We’ve got a winner in the incredibly close final round of our Floral Tiara Tournament!
Bringing home the victory with 50.3% of the vote is … the Danish Floral Aigrette!
The Danish Floral Aigrette may possibly have Russian imperial roots, but it made its Danish royal debut in 1967, when Queen Ingrid wore it for the wedding of Crown Princess Margrethe and Prince Henrik.
Queen Ingrid preferred to wear the three-piece ornament on a traditional tiara frame, as a wreath tiara. The tiara formed a complete circlet, hugging Ingrid’s head entirely.
Queen Margrethe II, Ingrid’s daughter, began wearing the tiara after her accession in the early 1970s. At the beginning, Margrethe also usually wore the tiara on a frame, but the monarch—who is an artistic and innovative jewelry-wearer—soon began experimenting with various placements of the diamond sections.
Echoing her mother’s tiara for her wedding in 1967, Margrethe wore the Aigrette for the wedding of her son and heir, Crown Prince Frederik, in Copenhagen in May 2004. She paired it with the diamond floral jewels from the Danish crown jewel collection.
She has also regularly used it for diplomatic occasions, including state banquets. Above, she wears the tiara for a state dinner at Amalienborg Castle in honor of President Parvanov of Bulgaria in March 2006.
Margrethe also regularly wears the tiara for important family occasions and celebrations. In April 2010, she wore the Aigrette for a gala dinner at Fredensborg Palace celebrating her 70th birthday.
Five years later, in April 2015, she wore the Aigrette at Christiansborg Palace during the celebrations of her 75th birthday. On this occasion, she paired the tiara with ruby and pearl pieces from the crown jewel collection.
And, delightfully, Margrethe sometimes uses parts of the Aigrette to sneak a tiara into a non-tiara occasion! For the pre-wedding dinner in Spain in May 2004, for example, she wore a piece of the tiara as a hair ornament.
Our runner-up in this contest, the Imperial Chrysanthemum Tiara, also deserves special recognition. The contest came down to the absolute wire, with the Chrysanthemum bringing in 49.7% of the final vote!
This magnificent Japanese imperial tiara, which features the important chrysanthemum symbol, was a favorite of both Empress Michiko and her mother-in-law, Empress Nagako. Here’s hoping one day we’ll see the tiara sparkling on Empress Masako, too!
Huge thanks to everyone who played along and voted in our latest tiara tournament! I’ve got another contest planned for later in the summer. Which jewels are you hoping to see matched up next???
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