![The Duke and Duchess of Brabant attend the wedding of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Denmark in Copenhagen on May 14, 2004 (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/GettyImages-50837001-crop.jpg?resize=1200%2C770&ssl=1)
Most of the senior royal ladies in Europe have multiple tiaras at their disposal, some of them personally owned, some of them loaners from the royal vaults. Until her husband’s accession to the throne, however, Queen Mathilde of the Belgians only had one tiara in her personal jewel box: her diamond laurel wreath.
![The Duchess of Brabant attends a gala dinner on the eve of the wedding of the Hereditary Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, October 19, 2012 (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/GettyImages-154431097.jpg?resize=1200%2C1800&ssl=1)
The laurel wreath is a classic tiara shape, and most royal families have at least one in their collection. But Mathilde’s tiara isn’t from the Belgian vaults—this one is her personal property. The laurel wreath was given to Mathilde by a group of Belgian aristocrats as a wedding present in 1999, when she married Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant. It was an especially fitting present, as Mathilde was born a member of Belgian nobility. In 2013, in fact, she became the first-ever Queen of the Belgians to actually have been born a Belgian.
![The Queen of the Belgians attends an official dinner at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw on October 13, 2015 (Adam Nurkiewicz/Getty Images)](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/GettyImages-492477780.jpg?resize=1200%2C1800&ssl=1)
But even though the tiara is relatively new to Mathilde, it’s still an antique. It was made by Hennel & Sons, an English firm, in 1912. Since it’s the only tiara that Mathilde personally owns, it’s lucky that it can also be worn as a necklace—two for one, if you will. Above, she wears it in its necklace setting (with the Wolfers Tiara and Queen Fabiola’s Pearl Drop Earrings) during an official visit to Poland in October 2015.
![The Duchess of Brabant attends a state banquet at Laeken for the visiting Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg on March 20, 2007 (Mark Renders/Getty Images)](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/GettyImages-73644858.jpg?resize=1200%2C1631&ssl=1)
Beyond converting to a necklace, the tiara appears to be even more adaptable. Mathilde usually wears the tiara on a frame that sets it fairly high on her head. However, Mathilde has also worn the tiara closer to her head, suggesting that either the tiara can be positioned differently on the same frame or the piece came with more than one frame.
![The Duke and Duchess of Brabant attend the wedding of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Denmark in Copenhagen on May 14, 2004 (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/GettyImages-50837001.jpg?resize=1200%2C2025&ssl=1)
Queen Mathilde has worn the laurel wreath for numerous important royal occasions over the years, including several more glittering royal wedding celebrations. Above, she wears the tiara for the wedding of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark in Copenhagen in May 2004.
![The Duchess of Brabant, the Princess of Asturias, Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark, and King Constantine II of Greece appear on the palace terrace following the wedding of the Crown Princess of Sweden and Daniel Westling in Stockholm on June 19, 2010 (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/GettyImages-102226699.jpg?resize=1200%2C797&ssl=1)
She also chose the tiara for the grand royal wedding of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden in Stockholm in June 2010.
![The Duke and Duchess of Brabant attend the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at Westminster Abbey in London on April 29, 2011 (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/GettyImages-113288011.jpg?resize=1200%2C1506&ssl=1)
Mathilde memorably wore the piece as a necklace at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at Westminster Abbey in London in April 2011.
![IOC President Jacques Rogge and the Duchess of Brabant arrive for a dinner at the Opera Terraces following the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Monaco, July 2, 2011 (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/GettyImages-117981101.jpg?resize=1200%2C1803&ssl=1)
The tiara made an appearance at a second royal wedding in 2011 when Mathilde wore it for the reception following the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Monaco.
![The Duke and Duchess of Brabant attend a gala dinner on the eve of the wedding of the Hereditary Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, October 19, 2012 (Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/GettyImages-154430447.jpg?resize=1200%2C1800&ssl=1)
And here, she wears the laurel wreath for a gala held the night before the wedding of Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie of Luxembourg in October 2012.
![The Duchess of Brabant attends a state banquet in Brussels for the visiting King and Queen of Norway on May 20, 2003 (Mark Renders/Getty Images)](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/GettyImages-2016049.jpg?resize=1200%2C1641&ssl=1)
She’s also chosen the tiara for numerous state visits and diplomatic occasions, both before and after her husband’s accession. Above, she wears the tiara during the Norwegian state visit to Belgium in May 2003. (She was expecting Prince Gabriel at the time.)
![The Duchess of Brabant attends a state banquet at Laeken for the visiting President of Poland on October 26, 2004 (Mark Renders/Getty Images)](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/GettyImages-51574581.jpg?resize=1200%2C1422&ssl=1)
She also wore the tiara for a banquet held during the President of Poland’s state visit to Belgium in October 2004.
![The Duke and Duchess of Brabant attend a banquet at the Golden Palace in Bangkok during the celebrations of the King of Thailand's Diamond Jubilee, June 13, 2006 (Pool/Getty Images)](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/GettyImages-71200876.jpg?resize=1200%2C913&ssl=1)
In June 2006, she wore the tiara during the King of Thailand’s glittering Diamond Jubilee celebrations in Bangkok.
![The Duchess of Brabant attends a state banquet at Laeken for the visiting Queen of the Netherlands on June 20, 2006 (Mark Renders/Getty Images)](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/GettyImages-71249857.jpg?resize=1200%2C1537&ssl=1)
Just a few weeks later, she wore the tiara again for a banquet held during a state visit from the Dutch royal family to Brussels.
![The Duke and Duchess of Brabant attend a gala dinner at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam on the eve of the abdication of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and the inauguration of her son, King Willem-Alexander, April 29, 2013 (Michel Porro/Getty Images)](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/GettyImages-167756434.jpg?resize=1200%2C1800&ssl=1)
A few years later, Mathilde wore the tiara during another important Dutch royal celebration: the festivities surrounding the abdication of Queen Beatrix and the inauguration of King Willem-Alexander in Amsterdam in April 2013.
![The King and Queen of the Belgians pose with President Joachim Gauck of Germany and his partner, Daniela Schadt, ahead of a banquet at Laeken on March 8, 2016 (ERIC LALMAND/AFP via Getty Images)](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/GettyImages-514352554.jpg?resize=1200%2C799&ssl=1)
Mathilde became Queen of the Belgians on July 21, 2013, and she’s continued to wear the laurel wreath occasionally in the years since, both as a tiara and a necklace. Here, she wears it during a state visit from the President of Germany in 2016.
![President Andrzej Duda of Poland and the Queen of the Belgians attend an official dinner at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw on October 13, 2015 (Adam Nurkiewicz/Getty Images)](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/GettyImages-492477778.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
The versatile tiara has continued to be a staple in Queen Mathilde’s jewelry collection, even though she now has two more diadems—the Nine Provinces Tiara and the Wolfers Tiara—at her disposal.
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