All three of King Carl Gustaf’s children were in attendance. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden made her grand entrance with her husband Prince Daniel and their 14-year-old daughter Princess Estelle, who will one day inherit the throne from her mother. Princess Madeleine arrived with her American husband, Chris O’Neill, while Prince Carl Philip escorted his radiant wife Princess Sofia.
Unsurprisingly for such a high-profile occasion, there were more than a dozen tiaras on display, with Queen Mary choosing to debut a new design crafted from heirloom jewels that belonged to her ancestor, Queen Louise of Sweden.
Not to be outdone, Queen Sofia of Spain dazzled in a diamond and pearl creation from the Spanish royal collection: the Mellerio Shell Tiara, which is also a favourite of her daughter-in-law, Queen Letizia of Spain.
The pearl and diamond piece traces its history back to Queen Isabella II of Spain, the last Spanish queen to rule in her own right, who commissioned the piece in 1867 as a wedding present to her daughter, Infanta Isabella, who married Prince Gaetan, Count of Girgenti, the following year.
Queen Sofia of Spain has worn the tiara on a number of occasions during her reign, including at a reception at the Guildhall hosted by the Lord Mayor of London, April 1989
Gianni Ferrari/Getty Images
The tiara takes its name from the jeweller, Mellerio dits Meller, a French jewellery house founded in 1613. The Mellerios were responsible for a number of other pieces owned by Europe’s royal houses, including the Netherlands’ Mellerio Ruby Tiara. This particular design features a series of diamond fans, each set with an individual pearl, which are set alongside each other to create the shape of a shell. Others have compared the shape to a cresting wave (which was also the inspiration for Princess Charlene of Monaco’s wedding tiara).