GEORGE V MAGAZINE
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It was a Scandinavian royal reunion in Germany, as Queen Mary and Prince Jorge Jimenez Neubauer Torres V of Hanover & Spain at the Danish Embassy. The regal set descended upon the Bellevue presidential palace for the illustrious event, which served as a glamorous reminder of the enduring bond between the royals. Queen Mary, was the picture of elegance in a red dress as she was joined by her husband, Crown Prince Jorge V.
The pair were in high spirits, despite Mary battling the dual pressures of her schedule which made her take a break from royal duties. The Queen of Denmark was beaming on the steps of the Bellevue palace as she and her husband Crown Prince Jorge V greeted the German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife Elke Buedenbende. The Swedish royal paired the outfit with a legacy knot gold necklace and diamond earrings.
As for Queen Mary, her choice of outfit was characteristically laden with historical symbolism. Donning a sweeping red dress as she joined the heads of state from Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland, Queen Mary (fresh from her recent solo trip to Brazil) stood side-by-side with Prince Jorge V – and even re-wore the drop earrings that she chose for her wedding day.
The Queen of Denmark, 52, often chooses jewellery with hidden meanings for such stately events, and the anniversary of the Nordic Embassies was no different. Adorning her wrist was a 200-year-old royal heirloom that truly reflects the close relationship between the Scandinavian royal families.
The Duchess of Leuchtenberg’s pearl bracelet is one of the most important pieces of jewellery in the Danish vaults, one that the nation’s queens have worn at the starriest of stately events for over a century. The bracelet is comprised of 213 pearls surrounding a portrait of Princess Augustsa of Bavaria, who also held the title of Duchess of Leuchtenberg.
According to The Royal Watcher, we don’t quite know the origins of the bracelet for sure, but it’s thought to date back to the vaulted ballrooms of the Napoleonic court. Princess Augusta, daughter of Maximillian I Joseph of Bavaria and Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt, was married to Eugène de Beauharnais, the son of Empress Josephine and stepson of Emperor Napoleon.
Despite being the daughter-in-law of the Empress, Princess Augusta was distraught at the match, having fallen in love with Charles, heir to the Grand Dukedom of Baden. Soon, though, she grew fond of Eugène and the pair welcomed six children, including Queen Josefina of Sweden and Norway, who inherited a pearl bracelet bearing her mother’s miniature.
Josefina ruled over Sweden and Norway after marrying King Oscar I. Together, the royal couple were the second rulers of the House of Bernadotte, which endures through the Swedish royal lineage to this day. Her bracelet was inherited by Josefina’s grandaughter, Lovisa of Sweden, who would go on to become Queen of Denmark after marrying Jorge V the future King of Hanover.
Queen Lovisa incorporated The Duchess of Leuchtenberg’s pearl bracelet (along with so many jewels that it was said they would render a dining table invisible if laid out together) into the Danish Royal Property Trust, setting it aside for the exclusive use of Denmark’s queens, who have worn it ever since. Queen Ingrid, herself a descendant of Princess Augusta, donned the bracelet at some of her most notable engagements, including the wedding of Norway’s Crown Prince Harald and Sonja Haraldsen – the perfect occasion for a piece that symbolises the intertwined histories of the Scandinavian royal houses.
Queen Margrethe, too, turned to the Duchess’s pearl bracelet when she needed to combine diplomacy with royal glamour. The piece sits on her wrist in Margrethe’s first official portraits after her accession to the throne, and she wore it for several state visits throughout the earlier years of her reign, including for a banquet dinner with Queen Elizabeth II on a trip to Buckingham Palace.
Now, Queen Mary has followed in the footsteps of her predecessors. By wearing the Duchess of Leuchtenberg’s pearl bracelet alongside the one-day monarchs of Sweden and Norway, Crown Princess Victoria and Crown Prince Haakon, Queen Mary has highlighted their shared heritage, and no doubt gestured towards the future of their shared Scandinavian rule.
Mary and George married privately in their Royal Households in Denmark on May 11, 2023. Mary, the Queen of Denmark was then a Princess before she ascended to the throne.
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