Danish Crown Jewels

[lookupdown]

I think that was when Queen Ingrid was still alive and the Baden tiara still belonged to her.

You might be right. I keep forgetting which tiaras they inherited from Queen Ingrid.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Eleven hearts of Silver with Rubies. From the 17th century.

Who was the jeweller who made the Eleven hearts of Silver with Rubies?

 

[An Ard Ri]

Who was the jeweller who made the Eleven hearts of Silver with Rubies?

There's no designer listed,just that they date from the 17th Century.
https://www.kongernessamling.dk/en/rosenborg/object/costume-jewellery/

 

[Tatiana Maria]

The court has translated its interesting press release about the royal jewels, which offers some insight into the royal house's property arrangements, into English.

https://www.kongehuset.dk/en/news/crown-jewels-and-danish-royal-property-trust-jewellery

The Crown Jewels

[...]

By custom, the crown jewels remain in Denmark, which means that they are not carried along during visits abroad. The Danish crown jewels are the only ones in the world that are both exhibited as museum objects and, at the same time worn, by the country’s queen.

The history of the crown jewels goes back to Christian VI’s queen, Queen Sophie Magdalene, who, in her will from 1746, stipulated that her jewellery should not be passed to one specific person but should always be at the disposal of the country’s sitting queen, with the justification that “in this Royal House, there are so few jewels and no crown jewels at all".

[...]


The Jewellery in The Danish Royal Property Trust

[...]

The Danish Royal Property Trust was established by Frederik VIII and Queen Lovisa in 1910. The purpose was to collect and secure gold, silver and other valuable objects “which are desired to be kept in Our Family and therefore shall pass undivided from King to King of our House”.

The objects in a type of trust called a fideicommissum are passed down from generation to generation. They are not owned by the individual person, and a sale or pledging of the inheritance is therefore not possible.

[...]

Jewellery from The Danish Royal Property Trust is used by the sitting queen and can be taken abroad to be used at gala events.

[...]

The Royal House of Denmark’s private jewellery

The Queen and the other women in The Royal Family also have a collection of privately-owned jewellery that they have at their own disposal.

[...]​

The original press release in Danish:

https://www.kongehuset.dk/nyheder/kronjuveler-og-fideikommissmykker



What would happen to the Crown Jewels according to Queen Sophie Magdalene's will of 1746 if there were no "sitting queen"? Does a female monarch (a legal though unlikely possibility as of 1746) qualify as a "sitting queen"?

It is interesting that the royal house still holds property constituted as an entail (fideicommissum), as some countries have abolished or restricted the use of entails. Is this arrangement allowable for private families?

 

[Susan D]

I think the Danish royal jewellery collecton needs to be bigger with how busy things are nowadays. They've lost items to junior lines in the past and, AFAIK, Princess Marie's tiara is a loan for her lifetime.

 

[tommy100]

I'm sure it was noted that when Marie's tiara was presented in an exhibition the ownership was attributed to Marie (where other items were attributed to the foundation, the Queen etc) suggesting it is owned personally by Marie.

I think the DRF should put all the jewels they have now into the Trust so they stay together. The King / sovereign can then allow loans out to those who need to use them but the collection stays together.

 

[muriel]

I think the DRF should put all the jewels they have now into the Trust so they stay together. The King / sovereign can then allow loans out to those who need to use them but the collection stays together.

You don't need a Trust to keep jewellery collections together. YOu just need a judicious lending / gifting policy by the monarch.

 

[Marengo]

Does anybody know what is the background of the crown jewels not being allowed to be taken abroad? Fear that they may never return/ be sold? It may have made sense at the time. But in this day and age - with means of transport that are much quicker - it does not. Can this rule be changed and if so, by whom?Not that I expect the Danish RF to have plans in that direction btw.

 

[Blog Real]

I think the Danish royal jewellery collecton needs to be bigger with how busy things are nowadays. They've lost items to junior lines in the past and, AFAIK, Princess Marie's tiara is a loan for her lifetime.

It's a shame that some very valuable tiaras were left to the queen's cousins, and may be sold in the future, which is a shame.
I also think that a foundation or agreement should be created so that tiaras and other historical jewelry always remain in the main family line.

 

[JR76]

I also think that a foundation or agreement should be created so that tiaras and other historical jewelry always remain in the main family line.

They already have a foundation.

 

[Blog Real]

They already have a foundation.

They should include more tiaras and important jewelry in this foundation.

 

[tommy100]

I agree. They have lost an awful lot of jewellery in the past few generations. Queen Alexandrine gave many away, Ingrid gave a lot of each of her three daughters, Margrethe seems to have gifted tiaras at the very least to Alexandra and Marie.

 

[JR76]

They should include more tiaras and important jewelry in this foundation.

They could if they wanted to. King Frederik and Queen Ingrid put the diamond floral aigrette into the foundation and maybe their daughter will do the same.

