The Grand Duchess Adelaide Tiara

While many of the tiaras in the vast Luxembourg family collection were created within the past century, the Grand Duchess Adelaide Tiara is one of the family’s oldest—and yet most wearable—diadems.

The first wearer of the tiara apparently was Grand Duchess Adelheid-Marie, the wife of Grand Duke Adolphe, Luxembourg’s first sovereign from the House of Nassau. The piece was created around 1870, probably in Germany.

The majority of the tiara is made of a complicated leaf design that is studded with diamond berries. The center of the tiara boasts a large sapphire. On some occasions, the women of the family have also beefed up the bling by added a diamond necklace to the base of the piece.

The tiara was apparently a particular favorite of one historical Luxembourg royal lady: Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde, the granddaughter of Adelheid-Marie. Marie-Adélaïde had a short and rather tragic reign in Luxembourg. She was the nation’s first reigning grand duchess (indeed, changes had to be made to allow her to reign), but when the public perceived her to be pro-German in the midst of World War I, the government pressured her to abdicate.

After reigning for less than seven years, Marie-Adélaïde abdicated in favor of her younger sister, Charlotte, in 1919. She gave Charlotte her jewels, including the tiara, and Charlotte wore the piece frequently throughout her lifetime.

Since then, every grand duchess in Luxembourg has worn the tiara. Here, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa wears the tiara during an official visit to Sweden in the spring of 2008.

But the use of the piece is not restricted only to the sovereign or the sovereign’s consort, and it has also been worn by other women in the family. Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie made her debut in the tiara at the inauguration celebrations for King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, and she has also worn it for other gala celebrations.

Princess Claire, Stéphanie’s sister-in-law, has worn the tiara on more than one occasion as well. Above, she wears it for the National Day gala in June 2018.

Delightfully, the sapphire in the tiara has also been the “something blue” for a pair of family brides. The tiara was worn as a bridal diadem in 2017 by Princess Marie-Gabrielle of Nassau and in 2020 by Archduchess Gabriella of Austria.