Queen Sofia Jewellery 1: Ending Jun 2023

[lula]

Here there is an article in Spanish:

http://www.el-mundo.es/magazine/2004/231/1077896913.html

 

[Lisele]

She loves her jewelry that's for certain Some pieces are not something I would pick to wear on official functions - the daywear ones but in gala and evening dress, she looks fabulous

I know Spaniards wear their engagement and wedding rings on the right hand but I haven't been able to determine what her engagement ring is. I see the gold wedding band but there are other 2 rings on that finger as well. Does she switch the rings to her left hand when she visits countries that traditionally wear their wedding rings on the left hand or does it always stay on her right hand. I noticed that Letizia sometimes switches her rings on the other hand specially in countries where this is the custom - or is it just a reverse picture?

 

[tiaraprin]

Translation of El Mundo Article on Spanish Royal Jewels

Here is a translation of the article posted below from El Mundo magazine. It was written before the wedding of Felipe and Letizia.


Jewelry of Queens and of Letizia

The Jewelry of Queen Sofia, a private collection as any other Spanish woman's is, has magnificent pieces of jewelry with incalculable monetary and historical value. Tiaras and necklaces have passed from generation to generation. This will continue with the arrival of Dona Letizia Ortiz. The book, Jewels of the Queens of Spain, offers surprising and unknown facts about these jewels; some of which could be given to Dona Letizia to wear on her wedding day of May 22nd. The authors of the book, Fernando Rayon, and Jose Luis Sampedro, write for this magazine a little about some of these valuable jewels:


Many talk about the Crown Jewels of Spain as if they belong to the Spanish State and are handed out to the Queen and the Infantas so that they can look wonderful at public events in Spain and around the world. The truth is, however, that these jewels are privately owned as any other Spanish citizen who could possess a jewelry collection.

The jewels that Queen Sofia wears when she receives foreign monarchs and representatives at the Palacio Real in Madrid are heirlooms from ancestors. It is not infrequent that the Queen and her daughters attend gatherings of European Royalty which resemble jewel competitions that celebrate quality, size, and the actual beauty of the jewels they all wear. The Royal Family of the Netherlands has a magnificent jewels collection with stones of all sizes and colors mounted is settings that are magnificent to behold. Without a doubt, the most famous jewels collection belongs to Queen Elizabeth II, among which you will find the Ruby Spinel of the Black Prince. It is a beautiful piece that was part of the treasure of the Kings of Granada which passed to Pedro I of Castile. (Translators note: the Black Prince's Ruby belongs to the Crown Jewels, not Queen Elizabeth II. The ruby is mounted in the Imperial Crown.)

Curiously, The topic of the Spanish Royal Jewels sparks great interest in the foreign press, an interest that has grown since the arrival of Letizia Ortiz and her engagement ring of white gold and diamonds. It is not the actual ring that provokes the interest, it is the potential historical value that the ring has. This ring will form a part of Dona Letizia's private jewelry collection. The jewels that Letizia wears will be her personal jewelry, even the jewels she receives as wedding gifts. Some of these jewels could be mentioned in this article.

Tiara of Victoria Louise of Prussia

From Germany to Madrid: It has passed from generation to generation. It has been worn by the Grandmother and Mother of Queen Sofia. It has also been worn by her daughters. It may be the one Dona Letizia wears at her wedding. (Translators note: IT WAS!!)

Queen Sofia wore it at her 1962 wedding. Will Letizia wear it to her May 22nd wedding? The tiara that Letizia could wear belonged to Victoria Louise of Prussia, only daughter of Kaiser Wihelm II, and grandmother to Queen Sofia. Kaiser Wilhelm II gave the tiara as wedding gift to his daughter upon her 1913 wedding to the Duke of Brunswick. It is an exquisite piece of jewelry by Berlin jewelry designer, Koch. It has a large, pear-shaped diamond pendant at its centre and set in platinum and diamond brilliants. Victoria Louise gave the tiara to her daughter, Fredericka of Greece who then gave it to her daughter Princess Sofia of Greece. Sofia wore it at her Athens wedding in 1962.

Letizia could choose to wear the pearls and diamonds of Queen Victoria Eugenie, gifts for her 1906 wedding to Alfonso XIII of Spain. Victoria Eugenie gave these jewels to her son, the Count of Barcelona, who was then head of the Spanish Royal House. The Count of Barcelona renounced his rights in 1977 in favor of his son. The jewels then passed to King Juan Carlos II.

The Elizabeth de Bourbon Tiara

With memories of the sea: This tiara was worn by a princess who never wore a crown: Princess Elizabeth de Bourbon, who was known as "La Chata". The tiara was given to then Princess Sofia of Greece by her father-in-law. It is another tiara that Dona Letizia could wear during the wedding festivities. It is made of platinum, pearls, and diamond brilliants and dates back to 1867 when Isabel II of Spain acquired the tiara and gave it later as a gift to her daughter Princess Elizabeth de Bourbon. Princess Elizabeth died in 1931 without issue, and the tiara was inherited by Alfonso XIII. The tiara passed to the Count of Barcelona who then gave it as a wedding gift to then Princess Sofia in 1962. The tiara resembles shells which have pear-shaped pearls and diamonds dangling from their centres.

