It’s been a busy few weeks in the royal world, and today we’re looking back at a special bejeweled appearance from earlier this month: the reopening of the Court Theatre at Christiansborg Palace, attended by both Queen Mary and Queen Margrethe of Denmark.
The Queen of Denmark and her mother-in-law, Queen Margrethe, were the special guests of honor at the reopening of the recently-restored Hofteatret at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen. The theater first opened in 1767 and has been the site of some truly incredible performances over its long history. Notable performers have included Hans Christian Anderson and Countess Danner, the ballet dancer and actress who became the morganatic wife of King Frederik VII of Denmark.
The theater and its museum have been an important part of the cultural and political fabric of Denmark for centuries. After a five-year restoration project, the theater officially reopened with a celebration on January 15, with a program that included ballet, opera, speeches, and storytelling about the impressive figures who have performed on the stage throughout its history.
For the evening at the theater, and a tour of the museum, Queen Mary wore a navy velvet dress with a red rose print. (UFO No More tells us that it’s from Saloni.) She nodded to the history of the theater with her accessories, wearing nineteenth-century diamonds from the family vaults.
Mary wore a shorter setting of a special pair of earrings from the Danish Royal Property Trust. These diamond floral earrings originally belonged to Hereditary Princess Caroline of Denmark, (1793-1881), the elder daughter of King Frederik VI and wife of Hereditary Prince Ferdinand. Later, Queen Lovisa acquired them and placed them in the trust for future generations to wear and enjoy.
With the earrings, Mary wore the top section of another heirloom jewel, the Danish Diamond Ivy Brooch. The Danish Royal Collection describes it as a “large brooch consists of a recumbent oval with a rosette and, in it, a large diamond encircled by ten smaller diamonds as well as diamond-adorned swirls.” The brooch was also part of Hereditary Princess Caroline’s collection, and it’s been worn both with and without its ivy leaf pendant for generations.
Queen Mary has yet to wear the full brooch, but on this occasion she added a black pearl drop pendant that nestled perfectly into the neckline of her dress.
Queen Margrethe wore a dress in one of her favorite colors, bright purple, for the theater reopening, paired with a gray pashmina shawl and a matching handbag.
Her jewels, fittingly, were set with amethysts. Her earrings, which feature carved amethyst in a leaf shape with gold accents, were a gift from her late husband, Prince Henrik. She also wore an amethyst cabochon cluster brooch and an amethyst ring, which I believe she commissioned herself.
During the museum visit, we also glimpsed one of Margrethe’s jeweled hair combs, which always stand out beautifully against her silver hair.
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