Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom's Maltese Cross Tiara

Queen Maud

Queen Sonja

Creation:  Queen Alexandra had Garrard make the tiara in 1910 after the death of her husband as a lighter version of the Diamond Diadem and the Regal Circlet which had passed to Queen Mary.  The Cullinan VI diamond was originally put in the front cross.  Queen Maud later had the fleurs-de-lys removed so that it would not look too similar to the Regal Circlet.  Queen Sonja had the circumference of the tiara reduced and earrings made out of the removed portions.  The crosses can be removed and worn as brooches.

Queen Alexandra

Materials:  diamonds

Provenance: 

1. Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom
2. Queen Maud of Norway; inherited from her mother in 1925
3. Crown Princess Märtha of Norway; inherited from her mother-in-law in 1938 but Queen Maud died while in the United Kingdom and the tiara was put into storage in Windsor Castle and was not retrieved until 1953
4. Queen Sonja of Norway; inherited by her husband, King Harald V of Norway, from his mother in 1954 and given to her after their 1968 marriage

Other Wearers: 

• Princess Märtha Louise of Norway

Queen Sonja

Princess Märtha Louise

Questions:

• Do the fleur-de-lys elements still belong to the Norwegian Royal Family?

Links:

• Trond Norén Isaksen - Queen Maud's Maltese Cross Tiara
• The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor - The Malteser Tiara 

Photos:  Norwegian Royal Court