King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway hosted the annual gala dinner, with Crown Prince Haakon and Princess Astrid, for members of parliament. Queen Sonja chose to wear a copy ofa favourite tiara of another queen for the evening. 

She wore a somewhat historic tiara for the evening, Queen Maud’s Pearl Tiara. 

Princess Maud of Wales received this tiara as a wedding gift from her parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales, in 1896 when she married Prince Carl of Denmark. Historians believe that it may have been created by royal favourite Garrard or Carrington and Co. 

This pearl and diamond scroll-designed tiara featured a central element that could be detached; Maud frequently wore it as Queen of Norway. 

Queen Maud’s jewellery had been in Britain with her where she died on a visit in 1938. King Olav was unable to collect his mother’s jewels until Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953. 

King Harald inherited the tiara in 1968, and his wife, Queen Sonja, wore the tiara for a state visit. 

However, in 1995, the tiara was stolen from Garrard where it had been sent for cleaning. The tiara was sadly never recovered. 

Garrard created a new replica of the tiara for Queen Sonja and she has worn it several times since.