Mary Donaldson attended a banquet hosted by Queen Margrethe at Christiansborg Palace before her 2004 wedding to the Crown Prince.
We've been covering a few of the guests at Frederik and Mary's wedding (with more to come) since this week marks their tenth wedding anniversary, but today we're stepping back a few days to cover a Great Moment in Tiara History: Mary's first ever tiara appearance. (!) You have to love the Danish royals for sticking to their tiara guns - even before wearing a tiara for her wedding, Mary had worn the Danish Ruby Parure for this event and then for the gala concert. Since she was wearing the rubies twice in just a couple days (!), she took two different approaches: emphasizing the rubies with her red gown for the concert worn with her hair down, and emphasizing the diamonds with this number from Malene Birger, worn with her hair up. The gown is a richly patterned silver fabric, almost the palest of ice blues, with a slim front silhouette and a train at the back, topped by a black ribbon and rosette detail.Video: The banquet
(You should watch that video. If not for Mary, then for this:
It's hard to imagine the thoughts that must have been swirling through Mary's head here. (Primarily: How can my sleeves ever possibly measure up?) In her own words:
"That first evening when I wore the ruby set, there was so much new, there was so much overwhelming for me. It wasn't just the jewelry, it was the significance of the whole event, of the whole period, of the whole time which I was going through. So I don't really think I thought so much about what I had on in terms of jewelry except that it felt new and somewhat unusual to have such a significant piece of jewelry on. Everything that was going on at that time was part of a very new and overwhelming time. I mean it wasn't just the jewelry, it was also the dress, I mean I had never worn a dress like this before...the whole thing was overwhelming." - Crown Princess Mary, speaking in the documentary De Kongelige JuvelerNeedless to say, she handles it like proper royal champ. Me, I would be doing cartwheels. Mental cartwheels, actually, but only because I'd fall over if I tried the real thing.
Photos: Polfoto/DR1
