The Floral Tiara

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Infanta Cristina, Infanta Elena, Princess Letizia, Queen Sofía

This tiara is made of diamonds set in gold and silver in floral and vegetable motifs, and is the personal propriety of Her Majesty. It was a wedding gift from the Spanish people to Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark on the occasion of her wedding to Prince Juan Carlos of Spain. Despite being one of their favorite diadems not much was known of its origins besides the fact that it was acquired in Madrid’s Aldao Jewellery Firm in 1962.

After the Princess of Asturias wore it to Queen Beatrix’s dinner on April 29, 2013 the Royal Household explained that this tiara had already belonged to the Royal Family long before 1962. King Alfonso XII commissioned this tiara to the British jewellers J.P. Collins in 1879 as a gift for his betrothed Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria-Teschen. Since then the piece left the family and in the 20th century ended in Aldao, where Franco would buy it as a wedding gift. The central flower is adapted to be used as a brooch.

It is believed that Princess Sophia used this gift for the first time at her pre-wedding ball as a necklace although the quality of the pictures is not good:

Princess Sophia. May 1962, Athens.

Doña Sofía would not wear the gift in a tiara frame until 1979 during a Sate Visit to Sweden. It has become one of her favorite diadems since then.

HM the Queen

Doña Sofía wearing the tiara

The Queen at the Royal Palace

The Queen has frequently shared the tiara with her daughters and daughter-in-law, the Infanta Cristina even chose it for her wedding. Her sister Doña Elena, however, only used it before 1995, when she received a tiara from her fiance’s family: