, the Duke and Duchess of Connaught. It is called "Sibylla's diadem" because Princess Sibylla of Sweden frequently wore it.
Formerly a necklace given to Princess Margaret of Great Britain and Ireland by Queen Sofia, her husband's grandmother, this piece was inherited by Margareta's son, Prince Bertil of Sweden. Made by Boucheron in Paris, the jewelry is crafted from silver, gold, and diamonds and resembles a laurel wreath. Princess Lilian bequeathed the tiara to its current owner, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.
This set includes a diadem, necklace, earrings, brooch, and two bracelets made of gold, pearls, brilliants, and large cameos. Emperor Napoleon I gifted the set to his wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais, around 1805, and it was inherited by Empress Joséphine's granddaughter, Queen Josefina, who married Oscar I of Sweden. Both Queen Silvia of Sweden and Crown Princess Victoria wore the tiara at their weddings in 1976 and 2010, respectively, starting a family tradition.
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This diadem, adorned with diamonds and emeralds, was a gift to Princess Sofia from King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Queen Silvia when she married Prince Carl Philip in 2015. The emeralds can be removed, allowing the diadem to be worn with only diamonds. Princess Sofia has also varied the tiara by fitting pearls, turquoises, and topazes instead of the emeralds on different occasions.
Made of steel and gilded brass, this tiara was reportedly found by Queen Silvia of Sweden hidden in an old cupboard in the Swedish royal castle. Queen Silvia first wore the tiara during an Austrian state visit in 1979. It is also known as the Napoleonic Cut-Steel Tiara.
Originally belonging to Empress Amalie of Brazil, this diadem was inherited by her sister, Queen Josefina of Sweden, in 1873. It consists of brilliants set in silver and gold, with nine articulated parts reaching a maximum height of 12 cm and a length of 50 cm. The large brooch included is originally a belt buckle. Today, the necklace consists of 16 jewel rosettes that were arranged for Princess Sibylla.
This set belongs to Queen Mary of Denmark but was once part of the Swedish royal jewels. The diadem came to Sweden with Désirée Clary, known as Queen Desideria in Sweden and Norway. Désirée had been engaged to Napoleon but later married Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, Karl XIV Johan, who became King of Sweden in 1818. Upon Désirée's death in 1860, her daughter-in-law Josefina of Leuchtenberg inherited the diadem. Queen Josefina then bequeathed the rubies to her granddaughter Lovisa, daughter of King Charles XV. Lovisa, later Louise, took the jewelry with her to Denmark when she married the Danish Crown Prince Fredrik VIII in 1869. When Swedish Princess Ingrid, daughter of Gustaf VI Adolf, married Danish Crown Prince Frederik, she received the rubies as a wedding gift from Christian X and Queen Alexandrina.
Napoleon gave the diadem to his second wife, the Empress Marie-Louise, on the occasion of their marriage. Originally the diadem, commissioned in 1810, was set with Colombian emeralds, which were replaced in the mid-1950s with turquoise. It was made by Etienne Nitot et Fils of Paris. The diadem was one piece of a parure that also included a necklace and earrings (now in the Louvre), a comb, and a belt buckle, all in emeralds and diamonds, set in silver and gold. Marie Louise bequeathed the diadem and accompanying jewelry to her Habsburg aunt, Princess Elisabeth of Savoy. The diadem and belt buckle were acquired by Van Cleef & Arpels from one of her descendants, Archduke Karl Stefan Habsburg of Sweden, in 1952, along with a document attesting to their provenance. During the period from May 1954 to June 1956, the emeralds were removed from the diadem by Van Cleef & Arpels and sold individually in pieces of jewelry. Sometime between 1956 and 1962, Van Cleef & Arpels mounted the turquoise into the diadem. Marjorie Merriweather Post acquired the diadem for the Smithsonian in 1971.
Beyond the dazzling tiaras, Swedish Crown also produced metal combs renowned for their durability and precision. These combs, often handmade from high-grade aluminum, were designed to be a "once in a lifetime purchase." With individually machined teeth, they lacked burrs, reduced frizz, and exemplified quality craftsmanship. Although the Swedish Crown Combs trademark lapsed in 2008, their legacy as fine grooming tools endures.
Queen Louise of Sweden, who passed away in 1965, wore only five tiaras in over four decades as the Swedish Crown Princess and Queen. These included:
This romantic tiara has German origins, made in the 19th century by Koch. It was a wedding gift from King Wilhelm of Prussia to his daughter, Princess Louise, for her marriage to Grand Duke Frederick of Baden in 1856. The tiara then migrated to Stockholm when Frederick and Louise's daughter, Victoria, married King Gustaf V of Sweden in 1881. On Victoria's death in 1930, her granddaughter, Princess Ingrid, inherited the tiara. When Ingrid married Frederik IX of Denmark five years later, the tiara moved with her to Denmark. When Queen Ingrid died in 2000, her vast jewel collection passed into the royal families of Denmark, Greece, and Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg. Queen Margrethe inherited the tiara. The tiara features heart-shaped palmette motifs with small diamond flowers with yellow-toned centers in-between the hearts.
Flowers have long held symbolic meaning, particularly within royal jewelry. One example of this is the orange blossom jewelry given by Prince Albert to Queen Victoria, which symbolized chastity, betrothal, and their growing family. The Queen cherished these pieces, wearing them on their wedding anniversary as a reminder of their love.
Hortense de Beauharnais, stepdaughter of Napoleon Bonaparte, played a significant role in the history of the Napoleonic Cut-Steel Tiara. As Queen of Holland, she amassed an impressive collection of jewelry, including the cut-steel parure. The tiara was passed down through her family, eventually finding its way into the Swedish royal collection, where it was rediscovered by Queen Silvia in 1976.
The Cameo Parure, a set of cameo jewels made for Empress Joséphine by Marie-Étienne Nitot, has a rich history intertwined with both French and Swedish royalty. After Joséphine's death, the parure was passed down through her family, eventually reaching Joséphine of Leuchtenberg, who brought it to Sweden upon her marriage to Crown Prince Oscar. The Cameo Tiara has since become a wedding crown tradition within the Swedish royal family.
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