Tiara Thursday: Queen Maud’s Turquoise Tiara

Queen Maud's Turquoise Tiara

One of the largest turquoise tiaras still in use belongs to Princess Astrid of Norway, sister of King Harald V, with royal roots that go back even further. The tiara comes from Queen Maud, Astrid’s grandmother, and from Maud’s mother, Britain’s Queen Alexandra, before that. It’s a tall diadem with scrolling diamond elements of alternating heights accented by multiple turquoise stones. It’s also a circlet, meaning that it connects in the back to form a complete circle. Princess Astrid usually wears it with diamond and turquoise earrings, a necklace, and a bow brooch.

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Princess Astrid

There’s little photographic evidence of the tiara in use before it came into Princess Astrid’s possession (here’s a rare example of Queen Maud wearing it), but it is the largest tiara in Astrid’s collection and she has used it for some important occasions. She wore it for the 2001 wedding of Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit; she gave a nod to the tiara’s history and the genealogical ties that bind the Norwegian royal family and the British royal family by wearing the tiara during a 2005 visit to London to mark Norway’s 100th year of independence.

Princess Astrid wears the tiara in a portrait released for her 85th birthday, standing between portraits of her parents
Sven Gj. Gjeruldsen/The Royal Court, Norway

To me, this turquoise tiara has a sort of theatrically medieval flair to it - which I love - thanks to its height and circlet design. Given that Princess Astrid’s tiara collection includes the most unusual pieces the family has to offer, this one fits right in.

Does this have a spot on your list of favorite Norwegian tiaras?