King Frederik and Queen Mary assumed the Danish throne in January, as Frederik’s mother, Queen Margrethe, abdicated in a simple ceremony. Denmark doesn’t do “coronations” – the emphasis is more on the civil government, so the abdication and “crowning” was basically just some paperwork and a nice balcony moment with the new king and queen. Since then, it’s been clear that Margrethe probably did abdicate to save her older son’s marriage, but even then, things are barely holding on by a thread. Mary and Frederik are barely seen together since January, and they likely spent Easter apart. I find it sus that his Spanish-based alleged mistress is suddenly back online too.
Still, even if they’re stuck in a bad marriage, they both seem to enjoy being king and queen. The Danish royal house just released the first formal portraits of Mary and Frederik since they assumed the throne. This is also the first time that Mary has been photographed wearing the crown jewels, as well as the “Order of the Elephant” necklace. These portraits were taken in Christiansborg Palace, in the Green Room. Here’s more about the crown jewels worn by Mary – an emerald suite!!
The Queen wears the crown jewels for the first time in the portrait. It is the emerald set with tiara, necklace, earrings and a large brooch that can be divided in three parts. The emerald set is one of the four jewellery sets, or garnitures, which are at the disposal of The Queen of Denmark and are ordinarily on display in The Treasury at Rosenborg Castle.
When the crown jewels are not in use, they are on display in The Treasury in the secured basement under Rosenborg Castle. It is customary that the crown jewels remain in Denmark, which means that they are not taken along on 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.
On the breast, Her Majesty wears a brilliant diamond miniature portrait of The King in a bow of Order of Dannebrog ribbon. For generations, there has been a tradition that female members of The Royal Family wear a miniature portrait of the sovereign. Thus, in her time as Crown Princess, The Queen wore a portrait of Queen Margrethe.
In connection with the succession of the throne, The Queen has received a miniature portrait of The King. The portrait was created by the British artist Tom Mulliner and set in a gold frame with brilliant diamonds. The frame was once made for Empress Amelie of Brazil. As The Empress was childless, the frame was passed on to The Empress’s sister, Queen Josefina of Sweden. Later, the frame was passed on to Queen Josefina’s granddaughter, the later Queen Lovisa of Denmark, and she was thus the first Danish queen to wear a portrait of the Danish sovereign in this special frame. Later, Queen Alexandrine and Queen Ingrid wore the frame during the reigns of their husbands, and, from 1972 until the succession of the throne in January 2024, Queen Margrethe wore the frame with a portrait of her father, Frederik IX.
If I was queen of Denmark and I had access to the crown jewels, including an emerald-and-diamond suite, I would wear an outfit which highlighted the jewels instead of drowning them out? Like, what was Mary thinking with this high-neck lace number? The necklace disappears and the effect is way too busy. The green velvet was a good idea, but do an all-velvet look with a modest sweetheart neckline and just have the necklace on your bare skin.
Photos/IGs courtesy of Steen Evald, Kongehuset.
Kaiser, I didn’t even see the emerald necklace until I scrolled back up after reading! It’s camouflaged 😨
I didn’t notice it either until I saw the close up – and is the brooch the larger bit at the bottom front of the necklace? But she looks great in the tiara and earrings.
Question…. In jewellery, is a matching set or suite, pronounced “sooooot” or “sweet”.
It is also called a parure.
“Sweet”
@Elizabeth…thank you! 😊
I did not see it either until it was mentioned.
Wow, the chemistry between these two is off the charts. You can tell it’s a warm and loving marriage.
Me too! It was only the IG pics that made me notice it. Yikes.
I guess those are her special honors for putting up with cheating. More made-up awards by royalty.
They are a very attractive couple.. such a marked difference between the European royals vs the British Royals. I always feel like I can smell the moth balls when I see photos of the British Royals even the so called “younger” ones that are next in line.
I think that Mary looks more like the evil stepmother in a Disney film in that photo, but you are so right about the BRF and the moth balls!!! 👏😂
Just what I was thinking, great minds and all that.
