The Danish royal family gathered for the wedding of King Frederik‘s godson, Count Gregers Carl Preben Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille, and his bride, Cecilie Juhl, on Saturday. The ceremony took place at Kværndrup Kirke, a historic church on the island of Funen, approximately 100 miles west of Copenhagen, with a reception afterward at Egeskov Castle, the Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille family seat, which the newlyweds are expected to one day inherit.
With what appeared to be a white-tie formal dress code, based on King Frederik’s attire, the Danish royals showed up in style. Dressed in a flowing pink floral gown by New York designer Mikael Aghal, Queen Mary wore one of the most special tiaras in her collection: the Diamond Necklace Tiara. As noted by The Royal Watcher, the sparkler dates back to roughly 1900, although Mary, then the Crown Princess of Denmark, purchased the headpiece herself at a Copenhagen auction house in 2012 for the equivalent of roughly $9,000. At the time of purchase, the piece was a necklace, and Mary had it converted and repaired before debuting it publicly (still as a necklace) at a concert marking Queen Margrethe’s 75th birthday in 2015.
Mary wearing the piece as a necklace in 2015.Julian Parker – Getty Images
The Diamond Necklace Tiara has since become one of her most-worn and most meaningful pieces. Mary wore it for a state visit from Mexico in 2016 and for a spread in Australian Vogue shot by Mario Testino that same year. Among the tiara’s most prominent sightings was the gala dinner for Frederik’s 50th birthday in 2018.
A closeup of Mary wearing the tiara to Frederik’s birthday gala in 2018.Patrick van Katwijk – Getty Images
The bride, Cecilie Juhl, also wore a family tiara with her floor-length wedding dress: the Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille Tiara, a diamond floral heirloom that has been in the family since the 19th century.
Per Tatler, the tiara had previously been worn by the groom’s stepmother, Princess Alexandra of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, for her own wedding to Count Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille in 2019.
Princess Benedikte of Denmark, King Frederik’s aunt and the sister of Queen Margarethe, also wore a tiara to the ceremony: the Diamond Floral Tiara given to her as an 18th birthday gift by her parents, King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid, in 1962.
Photo credit: Bettmann – Getty Images
Princess Benedikte in the Diamond Floral Tiara in 1965.
Photo credit: Tim Graham – Getty Images
Benedikte wearing the same tiara in 2004.
Count Gregers is the son of Count Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille and his first wife, Margrethe Kirketerp-Møller. Other notable guests included Princess Benedikte’s grandchildren, Count Richard and Countess Ingrid. In addition, Count Nikolai of Monpezat, the son of King Frederik’s brother Prince Joachim, was accompanied by his girlfriend of eight years, Benedikte Thoustrup.
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