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Royal Wedding Gift from Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna in 1898
For the first time, Queen Mary of Denmark wore Queen Alexandrine’s historic Russian sapphire and diamond jewel as a tiara at the State Banquet held at Christiansborg Palace on 19 October 2026, in honour of the state visit from Vietnam.
The historic jewel, donated to the Danish Royal Collection in 2024, has been adapted for Queen Mary to wear as a tiara, with its central sapphire and diamond ornament also detachable for use as a brooch. The tiara is now worn without the prominent upper row of diamonds seen in its earlier configuration. For the banquet, Queen Mary also wore the matching brooch mounted on a bracelet.
Queen Alexandrine’s Imperial Russian Wedding Gift
The history of the Russian Sapphire Tiara begins in the spring of 1898, when Princess Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin married Prince Christian of Denmark in Cannes. The couple subsequently became King Christian X and Queen Alexandrine of Denmark in 1912.
Among Alexandrine’s wedding presents was an exceptional sapphire and diamond choker, designed as a versatile combination jewel that could also be worn as a bandeau or diadem. The gift came from Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia.
The original jewel could be arranged in several ways, with individual elements worn as a collar, choker, brooch or diadem.
In 1933, King Christian X and Queen Alexandrine presented the jewel to their daughter-in-law, Hereditary Princess Caroline-Mathilde, on the occasion of her marriage to Hereditary Prince Knud in the chapel of Fredensborg Palace.
Sources:@detdanskekongehus emquiesholstein
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