The King and Queen of Sweden, with Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, arrive for the King’s Dinner for the Nobel laureates at the Royal Palace in Stockholm on December 11, 2024 (Henrik Montgomery/TT News Agency/Alamy)
The tiaras were out in Stockholm for a second night running on Wednesday evening, as the ladies of the royal family wore gala jewels for the annual King’s Dinner—and a pair of princesses made their first appearances in two heirloom tiaras from the royal vaults!
The King and Queen of Sweden, with Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, arrive for the King’s Dinner for the Nobel laureates at the Royal Palace in Stockholm on December 11, 2024 (Henrik Montgomery/TT News Agency/Alamy)
King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden were joined by their children and their spouses, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia, and Princess Madeleine and Christopher O’Neill, for the annual King’s Dinner, which celebrates the achievements of this year’s Nobel laureates. The dinner, which is held at the Royal Palace each year on the day after the Nobel ceremony, was a little subdued this year following the recent death of the King’s sister, Princess Birgitta. You’ll note that each of the royal ladies in attendance opted for gowns in shades of dark blue or navy for this year’s dinner.
The King and Queen of Sweden arrive for the King’s Dinner for the Nobel laureates at the Royal Palace in Stockholm on December 11, 2024 (Henrik Montgomery/TT News Agency/Alamy)
Queen Silvia reached for another gown from her wardrobe archives for tonight’s dinner, wearing a midnight blue gown with a lace and sequin overlay. She’s worn the dress on previous occasions, including an appearance during a state dinner in Estonia in 2023.
Queen Silvia of Sweden arrives for the King’s Dinner for the Nobel laureates at the Royal Palace in Stockholm on December 11, 2024 (Henrik Montgomery/TT News Agency/Alamy)
Silvia accessorized with Queen Sofia’s Tiara, a magnificent diamond diadem that tells a fascinating visual story. As the name suggests, it originally belonged to a previous Queen of Sweden, Sofia of Nassau. With the tiara, Silvia wore antique diamond and pearl drop earrings, a diamond rivière necklace, and the Braganza Rose Brooch.
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden arrives for the King’s Dinner for the Nobel laureates at the Royal Palace in Stockholm on December 11, 2024 (Henrik Montgomery/TT News Agency/Alamy)
With the dress, Victoria wore the Boucheron Laurel Wreath Tiara, an heirloom royal tiara that is now one of her personally-owned jewels. The tiara was a wedding gift from Queen Sofia of Sweden to her new granddaughter-in-law, Princess Margaret of Connaught. The tiara was later a signature jewel of Princess Lilian of Sweden, who bequeathed it to Victoria in 2013.
With the tiara, Victoria added the glamorous diamond floral earrings from the family collection, plus a diamond necklace and the diamond and opal cluster brooch that was previously worn by her grandmother, Princess Sibylla.
Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia of Sweden arrive for the King’s Dinner for the Nobel laureates at the Royal Palace in Stockholm on December 11, 2024 (Henrik Montgomery/TT News Agency/Alamy)
The really exciting jewelry moments began, though, when Princess Sofia arrived on the arm of her husband, Prince Carl Philip. She also wore blue for the occasion: a sequin-covered maternity gown from Pär Engsheden, borrowed from her sister-in-law, Crown Princess Victoria. She memorably wore the same gown for the Nobels in 2011 when she was expecting Princess Estelle.
Princess Sofia of Sweden arrives for the King’s Dinner for the Nobel laureates at the Royal Palace in Stockholm on December 11, 2024 (Henrik Montgomery/TT News Agency/Alamy)
With the gown, Princess Sofia wore a special tiara from the royal vaults in public for the first time: the Swedish Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara, which has been placed on permanent loan to the family by the King’s eldest sister, Princess Margaretha. The stunning tiara was originally another of Princess Margaret of Connaught’s wedding presents, and it was later also worn by Princess Sibylla, who bequeathed them to Margaretha.
With the heirloom tiara, Sofia wore a pair of diamond and blue topaz earrings from LWL Jewelry, previously worn with the light blue topaz setting of her palmette tiara. She also added a diamond bar brooch and several diamond bracelets to the look.
Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Christopher O’Neill arrive for the King’s Dinner for the Nobel laureates at the Royal Palace in Stockholm on December 11, 2024 (Henrik Montgomery/TT News Agency/Alamy)
The tiara surprises weren’t done yet. Princess Madeleine arrived for her first King’s Dinner in many years wearing a gray evening gown with lace panels, paired with one of the oldest heirloom tiaras in the family’s jewelry collection.
Princess Madeleine of Sweden arrives for the King’s Dinner for the Nobel laureates at the Royal Palace in Stockholm on December 11, 2024 (Henrik Montgomery/TT News Agency/Alamy)
For the first time in public, Madeleine wore the Napoleonic Cut Steel Tiara, a rare royal tiara made of gold and steel without any diamonds. The tiara is thought to have been made for Hortense de Beauharnais, daughter of Empress Joséphine of France, in the early days of the nineteenth century. It came to Sweden later with Hortense’s niece, Queen Josefina, but it was accidentally stored in an area dedicated to silver and gold objects instead of with the rest of the royal jewelry and forgotten. It was rediscovered in 1976 and restored, and it’s been worn by numerous members of the Bernadotte family in the decades since.
Madeleine added even more sparkle by wearing the Vasa Earrings, the same spectacular eighteenth-century diamond earrings that she wore on her wedding day in 2013, and a diamond bow brooch from the family collection.
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