Thinking the same thing about the dress. Definitely bare skin, and I never know why the try to match the jewels when I think I a contrasting color would make them pop more!
Thats my superficial observation of the day!
They would have looked amazing against Mary’s beautiful wine red velvet dress that she has worn many times.
Yes, that color is gorgeous on her and it would have been a perfect backdrop for those emeralds.
I don’t understand that dress. I love the velvet part and agree the necklace on bare skin would look so much better. The lace looks itchy, honestly.
The necklace disappears into the lace. That said Mary looks beautiful as always.
The green velvet was a good idea but not the lace. The crown is whoa though and I’m usually not very wowed by the tiaras and jewels.
The emeralds of a very high quality. They are really beautiful.
I can only imagine their worth – emeralds can be pricier than diamonds. I am drooling over them.
Emeralds are much rarer than diamonds because they are created in the collision of continental plates (if I recall corrected). In ancient and medieval times emeralds very super rare in Europe and thus they were associated with royalty.
With the discovery of the large diamond deposits in South Africa diamonds got even more common.
If you are interested in the history of jewellery I can really recommend the book “Stoned”. There is a whole chapter on how the diamond engagement ring became a must in the English speaking world through a massively successful ad campaign. Another chapter deals with the history of pearls and another with how the wrist watch was once a feminine thing and how it became a male status symbol in the wake of the industrialized warfare of WWI. Before that “real” men wore pocket watches.
Thanks for the information & book recommendation, @ArtHistorian! Now that you mention the rarity of emeralds, I realize there aren’t that many emerald tiaras & I think this is the most beautiful I’ve seen.
@arthistirian, thank you for the book recommendation. You and I could chat for hours! LOL.
@Lizzie Bathory, check out this link below. There was another blogger years ago who had the site called Tiara Thursday I believe. It was a wonderful site for those who love their history, art and baubles – and yes for me baubles are art.
https://www.thecourtjeweller.com/2014/05/the-top-ten-royal-emeralds.html and
https://www.thecourtjeweller.com/2020/12/gorgeous-green-emerald-tiaras.html
@seraphina
Yes, jewellery is an art form in its best expressions – and I am a bit sad that there isn’t much of a space for that here anymore because of all the moralistic grand-standing.
yes, grand jewellery is an elite thing but historically that is what most art has always been (before the invention of museums for the general public). I love studying the history of jewellery because it is an art form. (check out the work of Wallace Chan to see how technical progress can influence jewellery in conjunction with an aesthetic history).
I have a huge book on the history of the tiara – and it is amazing. While it covers the variations on the form, it also goes into cultural and social history. it even goes into the history of women’s hair (which actually has had a huge influence on tiara design – especially in the Edwardian age and the 1920-30s).
I have been fortunate enough to see almost all the Danish royal tiaras in person.
@ArtHistorian, can you provide the historical tiara book title?
“Tiaras – A History of Splendour” by Geoffrey C. Munn.
Many thank @ArtHistorian
@Art Historian I don’t think the majority of the objections about jewelry worship are about elitism, but about the way those jewels were obtained – through slavery, exploitation, and murder, usually of people of color. Of course, the same objections could be raised by a lot of large scale historical monuments and buildings. The classist element of so much blood shed for the amusement and adornment a so few aristocrats compounds the offense. And I suspect there’s an element of misogyny, because jewelry is mostly worn and coveted by women. But it’s a more complex issue than you’ve indicated.
In the article a KEY moment of the Monarch’s ascension to the throne was not mentioned: The Proclamation of the new Monarch by the Prime Minister! That is an essential moment of the ascension of any new monarch in Denmark. Its symbolism is important because it emphasizes who is actually in charge and it is not the Monarch.
