Happy Birthday to Princess Caroline of Monaco and Hanover, who turns 68 today! The elder sister of Prince Albert II and only beneficiary of her grandmother, Princess Charlotte, and mother, Princess Grace, who is also the estranged Consort of the Head of the illustrious House of Hanover, Princess Caroline has a magnificent jewellery collection, which includes these Diamond Earrings!

Cartier Pearl Drop Tiara | Brunswick Tiara | Hanoverian Floral Tiara | Diamond Tiara | Diamond Flowers | Sapphire Necklace Tiara | Diamond Fringe Necklace | Sapphire Parure | Diamond Earrings | Reed Stomacher | Other Jewels | Cartier Diamond Necklace | Bains de Mer Tiara | Gold Coffee Bean Suite 

Each composed of a large cushion-shaped Diamond suspended from a simple diamond knot, the exact origin of these Earrings is unknown but they reportedly originate from the collection of Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois, and were likely acquired from Cartier in the inter-war years.

Inherited by Prince Rainier after Princess Charlotte’s Death in 1977, the Earrings entered the ‘Palais Princier Collection’ and after Princess Grace’s death in 1982, the leading lady of the Princely Family was Princess Caroline, who began wearing the Diamonds Earrings with the Cartier Pearl Drop Tiara and her Diamond Fringe Necklace in the 1980s, with one of the earliest appearances in a series of portraits in the mid-1980s.

One of Princess Caroline’s most iconic appearances in the Diamond Earrings came in 1996, when she wore them with her Cartier Pearl Drop Tiara and Diamond Fringe Necklace for King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden’s 50th Birthday Banquet at the Royal Palace of Stockholm.

The Diamond Earrings were paired with the Diamond Fringe Necklace for the Gala held in Monte Carlo to celebrate the Enthronement of Prince Albert II of Monaco in 2005.

Princess Caroline also wore the Diamond Earrings with Princess Grace’s iconic Cartier Diamond Necklace for the National Day Gala at the Monte Carlo Opera in 2006.

The Diamond Earrings were again paired with the Cartier Pearl Drop Tiara and Diamond Fringe Necklace when Princess Caroline represented the Princely Family at the Wedding Gala of Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Countess Stephanie de Lannoy in 2012.

More recently, Princess Caroline wore the Diamond Earrings with her Diamond Fringe Necklace for the Monaco Rose Ball in Monte Carlo 2015. Let’s hope these magnificent heirlooms make another appearance soon.

Cartier Pearl Drop Tiara | Brunswick Tiara | Hanoverian Floral Tiara | Diamond Tiara | Diamond Flowers | Sapphire Necklace Tiara | Diamond Fringe Necklace | Sapphire Parure | Diamond Earrings | Reed Stomacher | Other Jewels | Cartier Diamond Necklace | Bains de Mer Tiara | Gold Coffee Bean Suite 

The Cartier Pearl Drop Tiara