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Archives for January 2020
Queen Alia’s Cartier Tiara
Keystone Pictures USA/ZUMAPRESS/Alamy |
It’s hard to find a more collectively glamorous group of royal women than the ladies of the Jordanian royal family. Today’s tiara, the Cartier tiara that belonged to the late Queen Alia, has been worn by three of the country’s queens and princesses.
Queen Alia of Jordan at Heathrow Airport, September 1973 (Gerrard/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) |
Alia Baha Ad-Din Touqan was the third of the four wives of King Hussein of Jordan. (The first was Princess Dina; the second, Princess Muna, is the mother of the current king, Abdullah II; and the fourth is the American-born Queen Noor.) Alia was the daughter of a Jordanian diplomat and had lived and studied all over the world before marrying King Hussein in 1972.
CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP via Getty Images |
The diamond Cartier tiara that Alia wore was given to her by the king. It’s reminiscent of a fringe tiara, but really the design is quite abstract and very modern, more linear than floral. (The Jordanian royals seem to favor this kind of contemporary design; Queen Noor also has a tiara that is similar to this one.) The tiara is also intriguing in that it has an exceptionally tall base, requiring serious tiara hair.
Queen Alia wears her tiara for a banquet during a Jordanian state visit to Japan, March 1976 (Keystone Pictures USA/ZUMAPRESS/Alamy) |
Just like her tiara, Alia was a rather modern Jordanian queen; she supported women’s suffrage and was a great supporter of children’s charities and the arts. Unfortunately, her tenure as queen consort was short. In February 1977, she died in a helicopter crash in Amman. To celebrate the late queen’s life, the country’s international airport was named for Alia — in fact, it’s one of only a few international airports named for a woman.
Princess Haya, November 2006 (STAN HONDA/AFP via Getty Images) |
Alia’s only daughter, Princess Haya, inherited her mother’s tiara. (Here’s a 2017 portrait from Majesty Magazine which shows her wearing the tiara.) The Jordanian royal family doesn’t have a crown jewel collection, and all of their jewels are apparently personal property, generally handed down from mother to daughter rather than retained for the use of future queens.
Queen Rania wears Queen Alia’s tiara for a gala dinner at the Royal Palace in Madrid, October 1999 (CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP via Getty Images) |
However, this tiara has been worn several times by a subsequent queen consort. Princess Haya loaned the tiara on various occasions to her sister-in-law, Queen Rania, shortly after she became queen. Rania even wore the tiara for her husband’s coronation in June 1999, linking Alia’s heirloom tiara with the next generation of Jordanian royals. Rania’s jewel collection has since grown to include other sparklers, but the tiara’s appearance at the coronation provided a lovely connection between the country’s past and its future.
This Fortnight in Royal Jewels: December 20-January 2
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35. On Christmas Day, the Countess of Wessex wore earrings with petite round drops for church near the Sandringham estate. (More here!)
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34. Lady Louise Windsor wore small pearls and a cheerful horseshoe necklace for church near Sandringham on Christmas Day. (More here!)
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33. The Duchess of Cambridge reached for green amethyst earrings from her Kiki McDonough collection for church on Christmas Day. (More here!)
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32. Princess Takamado wore a brooch and playful soccer ball earrings as she presented the trophy to the winners of the 99th Emperor’s Cup final in Tokyo on New Year’s Day.
31. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom wore her Diamond Clematis Brooch to attend church near Sandringham on December 29. (More on the brooch here!)
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30. During the annual New Year’s public appearance at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Thursday, Princess Mikasa wore a long necklace of pearls with a brooch, and Princess Tomohito of Mikasa and Princess Akiko of Mikasa also wore brooches with pearl necklaces.
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29. On Thursday, the Akishino princesses wore pearls and brooches (pearls for Mako, a diamond bow for Kako) during the imperial family’s balcony appearance.
Carl Court/Getty Images |
28. The Takamado princesses are often a bit more adventurous with jewels than many Japanese imperial ladies, and on Thursday, Princess Takamado wore green earrings with her pearls and brooch, while Princess Tsuguko of Takamado wore a black choker necklace.
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27. Princess Hitachi was ultra-elegant in a brooch with a triple strand of pearls during Thursday’s balcony appearance in Tokyo.
Carl Court/Getty Images |
26. Crown Princess Kiko of Japan gleamed in a pearl necklace, pearl drop earrings, and a leafy silver and pearl brooch for the New Year’s balcony appearance at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Thursday.
Carl Court/Getty Images |
25. On Thursday, Empress Masako of Japan sparkled on the palace balcony in a gold and diamond ribbon brooch with a matching pair of pearl drop earrings.
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24. Queen Margrethe II of Denmark wore a dramatic necklace with a colorful round pendant as she delivered her annual New Year’s speech in Copenhagen on Tuesday.
JONAS EKSTROMER/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images |
23. On December 20, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden wore diamond earrings and a diamond brooch for the annual meeting of the Swedish Academy in Stockholm. (More here!)
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22. For church services near Sandringham on Christmas Day, the Duchess of Cornwall wore one of her signature pearl choker necklaces with a diamond knot brooch. (More over here!)
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21. The Princess Royal accessorized with pearls and a silver and amethyst brooch for church services on Christmas Day. (More Christmas jewels here!)
Carl Court/Getty Images |
20. Empress Emerita Michiko of Japan was gorgeous in a festive pearl brooch and a pearl station necklace for the family’s New Year balcony appearance on Thursday.
STEVE PARSONS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images |
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16. Queen Margrethe II wore diamonds and pearls to greet members of the diplomatic corps during the second New Year’s court in Copenhagen on Thursday.
KELD NAVNTOFT/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images |
15. For Thursday’s second New Year’s court, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark wore luminous pearls.
JONAS EKSTROMER/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images |
14. Queen Silvia of Sweden dazzled in diamonds and pearls for the meeting of the Swedish Academy on December 20. (More here!)
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