The emerald suite is beautiful. I have seen it several times at Rosenborg. I’d encourage any visitors to Copenhagen to visit Rosenborg. It is a tiny beautiful castle built in the style of Dutch Baroque by Christian IV (who also built the beautiful Bourse building that recently burned down). It has a large collection of various interesting royal things besides the Crown Jewels. But the jewels is definitely worth a visit and they include more than the Queen’s jewels. It includes two crowns, the crown of Christian IV (an astounding piece of Renaissance jewellery) and the crown of Christian V (where the closed top symbolizes the absolutist rule and was used for the Coronations between the late 17th century to 1840. Today it is only brought out for the Monarch’s funeral.
Thanks for the lovely Crown Jewel history! The Danish royals do have some gorgeous jewels and tiaras.
Christian IV’s crown is the most amazing piece of jewellery design I have ever seen. And there are very few gem stones on it. It is all sculptural and enamel work. It is a work of art in a way that other royal crowns are not.
@Arthistorian, I’m looking at photos of Christian IV’s crown and my goodness, it’s positively breathtaking! The intricacies of the gold, the enamel and then the pearls and diamonds!! And to think that this was done by hand over 400 hundred years ago is amazing!! I’m so glad that this crown has survived the centuries and is able to be seen now by so many!
Harla,
We are actually lucky that it still exist and it is still in the possession by the state because Christian IV pawned it to pay for him participating in the 30 Years War. Lucky, one of his descendants bought it back.
I saw these pictures yesterday and I was really surprised because normally Mary does much better with her fashion choices. The necklace is buried in that neckline and there’s no contrast between the jewels and the color of her gown. An open neckline framing the necklace would have been much better. The jewels are magnificent though and Mary looks stunning. And despite their marital woes, Mary and Fred are a good-looking regal couple.
Yeah Mary rarely gets it wrong and she did on this occasion – with that necklace it would have looked better without the lace around the top, she could have gone with bare skin or velvet all the way up to the neck to showcase everything.
It is indeed a rare miss for Mary.
I can’t help but think she is sending a message with this choice of dress but I can’t fathom what that message is.
Blink twice if you’re in danger. To quote that movie. But she does not look happy at all.
I thought it was lovely & subtle; it toned down the 🤩 Wowers! Look at that! aspect of all those emeralds & diamonds, particularly as that necklace is in addition to the elephant doohickey (not sure what the actual thing is called, although I love it dearly).
That’s the Order of the Elephant, and I love it myself. I think it’s the most whimsical of all the royal orders. I would love a train of elephants marching around my neck and shoulders with a big dangling elephant hanging on my breast bone. I’d be very happy if I were named Companion to the Royal Order of Elephants (I just made that up) Maybe @Art Historian knows how the name originated.
I have to agree with you, she is usually a lot savvier about fashion. I can understand wanting to wear sleeves for a formal portrait but the lace high neck is not a neckline suitable for necklaces, especially this grand parure. Let it be seen!
Of course it is interesting to me that she is donning “the queen’s frame” and the first of Fred’s Family Order portraits, and that Fred is sporting some excellent kingly diamonds himself.
I saw this on insta and ugh! The dress is hideous! Mary rarely misses but this was an out of the park miss. The gorgeous jewels were totally lost.
I seem to be in minority here but I love the dress and think it goes very well with the jewelry without making anything stand out too much.
Mary and Frederik spent their Easter holidays in Switzerland. There were photos of them together, and the children were there, too.
I love this outfit too. IMHO wearing these suites is very challenging. All of the pieces which are beautiful individually come across as jarring and over the top when they are worn together.
I think Mary made a conscious decision to highlight the tiara and earrings. The necklace nestles into the lace and is revealed only on closer inspection. It’s a very subtle way of focusing the eye onto her face and then drawing attention to the semi concealed necklace. This is very elegant and chic which is hard to accomplish when wearing crown royals.
That’s my opinion too – she intentionally is playing down the necklace. Personally, I don’t blame her – the emeralds are STUNNING but the necklace design to me is not. So she hid it.
Joining in with this little group; she’s wearing this necklace in addition to the elephant chain + chandelier earrings + tiara + the two honkin’ big medallion thingies. I think the colors are all beautiful together with the velvet & the lace. Absolutely gorgeous! Fred looks nice, too.
