Happy Birthday to Queen Mary of Denmark, who is celebrating her 53rd Birthday today! The Australian Real Estate Agent who met her dashing Prince at a bar during the Sydney Olympics and has now become the popular Danish Queen, Queen Mary has a variety of heirloom jewels at her disposal, which includes the 300-year old Danish Diamond Rivière!
Danish Emerald Parure | Pearl Poiré Tiara | Danish Ruby Parure | Danish Diamond Bandeau | Wedding Tiara | Diamond Necklace Tiara | Midnight Tiara | Danish Diamond Rivière | The Jewels of Queen Mary of Denmark
The simple necklace dates from the 18th century and is referred to as the ‘Rivière’ because of its ‘river’ of 31 large diamond solitaires, which – quite unusually – are still in their original silver settings.
Originating from Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange, the Diamond Rivière passed through the House of Orange to the Dutch-born Queen Louise of Sweden and Norway, who left the Rivière to her daughter, Queen Lovisa of Denmark, in 1870.
The necklace, which Queen Lovisa brought to the Danish royal family through her marriage to Frederik VIII, belonged to Anne of Orange, born in 1709. Queen Lovisa inherited the necklace from her Dutch-Prussian mother as part of the ‘Dutch Collection’.
Queen Lovisa wore the Diamond Rivière with the Pearl Poiré Tiara and Parure, most notably for the Wedding of her son, Prince Carl of Denmark later King of Norway, to his cousin, Princess Maud of Wales, in 1896, and also with Queen Josefina’s Diamond Tiara and the Crown Diamond Necklace. Upon her death in 1926, Queen Lovisa left the Diamond Rivière to the Danish Royal Property Trust, reserving it for the exclusive use of Danish Queens.
Queen Alexandrine notably wore the Diamond Rivière with her Diamond Fringe Tiara during King Christian X’s Silver Jubilee Celebrations in 1937.
In the 1940s, the Diamond Rivière passed to Queen Ingrid who often paired the Rivière with the Khedive of Egypt Tiara and also with the Pearl Poiré Tiara and the Floral Aigrette Tiara, sometimes suspending an Ivy Stomacher from Hereditary Princess Caroline as a pendant, and almost always wearing the Antique Diamond Earrings.
Despite being at the exclusive disposal of the Queen, the Diamond Rivière was among the rare jewels loaned to Hereditary Princess Margrethe in the 1960s, who paired it with Queen Alexandrine’s Diamond Drop Tiara on a handful of occasions.
In 1968, Queen Ingrid loaned the Diamond Rivière to her daughter, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, who wore it with the Greek Emerald Parure for the Wedding Gala of Princess Benedikte of Denmark and Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg in 1968.
Similarly, Queen Ingrid continued to wear the Diamond Rivière during her widowhood, when it was usually worn with Queen Alexandrine’s Sapphire Brooch as a pendant and often paired with the Khedive of Egypt Tiara.
Queen Margrethe wore the historic Diamond Rivière on countless throughout her 50-year reign, usually with the the Floral Aigrette Tiara, Baden Palmette Tiara, or Dagmar Floral Tiara and pieces from the Antique Diamond Parure.
In recent years, Queen Margrethe wore the Diamond Rivière with the Floral Aigrette Tiara or Baden Palmette Tiara, almost always with the Earrings and Brooches of the Antique Diamond Parure.
Queen Mary of Denmark wore the Earrings from Anne of Orange and the Diamond Rivière with the Pearl Poiré Tiara for the Icelandic State Banquet at Christiansborg Palace in 2024, and there is no doubt it will be worn for years to come!
Danish Emerald Parure | Pearl Poiré Tiara | Danish Ruby Parure | Danish Diamond Bandeau | Wedding Tiara | Diamond Necklace Tiara | Midnight Tiara | Danish Diamond Rivière | The Jewels of Queen Mary of Denmark
The Jewels of the Queens of Denmark
The Danish Emerald Parure
The Danish Pearl Poiré Tiara
The Danish Ruby Parure
Danish Diamond Bandeau
Wedding Tiara
Diamond Necklace Tiara
Midnight Tiara
Danish Diamond Rivière
‘Belle Epoque’ Diamond Earrings
Duchess of Leuchtenberg’s Pearl Bracelet
Wedding Earrings
Diamond Fringe Earrings
Aquamarine Jewels