Here’s a Friday treat for us all: one of our friends, Christopher, recently visited the exhibition dedicated to Queen Ena of Spain and snapped some gorgeous photos of her iconic tiara to share with all of us!
The Royal Collections Gallery, a major exhibition space located beside the Royal Palace in Madrid, was opened in 2023 to help share the treasures of the Patrimonio Nacional with the public. In December, they opened “Victoria Eugenia,” an exhibition dedicated to the life of King Felipe VI’s great-grandmother, Queen Ena.
The exhibition, which closes on April 5, traces Ena’s life from her birth at Balmoral Castle in Scotland to her marriage to King Alfonso XIII of Spain, and then to her tenure as Queen of Spain and her life in exile after the Spanish Civil War. Some of the remarkable pieces on display include the carriage she was riding in when a terrorist attacked the royal procession after her wedding in 1906; her state robes; various portraits; and numerous pieces of clothing and furniture from her personal collection.
For those of us who love royal jewelry, of course, the star of the show was Ena’s grand diamond tiara, which features the fleur-de-lis symbol of the House of Borbón. The tiara, which was made by Ansorena, has a special nickname within the family: “La Buena,” or “the good one.” Ena received it as a wedding present from her husband and wore it on their wedding day, which we know ended, sadly, in chaos. In her will, she indicated that it should pass from monarch to monarch as part of the joyas de pasar collection, to be worn by the Queen of Spain.
These photographs of the tiara from the exhibition were snapped by our friend Christopher, who made a visit to the exhibition earlier this week. He notes that the tiara was the only piece of jewelry displayed in the exhibition, and it was beautifully arranged, but the gallery lighting made it difficult to capture the piece from different angles. (I think he did a great job, if you ask me!)
Christopher also told me that the tiara was “absolutely dazzling but considerably smaller than expected”—a frequent reaction from those of us who have seen beloved royal jewels in person. I think we build them up to be larger than life in our minds!
The tiara is still worn today by Queen Letizia for some of the most important gala events on the calendar, but it’s wonderful to be able to “see” it up close and personal. Please join me in sending an enormous thank-you to Christopher for so generously sharing his fantastic photographs with us!
A couple of quick scheduling notes going forward on this Good Friday. I’ll have my usual Saturday article for paid subscribers over at Hidden Gems on Substack tomorrow. (Alert, Swifties! We’re talking about the fabulous jewels shown in the new “Elizabeth Taylor” music video!) Sunday’s newsletter will go out as usual on Easter Sunday, but I’ll wait to cover the jewels worn by the royals on Easter in an article for Monday morning, so that I can spend time hiding eggs for my own little bunny on Sunday.
Have a wonderful weekend no matter what you’re observing or celebrating, and I’ll see you all back here on Monday!
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