I also loved the dress for the reasons others mentioned. And thought she looked regal and beautiful.
Mary has a new stylist, no? I can sort of see where they were going with muting the emerald necklace, since it might have been a bit overpowering with the elephant necklace and the portrait. You do pay attention to her face though, which might also be what they wanted to emphasize. I love the velvet, but find the lace of her dress to be a bit too fussy.
A little bit evil stepmother vibes…
Wouldn’t the stepmother be Frederick’s girlfriend? If I were Mary, I’m not sure my vibes would be all sweetness and light. On second thought, maybe Mary is thinking about strangling her cheating husband.
If it was green velvet all the way without the lace, it would have looked a lot better. I didn’t even notice the necklace at first! The tiara is gorgeous though.
Agree. I generally don’t like the effect of lace over skin (or very light fabric, unless the lace is the same shade).
The dress might be fine if this was an occasion without jewels. The tiara works with it on its own. But since the purpose was to display the new order and the regalia, a plain dress would have worked better, especially in the neck area.
Love the colour of the dress, pity about all the decorations on top of it, spoils the look of the dress, I feel the same about Kate when she attends a banquet, she has some lovely dresses which would look a lot better without the decorations.
A couple of things…1) Mary has worn the Order of the Elephant chain to events for years; 2) there are photos of Fred, Mary and their family on a ski holiday over Easter. I do agree that this beautiful suite of Crown Jewels isn’t helped by the neckline of this dress so, either she should have not worn the necklace or have had the neckline redone to show off the beautiful jewels.
Mary received the Order of the Elephant when she married into the DRF. It is not some “reward” for putting up with Fred’s alleged cheating. It is the oldest Order in Denmark (created by Christian I in the 15th century). Royals receive it when they turn 18 or when they marry into the family. It is given to foreign heads of state and four times to non-Hos/royals of whom the most famous was the physicist Niels Bohr.
Mary was granted the order just before her marriage – she wore the sash and the tiara from Ruby Parure (which is Fred’s personal property) to one of her pre-wedding events.
So, as you say, NOT a reward for putting up with cheating.
She’s had the Grand Collar (which is what she is wearing here) for a while. (For those unfamiliar with “orders”, that is an upgrade from the regular sash.)
Perhaps if she wanted the high neckline the lace part should have been chiffon instead so the necklace could have been visible.
It’s a shame Queen Mary’s dress makes the beautiful necklace almost invisible; the tiara is stunning.
Love all the elephant bling. They are not exactly exuding warmth towards each other,
I like so many crown jewels a lot better than the BRF’s.
These emeralds are beautiful and, having lived in Colombia for a time, I have seen many varieties and qualities.
That said, I can’t help but repeat what has been said before: why is Mary hiding the necklace, and why does she come across as an evil, scheming Disney character? Fred looks better than I thought he would though.
Off topic – a bit, but why are these two so completely tonedeaf about getting to be tax-exempt when Daisy dies, and even more lazy than before taking the reins?
The dress makes it seem like she’s an entire emerald tiara! Probably would give a better effect in an oil painting…and with her alone.
Those jewels are swoon worthy indeed. I like that they can be see by us mere average citizens when on display.
I agree with everyone who said this is a rare miss more Mary. The busyness of the lace and the Order of the Elephant take the eyes away from that gorgeous necklace. Maybe the British press is correct – Queen Mary is imitating Kate in her wardrobe and baubles wearing choices.
Nope, nope, nope, Kate would not have thought of this combo. Nor does she have golden & ivory elephants to draw from! (Oh, dear, is that ivory?).
No the elephant is metal covered in white enamel and then hand painted.
I do feel like Mary often rewears dresses, especially the ones that fit certain “rules”. This looks like it would fit in perfectly at one of their New Year’s celebrations, so maybe it was made for that with the lace to be more winter-y? Then again, she has also had dresses reworked, so maybe it didn’t have to be this way. She looks lovely, I love the emeralds, and I hope they figure things out. I love the story of how they met!
