Stupendous Sapphires and Diamonds for Crown Princess Victoria

Crown Princess Victoria wore a striking gown covered in blue sequins for the Nobel Prize awards ceremony and banquet on December 10, 2011. At the time, she was expecting her first child, Princess Estelle, who was born the following February. The light blue sash of the Order of the Seraphim, and the light blue ribbon of King Carl XVI Gustaf’s Royal Family Order, contrasted nicely with the darker blue gown.

Victoria’s dress was almost sparkly enough just on its own, but of course, it was the Nobels, so she had to pile on the jewels! She wore the family’s Diamond Six Button Tiara, which was reportedly fashioned in the second half of the twentieth century for Princess Lilian. The diamond buttons on the tiara, however, are far older. The diamond rosettes had been affixed to the coronation crown worn by the first Bernadotte king, Carl XIV Johan, in 1818. For this occasion, Victoria made the heirloom tiara even sparklier, adding an extra row of diamonds to the piece’s base.

With the diamond tiara, Crown Princess Victoria wore several pieces from a very important Swedish royal parure. The Leuchtenberg Sapphires, as their name suggests, came to Sweden with Princess Josephine of Leuchtenberg (wife of King Oscar I of Sweden). While the tiara from the suite is generally reserved for the sole use of the highest-ranking Swedish royal lady (that would be Queen Silvia), Victoria paired some of the other jewels from the set with her ensemble.

You’ll spot the sapphire earrings on Victoria here, as well as the brooch, which she used to secure the Seraphim sash.

And in this profile view, you’ll also note that Victoria wore some of the hairpins from the parure in her updo for the occasion.

Crown Princess Victoria finished off the look with a diamond bracelet on her right wrist, and her engagement and wedding rings on her left hand. It was a memorable sapphire appearance for sure!