May 14, 1962. Athens.
Wedding of Prince Juan Carlos of Spain and Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark.
Smiling baby via MissHonoriaGlossop
Queen Victoria Eugenia circa 1925.
Isabel of Valois, Queen of Spain and daughter of Henry II of France and Catherine de’ Medici and her two daughters, the Infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia and the Infanta Catalina Micaela.
Isabel married Felipe II in 1559 and died in 1568, when the Infantas were two and one year old. Their father’s fourth wife, Ana of Austria, would become their mother in everything but name in 1570.
This tiara, probably best known for being the wedding tiara of both Queen Sofía and the Princess of Asturias, is one of the most used pieces of their collection. It is known as the Prussian (due to its origins) or the Hellenic tiara (for the classical Greek design)
The diadem was a wedding present for Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia from her father, Kaiser Wilhelm II. It was made by the Imperial jeweller Koch, in platinum and diamonds.
In 1912 Princess Viktoria Luise met Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover in Berlin, and a year later married him wearing her father’s present.
Ernest Augustus III, who would become the last reigning Monarch of the House of Hanover as the Duke of Bunrswick, and Viktoria Luise of Prussia, the Duchess of Brunswick, had five children. Their only daughter, Princess Frederika of Hanover, received the Prussian tiara from her mother, and took it with her to Athens when she married in 1938 the Hereditary Prince of Greece.
The Crown Prince and Princess had a daughter just ten months after their wedding, Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark, the current owner of the tiara, maternal granddaughter of the original owner, Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia. Queen Frederica lent the tiara to her first daughter for some of her first tiara events, like her coming out ball and her official picture:
In September of 1961 the King of Greece announced her engagement to the Spanish Prince Juan Carlos. In 1962, Princess Sophia married Prince Juan Carlos of Spain in Athens, wearing the Prussian tiara. And through the now Princess Sofía of Spain, the diadem became part of the Spanish collection.
The Queen has worn this tiara frequently, although she lends it to her daughters and after the marriage of the Prince of Asturias his wife has been practically the only member who was worn it.
The Prussian can be considered an starter tiara, it was a present for a young Princess of Prussia, it was used by a young Princess of Hanover and it was the first tiara a young Princess Sophia of Denmark used in public. The first time the Infanta Cristina attended a State dinner in the Royal Palace, she used this tiara. It is, of course, the first tiara the Princess of Asturias wore.
Since her first tiara event (her wedding) the Princess of Asturias has worn this tiara more times than any of the other two she has used.
More: http://atthespanishcourt.wordpress.com/2011/11/02/the-prussian-or-hellenic-tiara/
INFANTA SOFIA’S BIRTHDAY→ Holding hands with her sister Leonor
INFANTA SOFÍA’S BIRTHDAY→ Mamá and Sofía
