Today marks the 45th Anniversary of the Death of Princess Anne of Denmark, who passed away on this day in 1980! The niece of the Queen Mother who married and divorced Viscount Anson before marrying Prince George Valdemar of Denmark, being closely related to the Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Belgian, and Luxembourg Royal Families, Princess Anne often wore this magnificent Diamond Tiara!
Diamond Tiara | Turquoise Star Tiara | Floral Tiara | Garnet Kokoshnik Tiara | Lava Parure | Diamond Necklace | Diamond Tiara
Composed of a central diamond cluster within a design of seven pointed peaks, this Diamond Tiara has an unknown provenance and while the Diamond Necklace she often wore with the piece was a reported wedding gift from King George VI and Queen Elizabeth for her first wedding, the Tiara could possibly be a Danish or Swedish Royal Heirloom, maybe coming from Princess Ingeborg of Sweden, Prince George’s grandmother, who also gave a Tiara to Princess Anne’s sister-in-law, Countess Ruth of Rosenborg, for her wedding in 1949.
The Prince served as the Danish defence attaché to London and military, naval and air attaché at Paris, and the couple were quite active in British and Danish Society during the 1950s and 1960s. One of the earliest appearances of the Diamond Tiara was at the Anglo-Danish Society Dinner in London in 1955, and Princess Anne also wore the piece during the British State Visit to Paris in 1957.
Princess Anne wore her Diamond Tiara at the Wedding Ball of King Baudouin of Belgium, a first cousin of Prince George, and Doña Fabiola de Mora y Aragón in 1960, before it was worn the following moth for the Wedding of Princess Astrid of Norway, another first cousin of Prince George, in 1961.
Princess Anne often wore the Tiara when she attended the annual Anglo-Danish Dinner at the Dorchester Hotel, like she did with Princess Benedikte in 1962, and with her mother-in-law, Princess Margaretha of Sweden and Denmark and aunt-in-law, Princess Margaret of Denmark and Bourbon-Parma in 1966.
Princess Anne continued to wear her Diamond Tiara for Royal Events at home and abroad, like Crown Princess Margrethe’s Wedding Galas at Christiansborg Palace and Queen Margrethe’s Wedding in 1967.
The Tiara was also worn by Princess Anne for the Royal Danish Ballet Gala in London, 1968 and the Wedding of King Harald, yet another first cousin of Prince George, and Queen Sonja of Norway in 1968.
Princess Anne also wore the Diamond Tiara for King Frederik IX’s 70th Birthday in 1969 and the Danish State Visit to the Netherlands in 1975, though she wore a mystery Diamond Fringe Tiara for the Danish New Year’s Gala in 1974 and the Danish State Visit to Britain in 1974.
The whereabouts of the Diamond Tiara remained unknown after Princess Anne’s death, and while it was unlikely that it had been inherited by her children, the famous photographer Lord Lichfield and the Royal Party Planner Lady Elizabeth Anson, However, we can now reveal that the Tiara was worn by Princess Anne’s daughter-in-law, the Countess of Lichfield, at a a State Banquet for the President of Malawi at Windsor Castle in 1986, which she attended in her role as a lady-in-waiting to the Princess Royal.
The Countess of Lichfield also wore Princess Anne’s Diamond Tiara for a State Opening of Parliament as well as for a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace. The current location of the Tiara remains unknown but there is no reason to assume it isn’t still in the possession of the Countess.
Diamond Tiara | Turquoise Star Tiara | Floral Tiara | Garnet Kokoshnik Tiara | Lava Parure | Diamond Necklace | Diamond Tiara
