Parliament jewelry season is wrapping up, but the royals in Norway brought us a trio of glamorous tiaras last week for a gala dinner given to honor the representatives of the Storting.
On October 11, King Harald V of Norway opened the new session of the Storting, Norway’s parliament. He was accompanied at the ceremony by Queen Sonja, who wore one of her modern suites of metallic jewels, and Crown Prince Haakon. Both the King and the Crown Prince were in uniform with decorations, including the collar and star of the Order of St. Olav and the sash and star of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit.
On Thursday, the King and Queen welcomed representatives from the Storting, including its president, Masud Gharahkhani, to the Royal Palace in Oslo for a gala dinner. The King delivered a speech during the dinner, adding in some of his usual humorous remarks. He began with a reference to the recent Netflix documentary, Royal Rebels, about his daughter and son-in-law. He joked that the palace was considering producing their own film, The King: Minute by Minute. “I can’t promise that it will be rebellious,” he quipped, “but I still think it could be popular, because it could be used as a mild sedative.”
The King and Queen led the royal family into the white-tie gala. Harald wore the sash and star of the Order of St. Olav, plus the neck badge and star of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit. Beside him, Queen Sonja wore a gown with a dark purple velvet bodice and a bright pink skirt, with the sash and star of the Order of St. Olav and the King’s Royal Family Order. Her jewels included the replica of Queen Maud’s Pearl Tiara, as well as the Drapers’ Company Brooch, pearl drop earrings, and a pearl necklace, bracelet, and ring.
Crown Princess Mette-Marit wore a fire-engine red ballgown for the Storting dinner, the color of which almost perfectly matched her St. Olav sash and her father-in-law’s Royal Family Order ribbon. UFO No More reminds us that we’ve seen the Caroline Herrera gown before, when Queen Mary of Denmark wore it in Berlin last year.
Mette-Marit accessorized with diamonds and pearls. She wore her wedding tiara, the Diamond Daisy Bandeau, an antique jewel given to her by King Harald and Queen Sonja to mark the occasion in 2001. She added diamond and pearl drop earrings and a diamond rivière to the look as well. Trond Noren Isaksen, the Norwegian royal jewelry historian, posits that the diamond necklace is “likely the one from Queen Maud that the King and Queen gave Princess Ingrid Alexandra on her 18th birthday.”
There were more jewels associated with Queen Maud incorporated into Mette-Marit’s ensemble, too. The diamond and pearl drop brooch that she wore at her waist is the same one we saw her wear earlier this year on Constitution Day and during the French state visit. Princess Ragnhild, the King’s late sister, wore it for many years before returning it to the royal vaults.
Mette-Marit also wore a diamond bracelet and ring, plus the Order of Victoria & Albert Bracelet, which she borrowed from Princess Ingrid Alexandra’s jewelry box for the occasion. The bracelet is set with Queen Maud’s badge of the Order of Victoria & Albert. It was given to Ingrid Alexandra by Princess Astrid as a confirmation present in 2019.
Speaking of Astrid—she was at the Storting dinner, too! With a starry evening gown, she wore one of her most playful royal jewels, the diamond and ruby floral aigrette that belonged to Queen Maud. The aigrette was given to Maud as a wedding present by a group of her aristocratic friends in 1896. Astrid also wore diamond floral earrings, a diamond necklace and bracelet, and a diamond and pearl bow brooch, which also comes from Queen Maud’s collection.
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