Family group taken during the wedding celebrations in Windsor on June 15, 1905: Princess Louise; Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden; Queen Alexandra; Crown Prince Gustaf of Sweden; Princess Victoria; Prince Wilhelm of Sweden (Royal Collection Trust)
Today at Hidden Gems, I’ve got the final installment of my series on the courtship and wedding of Princess Margaret of Connaught. As a bonus here today, here’s a roundup of articles about some of the glittering jewels worn by the bride and her royal family members at the wedding in 1905.
Sydney Prior Hall’s painting of the wedding of Prince Gustaf and Princess Margaret at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle on June 15, 1905 (Royal Collection Trust)
Splendor at St. George’s Chapel: The Nuptials of Prince Gustaf and Princess Margaret (Part 2)
[Hidden Gems Exclusive]
Our deep dive into the history of the wedding of a British princess and a future Scandinavian king wraps up today with a peek inside their sparkling royal wedding ceremony.
Prince Gustaf and Princess Margaret on their wedding day in Windsor, June 15, 1905 (Royal Collection Trust)
A Royal Grandmother’s Bejeweled Legacy: The Connaught Wedding Pearls
Princess Margaret of Connaught wore very little jewelry to marry the future King of Sweden in June 1905. Her only major adornments were pearls that she had inherited from her grandmother, the late Queen Victoria. Today, the pearls are owned and treasured by Margaret’s granddaughter, Queen Margrethe of Denmark.
The Duchess of Connaught, photographed in 1902 (Chronicle/Alamy)
Queen Victoria’s Pearl and Diamond Tiara
For her elder daughter’s wedding, Princess Louise Margaret, Duchess of Connaught wore an elegant heliotrope-hued dress adorned with a piece of lace that had been part of her own bridal ensemble in 1879. She also a wore a classic diamond and pearl fringe tiara, believed to have been the one given to Queen Victoria by the Aga Khan III.
Queen Alexandra poses with Princess Louise and Princess Victoria during the wedding celebrations for Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden and Princess Margaret of Connaught in Windsor on June 15, 1905 (Wikimedia Commons)
Queen Alexandra saw the royal wedding of her niece in 1905 as an excellent opportunity to shine, wearing an electric blue dress with loads of diamonds and pearls. The spotlight piece of the ensemble was the Diamond Diadem, made for the coronation of King George IV in 1820 and worn by British royal ladies in the centuries since. (How many other jewelry pieces can you spot on Alexandra’s gown?)
The Fife Fringe Tiara on display at the Jewel Room inside Kensington Palace in London, April 2025 (Photo © Lauren Kiehna)
Princess Louise’s Fife Fringe Tiara
Two of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra’s daughters, Princess Louise and Princess Victoria, attended their cousin’s wedding in 1905. Both wore diamond floral tiaras, and Princess Louise added another convertible tiara to her ensemble, wearing her classic diamond fringe tiara as a necklace. The jewel had been her wedding present from her parents in 1889.
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden is photographed on the day of the wedding of her son, Prince Gustaf, to Princess Margaret of Connaught in Windsor on June 15, 1905 (Wikimedia Commons)
The Leuchtenberg Sapphire Parure
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, mother of the groom, wasn’t about to let Queen Alexandra do all of the sparkling at this wedding. The reclusive princess piled on family heirloom jewels, including the tiara and necklace from the magnificent Leuchtenberg Sapphire Parure. The set had come to Sweden with Queen Josefina almost a century earlier.
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden attends the Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm on December 10, 2024 (Jonas Ekströmer/TT News Agency/Alamy)
Sweden’s Sparkling Sunray: The Baden Fringe Tiara
On her bodice, Crown Princess Victoria packed on numerous additional jewels, including her diamond stars and the Baden Pearl and Diamond Sunburst Brooch. Stretched across her neckline was the dazzling Baden Fringe Tiara, a convertible diamond sunray that Victoria had received as a wedding present in 1881.