Franco's Gifts

General Franco chose to give then Princess Sofia a magnificent piece of jewelry that could be converted to a tiara, necklace, and brooches when dismantled. Letizia could decide to wear the diamond floral motif tiara that was a gift from General Franco to Sofia in 1962. The piece was bought from Aldao de Madrid, and is convertible. It is the tiara that the Infanta Cristina wore to her wedding in 1997.

The Niarchos Rubies

The Greek millionaire Stavros Niarchos gave the then Princess Sofia of Greece a beautiful suite of tiara, necklace, and earrings made of rubies and gold as a wedding gift in 1962. It was made by Van Cleef and Arpels. The necklace is made of a chain of large rubies surrounded by diamond brilliants. This necklace can be worn as a choker, a double row necklace, or as a sautoir down to the waist.

Family Jewels

The first historic gift of jewels from Felipe to Dona Letizia was on November 6, 2003 during an engagement luncheon. Felipe said Letizia had seen the gift before the luncheon and was a necklace of pearls and sapphires. Queen Sofia does not have such a necklace. Queen Sofia does have a pearl necklace with a sapphire drop pendant that belonged to Queens Marie and Helen of Romania, and Queen Fredericka of Greece. The pearl necklace has 2 rows of pearls with a sapphire surrounded by diamond brilliants as a pendant. The pendant can be worn as a brooch also.

The Brazilian Aquamarines

Will they give them to Dona Letizia?? The Aquamarines?? It was one of the most favorite parures of Victoria Eugenie. Victoria Eugenie often said that this was her favorite parure because it went well with her blond hair and blue eyes.

The parure consists of a tiara, necklace, earrings, ring, and a bracelet. The parure belongs to the decendents of Princess Beatrice, daughter of Victoria Eugenie. It could be a great gift to give to Dona Letizia and bring it back to the Spanish Royal Family.

From Queen to Queen

Tiara of Diamonds and Fleur de Lys: It is the heraldic emblem of the Bourbons and passes from Queen to Queen.

The Diamond Collet Necklace: Formed by large Diamond Collets, it was the envy of all royal women in 1906.

La Peregrina: The original pear-shaped pendant, a gift from Philip II of Spain to Mary Tudor now belongs to Elizabeth Taylor. The Spanish Royals have a copy.

The Jewels that will definitely be inherited by Dona Letizia when she becomes Queen Consort, were designated by Maria, Countess of Barcelona (mother of Juan Carlos II) to be worn by future Queens. They are the jewels of her mother-in-law, Victoria Eugenie, who declared them to be so in a codicil of her Last Will and Testament. Although there are actually no official "Spanish Crown Jewels", this group of jewels will pass to Dona Letizia upon becoming Queen Consort. In this group of jewels is a tiara of three diamond fleur de lys, a great diamond collet necklace, La Peregrina, (all described above) and another necklace of 37 large pearls.

 

[zarzuela]

Is that a new necklace?

A close up of the "mysterious" necklace I was talking about (pictures from Newscom):

 

[zarzuela]

Some other pictures of the Queen's jewels (all from Newscom):

 

[zarzuela]

any good photos of the tiara he queen wore at the recent state visit

Hello Josefine, please check the following link. The picture at the top is of Queen Sofia wearing the tiara you are talking about. It has some other nices pictures as well.

http://www.etoile.co.uk/Columns/RoyalScribe/050502.html

 

[Saturn]

Does anyone have a picture of Sofia at this banquet?

She wore the fleur de lys tiara.

 

[Saturn]

On one hand Sophia didn't receive an engagement ring but a bracelet!!. It was and old spanish tradition to give a bracelet instead of a ring. Queen Sophia doesn't wear that bracelet very often.
On the other hand some spanish tend to wear their wedding ring on their right hand, specially in Castillia, but in Catalonia people always wear their wedding ring on the left hand, and sometimes when the royal family visit Catalonia switch their ring on the left hand.

 

[Mascha]

Is this the bracelet?
I guess it comes with a ring because they look similar..

 

[Juanita]

Here is one of the gala dinner of yesterday, i think that this photo is absolutelly beautiful!! The Queen has a beautiful eyes!
The neckale isn't complet but we can see it.
(originally posted by agm)

http://img151.imageshack.us/my.php?image=091554506ue.png

http://img151.imageshack.us/my.php?image=091554506ue.png

 

[zarzuela]

Pearl necklace and pearl and diamond brooch and earrings. It's the same brooch she wore at Leonor's baptism. Last pic: A close up view of the ruby and diamond necklace and matching earrings.

Pictures from Farabola Foto.

Uau, That tiara looks perfect on her

You are right Paula, this tiara is gorgeous, and the big diamond necklace and earrings aren't bad either. In this picture, at the Danish royal wedding in 2004.



Picture by Farabola Foto.

