As expected, Victoria López-Quesada y Borbón, daughter of Princess Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, wore the historic Bourbon-Two Sicilies Diamond Button Tiara to marry Enrique Moreno de la Cova Ybarra at the Soto Mozanaque Estate in Algete over the weekend.
Habsburg Diamond Button Tiara | Calabria Sapphire Tiara | Queen Marie Antoinette’s Pearl Necklace | Diamond Bracelets | Royal Jewels from the Bourbon Parma Family
King Felipe VI of Spain led Royal and Noble Guests at the Wedding of his goddaughter, Victoria López-Quesada, and Enrique Moreno de la Cova Ybarra at the Soto Mozanaque Estate in Algete near Madrid over the weekend.
Comprising five round diamond buttons with a foliage design set in a simple platinum structure, this Tiara was a family gift to Princess Alicia of Bourbon-Parma on the occasion of her Wedding to Infante Alfonso, Duke of Calabria, in 1936. The Infante was a first cousin of the Count of Barcelona and a half-brother of the Countess of Barcelona through their father, Prince Carlos of Borbon-Two Sicilies. The union of Don Alfonso and Doña Alicia united two branches of the Borbon family: the Borbons from Naples and the Borbons from Parma. Princess Alicia was also a Habsburg descendant through her mother, who was Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria-Teschen. The Habsburg Court is in fact the source of the five diamond buttons that today adorn the Calabria Tiara, like many of Infanta Alicia’s Jewels.
By family tradition, this set of XVIII century Diamond Buttons was passed through various generations of the Habsburg-Teschen branch. Archduchess Marie Christine (1742-1798) was portrayed by Martin van Meytens wearing them adorning her hair. The use of jewelled buttons in women’s fashion goes back centuries, during the XVIII and XIX centuries, buttons became fashionable accessories for women’s clothing. They were used to embellish various garments, including dresses, capes, hair, and even shoes. These buttons were typically crafted with precious stones, often diamonds, set in gold or silver. As fashion evolved over time and changes occurred, the prominence of jewelled buttons diminished. Thankfully, some examples have survived to this day although having been adapted to different uses, like the Swedish Four and Six Button Tiaras.
Unfortunately, there are no publicly known images of Infanta Alicia nor her daughter-in-law, Princess Anne of France, wearing the Calabria Button Tiara. The Orléans Princess chose a piece from her own family, a Diamond Comb, to adorn her hair when she wedded Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria, in 1965.
Nonetheless, Doña Ana wore the Five Diamond Buttons suspended from a pearl necklace on the occasion of the Wedding of Infanta Elena and Jaime de Marichalar in 1995. These versatile heirlooms are currently adapted to be worn as earrings, pendants, brooches and hairpins.
The Calabria Tiara become the bridal jewel par excellence for the offspring of Don Carlos and Doña, as all except one of their daughters and their only daughter-in-law choose to wear the Diamond Buttons on their respective wedding days. In July 1994, their eldest daughter, Princess Cristina, married Pedro López-Quesada in the Family’s estate, “La Toledana”. For that occasion, she borrowed her mother’s old lace veil and the Calabria Button Tiara.
Two years later, in July 1996, it was Princess Maria Paloma who borrowed the veil and the Family Tiara for her wedding to Archduke Simeon of Habsburg-Lothringen, a grandson of Emperor Karl and Empress Zita of Austria.
In March 2001, it was the turn of Doña Sofía Landaluce to borrow the Diamond Tiara and Princess Anne’s wedding veil for her wedding to Prince Pedro, the then Duke of Noto. This happened ten years after the start of their relationship and after having a son together in 1996, as the couple was not allowed to marry before, due to family tensions.
In September 2003, Don Carlos and Doña Ana’s youngest daughter, Princess Victoria, borrowed the old lace veil and the Family’s Diamond Buttons for her marriage to Markos Nomikos. However, the Princess chose to display them as hairpins, on the back of her hair, out of the platinum structure.
From time to time, the Calabria Diamond Buttons have been worn as brooches and earrings by the ladies of the family. Princess Cristina has worn them often. On some occasions, the Princess has worn three of them fixed on her seed pearl choker.
The Duchess of Calabria has also worn the Buttons as earrings and brooches, most notably for the Wedding of her eldest son, Prince Jaime, Duke of Noto, with Lady Charlotte Lindesay Bethune in 2021. While several family heirlooms, including Queen Marie Antoinette’s Pearl Necklace and Diamond Bracelets, have been recently auctioned, these remain the most important jewels with the House of the Bourbon-Two Sicilies.
In September 2024, Victoria López-Quesada, the eldest daughter of Princess Cristina and Pedro Lopéz-Quesada, wore the Diamond Button Tiara for her wedding to Enrique Moreno de la Cova. This time, four of the versatile diamond buttons were set into the base with a splendid diamond fleur-de-lys brooch as centerpiece. With Victoria, there is a new generation of Bourbon-Two Scillies brides keeping the tradition of wearing the family’s nuptial tiara.
This article was written by assistant editor, David Rato, who runs the Spanish Royal Jewels account on Instagram!
Habsburg Diamond Button Tiara | Calabria Sapphire Tiara | Queen Marie Antoinette’s Pearl Necklace | Diamond Bracelets | Royal Jewels from the Bourbon Parma Family
