Queen Margrethe II of Denmark celebrates her 85th Birthday this week! The exuberant Danish Sovereign for 52 years until her Abdication last year, Queen Margrethe has worn many splendid Heirlooms from the Swedish, British and German Royal Families, the most iconic of which is her Danish Diamond Daisy Brooch!
In 1935, Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden commissioned a Brooch in the shape of a Daisy as a wedding gift for his only daughter, Princess Ingrid, when she married the future King Frederik IX of Denmark. The diamonds in the Brooch came from his late wife, Crown Princess Margareta, and the design echoed her nickname ‘Daisy’, which is also the national flower of Denmark.
Princess Ingrid wore her new Diamond Daisy Brooch for the first time on her Wedding Day in Stockholm and a few days later on her entry to Copenhagen.
The Diamond Daisy Brooch was one of the jewels Queen Ingrid wore for the most important occasions, among them the Christening of her eldest daughter, Queen Margrethe, in 1940 and also for the Christening of Crown Prince Frederik in 1968.
In 1967, Queen Ingrid loaned the Diamond Daisy Brooch and Khedive of Egypt Tiara to her eldest daughter, Princess Margrethe ‘Daisy’, the namesake of her late grandmother, on her weddind day.
The Diamond Daisy Brooch remained a significant jewel in Queen Ingrid’s jewellery box over the next few decades, making a sentimental appearance on significant occasions well into her old age.
In 2000, Queen Ingrid gave her Diamond Daisy Brooch to her eldest daughter, Queen Margrethe II, as a gift on her 60th Birthday in 2000. Queen Margrethe described receiving the Brooch in the ‘De Kongelige Juveler’ Documentary:
When I was sixty, on my birthday, my mother had just turned ninety. She gave me the daisy brooch, which I must say, I was extremely touched, to be given it like that.
Well, it’s a brooch which means a great lot to me, first because it was my mother’s, and then again because I wore it for my wedding, and then I was given it the way I was given it like that, when I was sixty. That was very special.”
Queen Margrethe has worn the Diamond Daisy Brooch for important occasions, like her big birthday celebrations, the Christening of her grandson, Prince Christian, in 2006, Crown Prince Frederik’s 50th Birthday in 2018, her 80th Birthday in 2020, and the Confirmation of Prince Christian of Denmark.
For her Golden Jubilee in 2022, Queen Margrethe received a pair of Diamond Daisy Earrings and wore them with the Brooch for her Golden Jubilee Service, a Norwegian Official Visit, King Carl XVI Gustaf’s Golden Jubilee, and as she announced her Abdication on 2023. Since then, Queen Margrethe has worn the Diamond Daisy Brooch for King Frederik X’s 56th Birthday and will no doubt continue to wear it for years to come!