 

[Juanita]

Here's some of Queen Sofia in the gala dinner of the last night
(originally posted by lula; source: abacapress)

http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=234897&d=1143566032

http://img486.imageshack.us/my.php?image=4785128aj.jpg

 

[*SofiaM*]

Sofia cannot be wearing diamonds and emeralds every day everywhere, so she goes mostly for gifts (my guess evil-eye: given by her sister, who's so into eastern culture ) and simple gold jewelry: practical woman, practical jewels

I agree with you crisiñaki. And also yes, The Queen wears some rather interesting jewellery for private wear but she can certainly carry it off. On some people it would look too fussy.

 

[zarzuela]

Does anybody has any information about the necklace that the Queen wore in Thailand? I find it a very interesting piece of jewellery.http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/9985/13000152vv.jpg

 

[fraxales]

Does anybody has any information about the necklace that the Queen wore in Thailand? I find it a very interesting piece of jewellery..jpg

I may be wrong but it looks like the collar that goes with the Thai order she's wearing. I remember Queen Beatrix wearing something too similar for it to be a necklace(?).

 

[magnik]

Sorry for my question, but why Spanish Ladies wore only four tiaras? What has happened with tiaras which were wore by Queens Isabela or Ena?

 

[lula]

Sorry for my question, but why Spanish Ladies wore only four tiaras? What has happened with tiaras which were wore by Queens Isabela or Ena?

The Spanish Royal Family was in exile, some jewels lost itself, others insisted and others were distributed between the members of the family. The Queen only have five tiaras (Flower of Lys, Cartier, Melleiro, Flowers and the tiara of her weeding).

If you refer that use few some tiaras, possibly it is because that of Cartier and that of the Flower of Lys are big. And the Melleiro, it is simple and beautiful, probably have some problem and because of it they do not use it very much. Though the Queen has used them in some occasions.

 

[magnik]

Few pieces of Isabela II, Maria Christine and Victoria Eugenia:
http://www.royal-magazin.de/spain/patino-emeralds-cartier.htm
http://www.royal-magazin.de/spain/emeralds-queen-ena-spain.htm
http://www.royal-magazin.de/spain/maria-christina-stomacher.htm

 

[zarzuela]

These pearl earrings and necklace were very appropiate for the private dinner on the ocassion of the Swedish's king birthday.

 

[zarzuela]

A close up view of the diamond necklace the Queen wore in the gala dinner in Jordan. I always thought there was a bracelet attached to the necklace, but from the close up view you can see that it is not a bracelet but it is part of the necklace itself. Pictures from Hola.

 

[zarzuela]

Sorry for my question, but why Spanish Ladies wore only four tiaras? What has happened with tiaras which were wore by Queens Isabela or Ena?

Actually the Queen owns five tiaras, and you will see the Princess of Asturias and the Infantas wearing them. Let's not forget about the tiara that Infanta Elena got as a gift on her wedding with the Duke of Lugo from Jaime's family so in total there are six tiaras that the Spanish Royal Family owns.

 

[PreDoc]

It's quite amazing that Spain spent centuries plundering the treasures of the New World and there are only six tiaras in circulation among the Spanish royals! Why so few?

 

[zarzuela]

It's quite amazing that Spain spent centuries plundering the treasures of the New World and there are only six tiaras in circulation among the Spanish royals! Why so few?

The most simple answer would be that the other tiaras and jewels dissapeared in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War that sent the Royal Family into exile.

 

[zarzuela]

I wonder why the Queen almost never wears the Fleur de Lys tiara, because I really like it. She would look even more elegant wearing this tiara and the Russian diamond necklace that originally belonged to Queen Ena. So many nice diamonds! Photo from Corbis.

 

[zarzuela]

Picture from ANB.

I'm so happy that the Queen decided to wear this fabulous tiara for the Norwegian gala after so many years of being "hidden" in a jewellery box... it's just beautiful!

 

[Eliza]

I read in another site that the tiara QSofia used at the norwegian gala dinner actually belong to one Infanta Pila? Is that correct?

I don't recall QSofia using this tiara in the last few year and it's beautiful tiara - if it's her, she shld use it more often!

 

[crisiñaki]

I read in another site that the tiara QSofia used at the norwegian gala dinner actually belong to one Infanta Pila? Is that correct?

I don't recall QSofia using this tiara in the last few year and it's beautiful tiara - if it's her, she shld use it more often!

yes, that tiara belongs to Infanta Pilar, the King's eldest sister who inherited it from her late mother the Countess of Barcelona, it originally belonged to Queen Maria Cristina (mother and regent for Alfonso XIII, the King's Grandfather) and it's the same tiara Pilar and her daughter Simoneta wore on their wedding days:


Source: hola, originally posted by mtbcm

This is Simoneta on her wedding day in 1990

 

[HRHAmy]

I wonder why the Queen almost never wears the Fleur de Lys tiara, because I really like it. She would look even more elegant wearing this tiara and the Russian diamond necklace that originally belonged to Queen Ena. So many nice diamonds

She probably doesn't wear it much because it's probably very heavy, it looks heavy anyways. It's right up there with sone of the biggest tiaras I have ever seen.

 

[lula]

The Queen in Norway

From brunopress

 

[zarzuela]

Is this a larger version of the same pearl necklace?

First picture from http://www.side2.no/kjendis/article655592.ece?id=82261&slide=17#slide and second from Terra.