I love the dress too. I imagine the lace part can be interchanged and the velvet dress used as is. She has really leaned into reworking her wardrobe after years of buying pieces. She’s reached that sweet spot of having a very solid closet to work with.
She looks AMAZING. I’m obsessed with dress. It encompasses two of my favorite things: the color green and velvet which is my favorite fabric.
I always cringe at portraits like this one because they represent so much opulence, wealth and power at a time when a lot of people are struggling. I don’t know what it’s been like in Denmark, but imagine dressing yourself in full regalia and dripping in jewels when part of your “subjects” are not making ends meet. So I guess the camouflaged necklace makes this better, IMO. I’d have chosen a more subdued image to present as new monarchs but I accept I’m a bit prejudiced when it comes to monarchies and monarchs.
Denmark is pretty healthy in term of economics. It is a wealthy country. You cannot compare it with what is going on in the UK because a century of strong social-democratic influence has had different results that over a decade of tory austerity in the UK. The social security net is pretty strong and free healthcare, a cap on medicine prices and free education. Also unions are very strong here, which means people generally get paid a living wage and 5 weeks of paid vacation.
Fx, right now I am unemployed because I crashed with a massive depression and burn out after a few very hard years. I get a government stipend. It isn’t much but I can afford my apartment and general expenses, my meds and still have enough for little luxuries once in a while.
I hope you get better soon!
My country has adopted the same policies decades ago and all we’ve got left are families comprised of 3 generations who have never worked because they get handouts and union leaders and their families with massive personal wealth. It’s a slippery slope if it’s not supervised and audited. Those of us who work are taxed to the max and instead of that money going to bettering our transport system, health care and public education, it gets redistributed in different goverment assitance *schemes and politicians’ personal finances.
*they’ve turned into schemes, even if at first the assitance program had good intentions.
@ArtHistorian – be well. I always look forward to your posts on all things. Your jewel knowledge is exceptional. Like other here have said we could gab forever. I’d bring my Vincent Meylen books to a coffee klatsch. Sending all good vibes ☘️✌️
Personally I think it helps that the jewels aren’t personal property and hasn’t been for over 200 years
Yep. The Crown Jewels belong to the State and that is why they are always on display when not worn by the Queen.
Wow. I like the elephant necklaces, for crying out loud. She still looks great and has a great figure. But I agree with Kaiser on her ensemble. I clicked on the Instagram pictures, and I completely missed the necklace because of what she was wearing. Very bad choice and a bad canvas for showcasing a lovely set. They are a good-looking couple. I like them, and I hope the gossip isn’t true. Did I mention that I like the elephant necklaces?
The tiara is gorgeous. One of the complaints I have is when too many jewels are worn. By putting the necklace over lace, the necklace took a back seat. I think that was a smart move, because that necklace is not as gorgeous as the tiara.
Same. The tiara is truly gorgeous. I even really like the elephants. I think the Frederik portrait and the necklace are a bit much, so I really like the way the lace tones down the necklace.
Beautiful jewelry, lovely dress, and Queen Mary wears it all well.
I’m thinking now that with all the jewels, orders and medals that she wore Mary deliberately wanted to obscure the necklace, but was it necessary to even include it? A parure doesn’t have to be worn in its entirety and her look would have improved by leaving off the necklace if it couldn’t be displayed properly. But I can’t take my eyes off her tiara, she wears it beautifully.
Now this is a good portrait! And you can keep your British honors & doodads, I want golden elephants to hang around my shoulders!
Thinking this will be an unpopular opinion, but I think she wanted the necklace to recede. With all the official bric a brac, the tiara, the earrings, the elephant trunk chain, the necklace would have been an ornament too far and fought the obligatory pachyderm, as it were. She had to do the whole queenly rig, but deemphasizing one piece is probably what I’d want to do too.
I think the necklace is being worn like this, almost hidden away, not to show off the bling but its purpose here is to reflect light upwards. Think of the way this would have been worn when originally created… at balls and important dinner where the jewels were lit up by reflected candlelight. The ladies would glimmer as they moved.
Yeah, poor dress choice for those jewels.