Queen Emma’s Diamond Tiara | The Royal Watcher

Today marks the 165th Anniversary of the Birth of Queen Emma of the Netherlands, so to mark the day, we are featuring one of the most prominent heirlooms of the Dutch Royal Family that originates from the young second wife of the aged King, who became the popular Regent for her young daughter and later a symbol of the Dutch Resistance during WWII: Queen Emma’s Diamond Tiara!

In 1890, King William III of The Netherlands ordered this Diamond Tiara for his wife, Queen Emma, which was made by Koninklijke Begeer in Utrecht for 50.000 guilders with three detachable diamond rosettes which can be replaced with other stones, and the Tiara can be topped with five detachable Diamond Stars. Unfortunately, the Tiara was only completed after the King’s passing and delivered to Queen Emma just weeks after his death.

Queen Emma was first depicted in her Diamond Tiara shorty after the death of King William III, wearing it without the Diamond Stars in one of her first portraits as the Regent of The Netherlands for her daughter, Queen Wilhelmina.

Quite a few years later, Queen Emma wore the Diamond Tiara with the Diamond Stars for the Wedding of her only daughter, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, and Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

After Queen Emma’s Death in 1934, the Diamond Tiara was among the Jewels inherited by Queen Wilhelmina, who wore it, with the Diamond Stars, for a couple of occasions and events through the 1930s and 1940s, often with Queen Emma’s Diamond Stomacher and her Diamond Rivière. The Tiara was given to Queen Juliana in the 1950s, and while she never wore it, it was added into the Orange-Nassau Family Foundation, allowing the Tiara to be used by multiple family members.

Queen Emma’s Diamond Tiara became a favourite of the then Crown Princess Beatrix in the 1960s, which it remains to this day. The Tiara was worn for the Dutch State Visit to Belgium in 1960, King Paul’s 60th Birthday Banquet at the Royal Palace of Athens in 1961, Queen Juliana’s Silver Anniversary Gala in 1962, her Wedding Dinner in Delft in 1966, the Wedding Gala of Princess Margriet in 1967, Queen Juliana’s 30th Anniversary Gala in 1967, the Wedding of Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik of Denmark in 1967, and the Dutch State Visit to Ethiopia in 1969.

In 1962, Queen Emma’s Diamond Tiara was worn by Princess Irene for the Wedding Ball of Prince Juan Carlos of Spain and Princess Sophia of Greece in 1962, along with Queen Wilhelmina’s Diamond Festoon Necklace.

Queen Emma’s Diamond Tiara was worn a couple of times by Princess Margriet, from the 1960s through to the 1980s, most notably for a French State Visit in 1984. The Tiara was also worn by their aunt, Princess Simone of Lippe-Biesterfeld, for the Wedding Ball of Princess Beatrix of The Netherlands in 1966.

Crown Princess Beatrix continued to wear Queen Emma’s Diamond Tiara through the 1970s, for the Wedding of Princess Christina of Sweden in 1974, Swedish State Visit to The Netherlands in 1976 and the Spanish State Visit to the Netherlands in 1980, which came just months before her Accession to the Dutch Throne, with Official Portraits being widely distributed and the image also being by Andy Warhol for his Reigning Queens series in 1985.

Queen Emma’s Diamond Tiara continued to be frequently worn by Queen Beatrix through her reign, from the Dutch State Visit to Belgium in 1981, the State Visit to Britain in 1982, the Belgian State Visit to The Netherlands in 1993, King Carl XVI Gustaf’s Birthday Celebrations in 1996 and in 2006, the Italian State Visit to the Netherlands in 2003, the Swedish State Visit to The Netherlands in 2009, and the Dutch State Visit to Singapore in 2013.

Princess Laurentien has worn Queen Emma’s Diamond Tiara a couple of times over the years, adding a ruby to the central element for King Harald’s 70th Birthday Banquet in 2007 and the Wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden in 2010, while the all-diamond version was worn for the Belgian State Visit to the Netherlands in 2016.

Queen Máxima has only worn Queen Emma’s Diamond Tiara, first on a State Visit to Qatar in 2011, and more recently for the State Banquet at Government House in Wellington during the Dutch State Visit to New Zealand in 2016.

Even after her Abdication, Princess Beatrix has continued to wear Queen Emma’s Diamond Tiara, most notably for the Swedish Official Visit to The Netherlands in 2014, the Diplomatic Corps Gala Dinner at the Royal Palace Amsterdam in 2016, the Diplomatic Corps Gala Dinner at the Royal Palace of Amsterdam in 2018, the Singapore State Visit to The Netherlands in 2018 the Diplomatic Corps Gala Dinner at the Royal Palace of Amsterdam in 2019. There is no doubt this lovely heirloom will be worn for many years to come!