Queen Mary of Denmark Wears Tiara that Hasn't Been Seen in Over 140 Years

She also brings out a bracelet that uses stones taken from Vesuvius and will be on display in Rosenborg Castle

Queen Mary is certainly putting her stamp on her role as the Queen of Denmark, most notably through her jewelry as Her Majesty has clearly been delving into the royal vaults.

In a huge surprise, Queen Mary busted out a very historical and unique tiara for her State Visit with Finland, the “Queen Caroline Amalie’s Gold Diadem with antique gems and Princess Vilhelmine Marie’s bracelet with the Vesuvius stone.” These two pieces have not been worn in over 140 years.

Credit: Associated Press/STT-Lehtikuva

According to the Danish Royal Court:

The diadem was created around 1820 for Caroline Amalie, who was married to Christian VIII, Denmark's regent from 1839 to 1848. The 11 encased gems were collected by the husband during the couple's trip to Italy 1819-1821, where they visited Rome and the ancient excavations in, among other places, Pompeii. The jewelery reflects the classicist taste of the time and was intended for daily use rather than the more ostentatious brilliant jewelry.

Credit: Iben Kaufmann

Princess Vilhelmine Marie's bracelet was acquired by the later Frederik VII during a trip in 1828, shortly before his wedding to the Princess. The bracelet, which is made of gold and decorated with semi-precious stones from the Vesuvius area, was presented in a box with the romantic French inscription: “C’est du sommet du Vésuve enflammé que mon cœur vole à toi. Le 24 April 1828.” (“It is from the top of the flaming Vesuvius that my heart flies to you. April 24, 1828”).

Credit: Iben Kaufmann

After the divorce in 1837, Vilhelmine Marie kept the bracelet, and it later became part of the Kongernes Samling. It is customary for the royals to use jewelery from the Kongernes Samling. And the Queen's choice of these historic pieces of jewelery marks a rare display of the Royal Family's cultural heritage. Both pieces of jewelery have, through inheritance and gifting, become part of the Kings' Collection, where they form part of the museum's prestigious collection.

The bracelet is normally on display in the Treasury under Rosenborg Castle, where the diadem will also be available to see when the state visit to Finland is over.

It’s a fascinating bit of history, and to see such a historic and unique piece on Queen Mary during her State Visit was a real surprise. The situation feels somewhat similar to Queen Silvia of Sweden, who famously found previously unknown or lost steel cut tiaras, one in a cabinet and another allegedly used as a door stop, and has redesigned part of the collection, most notably taking the Napoleonic Amethyst Necklace and turning it into a tiara.

Mary has already shown off her creative use of the Danish Crown Jewels by reframing the Rosecut Diamond Gürtel, a diamond band designed to be worn around a corseted waist, into the Danes new Rosecut Diamond Bandeau Tiara. Royal News Network/ Royal Fashion News covered the tiara’s historic debut during the State Visit from Egypt.

And with this latest tiara, it’s clear that we’re not done with Queen Mary trying to stretch the Danish collection as far as she can, and I’m all here for it!

Though the Danes are wealthy in jewels in some ways, history has not been kind to the family. It began with Queen Ingrid’s decision to split her tiaras amongst her daughters and grandson, rather than keeping the collection solely in the possession of the Queen of Denmark. She gave middle daughter Princess Benedikte the Queen Sofia’s Star and Pearl Tiara, in addition to the 18th birthday piece Her Majesty made from pieces of her jewelry. Queen Anne Marie of Greece, the youngest of Queen Ingrid’s three girls, was also given an 18th birthday tiara known as the Antique Corsage Tiara and most importantly the historic Khedive of Egypt Tiara, which is worn by all the female descendants of Queen Ingrid on their wedding days. This meant that two tiaras and other pieces of jewelry left the mainline of the family. Queen Ingrid also left the historic Danish Ruby Parure Tiara to Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, though this one has thankfully been kept within the mainline of the family. There’s also the addition of the Alexandrine Diamond Drop Tiara tract departure after it somehow got caught up in the divorce proceedings of Prince Joachim and his first wife Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg. (Hopefully, there’s some stipulation so it can rejoin the mainline of the family once again.)

Due to these circumstances, the Danes are sadly devoid of tiaras more than they should be, though Mary is doing her best to make the collection her own. Creating a Rosecut Diamond Bandeau was a stroke of genius, as it emulates the beautiful and yet incredibly simple Dutch Diamond Bandeau. This is another circumstance of her giving older pieces within the collection new life, and one I hope to see other royal households try out as well in the future.

Royal ladies shouldn’t always be beholden to what the Queen before them has done. Yes, respect the collection and its historic significance, but the more glitter a queen or princess can bring to the party the better I say.