Brace yourselves, hatters: this is the jaw-dropper of the evening!

This tiara, Queen Sophia's Diamond Tiara, has not been seen in four decades.  Say it with me: four decades.  It was last worn by Queen Friedrike, mother of the former King Constantine of Greece and Queen Sofia of Spain, in the 1960s.  Most royal watchers believed that Friedrike sold the tiara at auction in the 1970s after the Greek monarchy was deposed, but apparently not!  (Though I've seen some speculation that it was indeed sold and repurchased by M-C's father; there's no concrete evidence to support that theory, however.)  Queen Anne-Marie has never worn the tiara in public, so it makes its brilliant reappearance on Marie-Chantal.

The tiara itself is pure Victorian decadence; its first wearer was Sophie of Prussia, granddaughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.  It's a massive, massive piece -- almost too big in this form for Marie-Chantal to wear, it seems.  But I'm so beyond over the moon about its reappearance that I don't care about the fit or the hairstyle or anything else -- it's a royal heirloom tiara back from oblivion, everybody!  Hooray!

PHOTO CREDITS: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

I think I like this -- not sure what the extra shelf-y piece is for on the side, but chic and dramatic otherwise.  I feel like M-C gets the best of both worlds in some ways -- she's a member of a larger royal family, and she has the flair of a crown princess, but since the Greeks aren't a reigning house, she doesn't have to be as conservative.

PHOTO CREDITS: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Here's a great close-up of Marie-Chantal's own Diamond Fringe Tiara.  It's a bit short for me, as fringes go, but I love how full and sparkly it is!

PHOTO CREDITS: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Like the hat, but good lord, has the entire rest of this outfit, shoes and all, gone through a shredder?

PHOTO CREDITS: Isopix

We've got a rather impressive glued-to-the-head fascinator here on Marie-Chantal of Greece -- wacky and over-the-top, but that seems par for the course with the ultra-glam MC.

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HRH The Prince of Asturias and Miss Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano
May 22, 2004

Only a week after Crown Prince Frederik married Mary Donaldson in Denmark, Prince Felipe of Spain tied the knot with journalist Letizia Ortiz in Madrid.  Theirs was the first wedding of a member of the Spanish royal family to take place in Madrid since the wedding of King Alfonso XIII and Princess Ena of Battenberg in 1906.  That wedding was marred by an assassination attempt on the royal couple and the tragic deaths of several bystanders -- this one, thankfully, went more smoothly, although it was a cloudy, rainy day in the Spanish capital.

There were a few controversies, however, about Felipe's choice of bride.  Letizia, a journalist who covered the September 11th attacks in New York and the Iraq War, will be the first commoner to be queen of Spain.  She also had previously been briefly married and divorced.  However, because her first wedding was a civil rather than religious one, the Catholic Church did not recognize it, and she was free to marry Felipe.

Felipe and Letizia have become quite a working team since their wedding, frequently appearing together on royal engagements.  They have also had two daughters, Infanta Leonor (born in 2005) and Infanta Sofia (born in 2007).  Leonor is expected to become queen of Spain in her own right one day -- that is, if her parents don't provide her with a baby brother!

Wedding Hatters

HRH The Crown Prince of Denmark and Miss Mary Donaldson
May 14, 2004

Our last major tiara wedding before Crown Princess Vic's big day was the wedding of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Tasmanian-born Mary Elizabeth Donaldson.  The two met during the Sydney Olympics in 2000, fell in love, and got hitched four years later.

Frederik and his Aussie bride have two children: Prince Christian (who will one day be king) and Princess Isabella, the first Danish princess born in a generation.  Mary has transformed from an everyday girl to a glamorous crown princess, and this wedding was definitely high on the glamour factor as well: we've got more than thirty tiaras on parade here, many of which are brand-new to the blog.  A good trial run for Victoria's wedding, no doubt!  Enjoy!

Wedding Hatters

HRH The Prince of Orange and Miss Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti
February 2, 2002

Here's our third crown princely wedding in the run up to Crown Princess Victoria's June nuptials -- less than a month now!  The crown prince of The Netherlands, Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, wed Argentine investment banker Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti in 2002. 

The wedding was not without controversy; Máxima's father, Jorge Zorreguieta Stefanini, was a minister in the administration of Argentine dictator Jorge Videla.  Videla's government carried out what was called a "Dirty War," killing tens of thousands of Argentine citizens, and Zorreguieta's involvement was suspect.  However, the Dutch States-General granted permission for the couple to marry -- but neither of Máxima's parents attended the wedding.

Since their marriage, Máxima's relaxed and friendly personality has become quite popular with the Dutch people.  She and Willem-Alexander have three daughters: Catharina-Amalia, Hereditary Princess of Orange (who will likely one day be queen), Princess Alexia, and Princess Ariane.

Wedding Hatters

Kaaaaaaaaaaaaa-powwwwwwwwwww!

This is truly fireworks in hat form.  I pity the fool who had to sit behind Marie-Chantal!

Another day, another new tiara from Marie-Chantal: this one, again of unidentified provenance, is a a sort of art deco diamond floral tiara -- in fact, heck, let's call it the Art Deco Floral Tiara.  It's a really interesting tiara -- though you can't see it here, the diamond leaves are really stylized, giving it a really unconventional touch.  Thumbs up from me!

Question, though, hatters: how do you feel about diamond tiaras with pearl necklaces?