Queen Mary of Denmark Debuts Queen Alexandrine's Sapphire Tiara, Redesigned
Sold by the family in 2018 and bought back for the Danish Royal Collection in 2024, an 1898 wedding jewel has a new form.
At the state banquet for Vietnam's President To Lam at Christiansborg Palace on 19 October 2026, Queen Mary of Denmark wore Queen Alexandrine's sapphire and diamond tiara in a new design. The 1898 wedding jewel was acquired by the Danish Royal Collection in 2024 and has been reworked so it can be worn as a tiara, necklace or brooch.
The debut
On Monday 19 October 2026 King Frederik X and Queen Mary hosted a state banquet at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen for Vietnam's President To Lam and his wife. Queen Mary wore the sapphire and diamond jewel known as Queen Alexandrine's tiara, in its newly redesigned form, The Court Jeweller reported. On the night, part of it was worn on a blue velvet band matching her gown.
A jewel that left the family and came back
The bandeau was a wedding gift to Princess Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin when she married the future King Christian X in 1898. It is generally said to have come from her Russian imperial cousins, Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Alexandrine passed it to her daughter-in-law, Princess Caroline-Mathilde, in 1933, and in the 1960s the centre was moved on top of the band to give a taller tiara shape.
In 2018 three of Caroline-Mathilde's granddaughters sold it at Bruun Rasmussen in Copenhagen, where The Court Jeweller reports it made two million Danish kroner. The Danish royal house says the Royal Collection acquired the piece from a private owner in 2024.
The redesign
The new version was made with jewellery designers Diana Holstein and Hanan Emquies, working with the Queen and the Royal Collection. The top section was removed and the diamond cluster and scroll elements were turned to sit more horizontally, closer to the original bandeau. The court describes the work as fully reversible, and the piece can now be worn as a tiara, a necklace or a brooch.
Why so many antique tiaras convert
Nineteenth and early twentieth century tiaras were expensive, and owners wanted to wear them more than a few times a year. Jewellers built them on frames that unscrewed, so the elements could become brooches, a necklace or hair ornaments. Signs of a converted or convertible piece include small screw threads and nuts on the back, removable frames, brooch fittings on individual sections, and a fitted case with spaces for each part. Original fittings and the case add to a piece's completeness and interest, alongside its maker, period, stones and condition.
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- The Court Jeweller, "The Queen of Denmark debuts an antique sapphire tiara in Copenhagen", 19 Oct 2026
- Kongehuset, the Danish royal house
The 2018 sale figure is as reported by The Court Jeweller. Mozeris Fine Antiques is not connected with the Danish royal house, the Royal Collection or Bruun Rasmussen. No press, agency or AI images are used; the photograph shows a piece from our own stock.
