Order of the Elephant New Year's Court 2012: HRH The Crown Princess of Denmark
One New Year's resolution off my list: the Tiara-Pedia has finally been updated! Each tiara that has appeared on the blog is listed with a short description and a link to each post in which it has been featured. Go crazy, tiara lovers!
The Ruby Parure Tiara is my favorite of Mary's tiaras, hands down, but it looks like she's definitely done some serious downsizing on the piece, enough to provide an extra ornament for her hair...
Love her hairstyle here and the tiara's placement, but I think I ultimately preferred the fuller version. What about the rest of you?
PHOTO CREDITS: Danny Martindale/Getty Images
Tags: tiara
On another message board, a very knowledgable fellow (who has consulted/written on Danish royal jewels and HELD this new tiara in his hands)said that these alterations were for size (Ingrid's head is/was larger than CP Mary's), and to make the tiara sit more upright (also part of the size issue). Moreover, this tiara has been altered throughout its life. It started as 8 jeweled sprays to be worn in the hair or on a gown. There are photos of Queen Ingrid wearing a bandeau style tiara before her alterations (at least 3 versions at that point in time). Many royal jewels are altered by their owners (Lovers Knot, Durbar tiara, Girls of Great Britain and Ireland come to mind immediately), and this is no exception. If anything this Ruby and Diamond tiara has a varied history of change. And IMO, it looks smashing with this deep red velvet gown.
I watched The Royal Jewels episode where Crown Princess Mary talked about the alterations. It was an excellent program.
I think this is the best Mary has ever looked in a tiara. I give it two thumbs way, way up!
I think I prefer this setting. It fits her better, the frame is less visible, and there's an extra bit of sparkly for her hair.
Love this dark red on Mary - it's a fabulous colour for her. It makes such a great backdrop for the Order chain. I almost wish she'd added a bit more bling to really make the most of it!
Mary looks wonderful in red. Everything about this is REGAL - the gown, the colour, the gorgeous tiara and the updo.
In a word - sensational. But isn't she always? I too like the smaller version of the tiara.
When you see the full view of Mary's gown, she looks like a Renaissance princess in that sumptuous gown and color. There has been a lot of discussion about the alterations to the parure, but ultimately if the tiara doesn't sit well on her head and is too large it should be altered for the user. Perhaps in its next reincarnation, it may be reassembled to its original state. There does seem to be be more versatility with these alterations and while I did harbor a nostalgic feeling for how the tiara swept down more on the sides of Mary's head originally, this reincarnation does look lovely and very suitable for her. And look at all the mileage she's getting out of the pieces! That separate piece in back is beautiful and can always be worn sans tiara.
My only quibble is the dangling Tahitian drops on her earrings and brooch. They don't go well with the mixture of diamonds and rubies and throws off the look a bit because of the steely color. I'd prefer to see a smaller ruby drop on the earrings if she's not wearing the chandelier style, and just eliminate the pearl drop off the brooch.
I tihnk it does sit better on her head in this setting, and as others have said, this tiara has gone through many incarnations, so she is only carrying on the tradition.
Doesn't she just look the total regal Princess in this outfit. You've gotta love her haven't you - she just gets the whole Princess thing so much.
While I think the new version of the tiara fits her better, I prefer Queen Ingrid's version overall as it seemed less...dense. The foliage was better spaced out in the larger version and had a light, natural quality to it which is rare for a tiara of that size. Maybe if Mary removed a couple of additional leaves and had the remainder re-set with more space between the leaves it would look better -- and there would be enough left over for a tiara-ette for Isabella.
There's no doubt the Danish ruby tiara gets a wonderful showing when it's next to the gorgeous pinky sheen of maroon velvet; this is a great example of a gown really supporting and enhancing a parure. I do agree with Patricia's point about the pearls. Any pearl set or hanging on its own tends to draw attention to itself, even when it is "black", and IMO can be somewhat distracting when the rest of the jewellery is of a markedly different style - so I agree the pearls would be better left off.
PS. Does anyone else think Mary has missed an extraordinary opportunity to wear a darker lipstick? Dark red lippy would look so classy with the maroon and Mary's dark brown hair; the prototype was set by another brunette - QEII - in her young days.
I find the pearl necklace wonderful and very well suited with the poire pearl tiara even though it is not made as a parure. I think the dark look is attributable to the photo angle. In this photo (from the DRF's official website which today launched a number of official photos of queen Margrethe), the pearls look much whiter: http://kongehuset.dk/Menu/foto--video/dronning-i-40-ar-6-januar
Violet-thank you for that link-what an amazing set of photos!
I like the revised version on CP Mary as it sits on her head better, though the first time she wore the tiara before her wedding will always be my favorite siting! If anyone hasn't seen the documentary on the jewels where she, Queen Margarethe & Queen Silvia talk about their jewels and the history, alterations, etc. *do* go seek it out, it is wonderful (even with the language barrier).
Wow, this is gorgeous. The dress, the jewelry, the tiara.
Perfection.