A Dior Brooch for the Queen of Denmark at the Opening of Parliament

Parliament season continued in Europe this week with the opening of the Folketing in Denmark, featuring a pair of Danish royal ladies wearing fascinating midcentury brooches.

King Frederik X and Queen Mary of Denmark were joined by his aunt, Princess Benedikte, for the opening of the new session of the Folketing at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen on Tuesday. Queen Margrethe, who has been dealing with ongoing health issues, was not present for the event this year, but she has been confirmed to be attending a concert later today.

For the session opening, Queen Mary wore a tailored jacket and matching skirt in a deep shade of berry red, paired with a matching headpiece and shoes.

With the ensemble, Mary wore diamond stud earrings with a colorful vintage brooch from Dior that dates to 1964.

Here’s a closer look at the details of the brooch, which is made of gilded metal, turquoises, rhinestones, and red glass cabochon beads. It’s worth noting that this picture depicts a virtually identical brooch sold on a French resale platform, Vestiaire Collective. There’s been no confirmation that this is the exact brooch that Mary now owns. Given the timeline, it’s possible, though, that it is the same jewel.

We first saw Mary wear the brooch in April 2025, when she and Frederik made a state visit to France. The Dior brooch was a suitably French choice for a visit to the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris to view the ongoing renovation project.

Here’s one more look at Mary wearing the Dior brooch at Tuesday’s opening of parliament. The red glass cabochons coordinate almost perfectly with the shade of her jacket and skirt.

Princess Benedikte chose shades of blue with pink accents for Tuesday’s Folketing session, wearing a light blue jacket with a darker blue skirt and shoes, plus a blue hat with a pink ribbon accent.

She echoed colors of the outfit with her choice of jewels for the event: earrings set with blue cabochons and white and red gemstones, plus a glamorous brooch featuring a cabochon sapphire set in a cluster of diamonds and rubies. All of the pieces look like midcentury jewels to me, perhaps made around the same time as Mary’s Dior brooch. (Also: is that a gorgeous black pearl set in the ring peeking out from beneath Benedikte’s bouquet?)

The sparkle keeps coming later this morning at Hidden Gems, where my free weekly Wednesday newsletter features a look at the jewels worn by Princess Sara, a niece of the King of Jordan, on her wedding day in Amman. Be sure to subscribe so that the issue arrives in your email inbox today!