Today marks the 160th anniversary of the birth of Princess Marie of Denmark, née Orléans, born on this day in 1865! Known for her vibrant personality, intellectual curiosity, and love of the arts, Princess Marie also possessed a considerable collection of jewels, including the unusual Opal Tiara, which we are featuring today!
Diamond Floral Tiara | Orléans Opal Tiara
The only daughter of Prince Robert, Duke of Chartres, and Princess Françoise of Brazil, Marie was an accomplished artist, renowned for her creativity, eccentricity, and lively spirit. Upon her marriage to Prince Valdemar, the youngest son of King Christian IX of Denmark, she brought her artistic passion and energy to her new home in Denmark, quickly becoming a beloved figure in Danish society, as well as within the Royal Family, with her husband’s siblings including King Frederik VIII of Denmark, King George I of Greece, Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom, and Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia. Despite his lifelong relationship with his nephew, Prince George of Greece, the Prince and Princess had four sons and a daughter, Princess Margaret, residing at Bernstorff Palace outside Copenhagen, where she passed away in 1909.
Set in diamonds, rubies, sapphires and massive Brazilian cabochon opals, this peculiar suite comprises no less than an imposing Tiara and a large Choker necklace. While the tiara has a naturalistic inspiration, featuring two large juxtaposed sprays, the choker is more geometric, representing a delicate trellis with a large pendant. Both pieces exemplify the artistic style and design movements highly favoured during the early Art Nouveau period.
Princess Marie was the first known royal to posses this pair of jewels. The suite was given to her by her parents, the Duke and Duchess of Chartres, as a wedding gift in 1885. However, both jewels were assembled using stones which were removed from older pieces already part of Princess Françoise’s own collection. Besides, the Duchess of Chartres is reported to have received those prized stones as a heritage from her own mother, Princess Françoise of Brazil, who brought them from her exotic motherland.
The Princess was regularly photographed wearing both the Tiara and Choker, as an alternative to her Diamond Loop Tiara.
The Opal Choker was also featured in a series of lovely studio portraits, where Princess Marie is pictured alongside her cousin and sister-in-law, Princess Isabelle of Orléans, the Duchess of Guise.
After Princess Marie’s passing, in 1909, the Opal Suite was inherited by her eldest son, Prince Aeege, and not by the youngest, Prince Viggo, as it has often been claimed. Prince Viggo’s wife, Eleanor Margaret Green, was photographed wearing a tiara adorned with five large pear-shaped stones with a matching necklace and bracelets. These were widely believed to have been sourced from the late Princess Marie’s Opal Tiara, but this is not correct.
Prince Aeege’s wife, the Italian Mathilde Calvi dei Conti di Bergolo, inventively wore one of the spays from Princess Marie’s Opal Tiara pinned on her dress as a waist ornament for the Wedding of her sister-in-law, Princess Margaret of Denmark, to Prince René of Bourbon Parma in 1921.
For the Wedding Ball that took place later that day, the Countess of Rosenborg, as the couple would be styled after contracting a marriage considered to be morganatic, wore the Opal Choker as a bodice ornament. The piece was paired with a delicate Opal and Diamond Bandeau thought to be part of the Opal Suite, most likely the base of the original Tiara which remained hidden by the late Princess Marie’s elaborate bouffant on the known photographs.
Later on, Countess Mathilde wore the Opal Spray Tiara during King Christian X’s Silver Jubilee Gala Performance and Banquet in 1937.
After the passing of the Count and Countess of Rosenborg, their only son, Count Valdemar of Rosenborg, inherited the Opal Suite. Unfortunately, there are no known public photographs of his wife, Baroness Floria d’Huart Saint-Mauris, wearing the Tiara or Choker. Valdemar and Floria, who had no children, lived in Paris and maintained close ties with their Orléans cousins, including the Count and Countess of Paris and their children. As a gesture of affection within the French Royal Family, Count Valdemar became the godfather of Kildine de Sambucy de Sorgue, the younger daughter of Princess Chantal. During Kildine’s christening, Princess Chantal was photographed wearing the Opal Choker for the first time, suggesting that Count Valdemar may have gifted both the Tiara and Choker to his “niece” to mark this occasion.
Since then, Princess Chantal has worn the Opal Choker on countless occasions, notably for the Golden Wedding Anniversary of the Count and Countess of Barcelona in 1985.
The Princess has also been spotted wearing the Opal Tiara during the Wedding Gala of Duchess Mathilde of Wurttemberg and Count Erich von Waldburg zu Zeil und Trauchburg in 1988, as well as for the Wedding Ball of Duke Friedrich of Wurttemberg and Princess Marie zu Wied in 1993.
The Diamond and Opal Bandeau worn by Mathilde Calvi di Bergolo in the early 1920s has also been worn by Princess Chantal converted into a Necklace.
In 2009, Kildine de Sambucy de Sorgue wore the Opal Choker during the Wedding of her cousin, Prince Jean of Orleáns, then Duke of Vendôme to Philomena de Tornos y Steinhart. Lets hope this well-travelled family heirloom makes a reappearance soon!
Diamond Floral Tiara | Orléans Opal Tiara
This article was written by assistant editor, David Rato, who runs the Spanish Royal Jewels account on Instagram!