 

[Stefan]

They could if they wanted to. King Frederik and Queen Ingrid put the diamond floral aigrette into the foundation and maybe their daughter will do the same.

I think they should put all historic Jewels in the foundation and then loan it out for the occasions when needed. Or is their anythink in the statutes of the foundation that the Jewels can only be worn by the Queen of the day.

Wold be much better then give out tiaras as Wedding gifts or brooches as gifts etc.

 

[Stefan]

Does anybody know what is the background of the crown jewels not being allowed to be taken abroad? Fear that they may never return/ be sold? It may have made sense at the time. But in this day and age - with means of transport that are much quicker - it does not. Can this rule be changed and if so, by whom?Not that I expect the Danish RF to have plans in that direction btw.

Wonder since when the rule is in force because Queen Louise wore the big diamond necklace with the 7 drops in the UK for the weddings of one of her briths grandchildren.

I think some of the rule could also be that the don't wan't to have the display at Rosenborg empty for several days if for example the emeralds would be taken abroad.

 

[Stefan]

I agree. They have lost an awful lot of jewellery in the past few generations. Queen Alexandrine gave many away, Ingrid gave a lot of each of her three daughters, Margrethe seems to have gifted tiaras at the very least to Alexandra and Marie.

But then Ingrid gave away the tiaras she herself brought with her as Wedding gifts or inheritance.

 

[tihkon2]

But then Ingrid gave away the tiaras she herself brought with her as Wedding gifts or inheritance.

Exactly Stefan. I also suspect that Mary will leave her wedding tiara, the spinel one she bought at auction, and if possible, the use of the midnight tiara to her 3 younger children.

 

[Stefan]

Exactly Stefan. I also suspect that Mary will leave her wedding tiara, the spinel one she bought at auction, and if possible, the use of the midnight tiara to her 3 younger children.

don't care much about these 2 tiaras my concern is more about all the historic Jewels that are with Queen Margrethe like the baden palmette tiara, the sapphire demi parure and many other historic jewels she own privately.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

It's a shame that some very valuable tiaras were left to the queen's cousins, and may be sold in the future, which is a shame.
I also think that a foundation or agreement should be created so that tiaras and other historical jewelry always remain in the main family line.

They already have a foundation.

Doesn't the Property Trust (fideicommissum) described in the press release serve the same purpose as a foundation?

 

[Hans-Rickard]

Doesn't the Property Trust (fideicommissum) described in the press release serve the same purpose as a foundation?

It is the same thing. People have just used different names for it.

And yes, it has the same purpose of preserving historical jewels for new Queen Regnants and Queen Consorts to use

 

[tommy100]

I think we all agree on that, some of us just want them to add more to it to stop pieces leaving the main line

 

[Curryong]

I don’t think any important pieces will be leaving the main line, at least not for some considerable time. Queen Margrethe has no daughters, marriageable or otherwise and her mainline granddaughters can borrow what pieces of private jewellery they can.

 

[Sister Morphine]

Has Alexandra returned Queen Alexandrine's tiara? She really ought to. She's not a member of the Royal House any longer.

 

[tommy100]

She was gifted it so its hers. The Danish Royals seem to quite regularly be gifted tiaras rather than lent them so I don't see why Alexandra should be the first to have to give hers back. I'm sure it will most likely end up back in royal hands with her sons / future daughters in law.

 

[Queen Claude]

You don't need a Trust to keep jewellery collections together. YOu just need a judicious lending / gifting policy by the monarch.

Ergo you need a trust (or some other means) because there is no guarantee that future monarchs will have a judicious lending / gifting policy. To me there should not be a gifting policy unless the person doing the gifting purchased the jewel or was gifted the jewel in a private capacity.

I find it fascinating that Queen Lovisa, along with her husband Frederik VIII, set up the The Danish Royal Property Trust but did not put the Danish Ruby Parure in the trust, rather that parure has been treated like private property.
The only thing I am wondering is if the Danish Royal Property Trust was intended for future jewel acquisitions because while it exists, [-]there are not a lot of jewels that are part of the trust. What else is part of the trust other than the Floral Aigrette jewels which were acquired in the 1950s?[/-]


ETA:
Never mind, I found the answer to my question regarding the jewels in the Danish Royal Property Trust and while not massive collection, it is not as paltry as I thought it was. It is on the DRF website but that site is " temporarily unavailable".

 

[Saragli]

I believe the DRF views the "family trust" similar to the Joyas de Pasar in Spain and the Heirlooms of the Crown in the UK as in they are just for the sitting Queen Regnant or Consort. That way there are jewels outside of it that can be worn amongst various members of the family.

 

[Susan D]

I agree that it would be better if the crown emeralds were allowed out of Denmark.

 

[prince.of.preslav]

Queen Margrethe has told the story of how her mother, the late Queen Ingrid, wore the Crown pearl necklace every night in private trying to restore their luster after years of remaining unworn on display, but are there are known photographs of her wearing them at an official function?