Queen Mary of Denmark Midnight tiara: Queen Mary is the exclusive wearer of the tiara, designed by Charlotte Lynggaard, and the jewel recently visited Australia for the first time | Exclusive

When Queen Mary of Denmark first saw a tiara created specifically for an exhibition inside Amalienborg Palace, in Copenhagen, the royal got in touch with the designer to ask if she could wear it.

It was 2009 and Mary was captivated by the tiara’s unusual design: it was unlike any other worn by royalty.

The Australian-born royal had married then-Crown Prince Frederik five years earlier and had worn just two other tiaras prior to seeing this new piece: the historic ruby tiara, originally owned by Frederik’s grandmother Queen Ingrid, and the one created for her weddinga gift from her in-laws, Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik.

READ MORE: How Queen Mary of Denmark became the monarch’s ‘secret weapon’

Mary saw something special in this newly-created jewel, called the Midnight tiara.

While many tiaras in royal collections across Europe are defined by their large stones – typically diamonds, sapphires, emeralds and pearls – the Midnight tiara is different because it was inspired by nature.

It comprises leaves and slender branches crafted from black oxidised silver, 18 karat rose gold and 18 karat white gold.

The tiara’s sprouting buds are set with 31 moonstones in a variety of hues and 1,340 tiny brilliant-cut pavé diamonds.

Queen Mary is the exclusive wearer of the Midnight tiara and has worn the piece four times since seeing it on display at Amalienborg.

Many have compared Mary’s story to a modern-day fairy tale: from that chance meeting with a future king in a Sydney pub 25 years ago to becoming Queen of Denmark, one of Europe’s oldest monarchies.

And it was classic fairy tale imagery that inspired the tiara: walking in an enchanted forest at night, the leaves and trees lit softly by the moonlight.

The tiara has become synonymous with Queen Mary, leading to the oft-repeated myth that it was created for her specifically, in tribute to the Australian wattle.

While the tiara’s design may resemble Australian flora, its creation had nothing to do with Mary’s birth country.

READ MORE: Who has a surname in the royal family and who doesn’t

The Midnight tiara had no connections to the royal family before Mary laid eyes on it.

Ole Lynggaard general manager for Australia and New Zealand, Kamilla van der Velde, suspects the Queen fell in love with the tiara’s unusual look, describing it as “very romantic”.

“A lot of Australians ask if it is an Australian leaf [on the tiara] and the truth is that it’s not necessarily a specific [type of] leaf,” van der Velde tells 9honey, exclusively.

“The inspiration came from the forest. In the first instance with the tiara and creating the tiara, there was no link to the royals.”

It was designed by Charlotte Lynggaard, creative director of Ole Lynggaard – the Danish fine jewellery company established in 1963 by her father, Ole.

Ole Lynggaard holds a royal warrant, having supplied jewels to the Royal Danish Court for decades.

Queen Mary had seen the tiara on display and “asked if she could wear it for a gala dinner”.

Mary debuted the tiara on June 11, 2009, for a party celebrating the 75th birthday of her father-in-law Prince Henrik at Fredensborg Palace, north of Copenhagen.

“That was the first time she wore it and since then tiara has been hers to wear exclusively,” van der Velde says.

The then-Crown Princess also wore a pair of earrings and a brooch designed to match the tiara.

In April, 2010, the Midnight tiara was seen again on Mary for a gala dinner at the same palace, this time for Queen Margrethe II’s 70th birthday. The soft colours of the moonstones complemented Mary’s teal gown by Kenth Fredin.

Showing her penchant for making the most of out her jewels, Mary wore the brooch pinned to the waist of her gown.

READ MORE: Inside the two palaces Queen Mary and King Frederik call home

The tiara had, perhaps, its most high-profile outing in 2013 when Mary wore it for the wedding of Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Christopher O’Neill, in Stockholm. The event was attended by royalty from across the world including Britain, Monaco, Norway, Greece and Japan.

Mary stood out in a red lace gown by Australian designer Collette Dinnigan, featuring a sheer overlay. True to Mary’s ongoing commitment to fashion sustainability, that gown has since been upcycled, shortened to a midi-length frock.

The stunning tiaras worn by Queen Mary of Denmark

The most recent appearance by Mary in the Midnight tiara was at the 18th birthday celebrations of Norway’s Princess Ingrid Alexandra on June 17, 2022, at the Royal Palace in Oslo. Her white gown with floral motifs was also designed by Charlotte Lynggaard.

The Midnight tiara rarely leaves Denmark but was brought to Australia in late March, for just one week, at van der Velde’s request.

“As you know, to go to Denmark is a long way and a lot of Australians have not been, so I asked our CEO, very kindly, if he could bring the tiara out,” she explains.

“It has never been to Australia and normally doesn’t travel very far, only if it’s being worn by the Queen.”

van der Velde wanted to celebrate King Frederik’s accession to monarch following his mother’s abdication and give the brand’s Australian clients the opportunity to see the tiara up close because of its links with Queen Mary.

“She’s like a rock star in Australia,” van der Velde says.

Like so many Australians, van der Velde says she is Mary’s “biggest fan… I love the love story with our King”.

In 2013, Mary travelled to Australia to officially open the Ole Lynggaard flagship store in Sydney.

It was there that this journalist first met the then-Crown Princess, and van der Velde had the honour of hosting Mary at the event, alongside members of the Lynggaard family.

As a frequent wearer of the brand since moving to Denmark in 2002, Mary’s presence at the Sydney store’s grand opening was the ultimate publicity coup. She wore pink coral earrings from the Lotus collection, a gold bracelet from the Love collection, and a diamond-studded ring from the Snakes collection.

READ MORE: Exploring Copenhagen through the footsteps of the Danish royals

“We were so honoured and excited that she was able to open our store,” van der Velde says.

“What was meant to be just a very small opening became a much bigger thing.”

Mary’s visit to Australia coincided with the 40th anniversary of the Sydney Opera House, designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon. 

That visit by the then-Crown Prince and Crown Princess was Frederik and Mary’s last official joint tour of Australia.

“We got so, so much attention – even more than we had expected.”

Market Street was closed for the opening, police snipers kept watch from the roof of David Jones opposite the jewellery store and thousands of fans lined the street to see their Australian-born royal.

“It was a defining moment. It was, for me, the highlight of my career. It doesn’t get much bigger than that.

“What it did for the brand in Australia was remarkable and I still get goose bumps when I think about it.”

van der Velde’s daughter India, who was 10 at the time, was chosen to present Mary with a bouquet of flowers outside the store. Now 22, she is living in Denmark and working at the brand’s head office in Hellerup.

Mary’s patronage with the brand continues to this day and she is often seen wearing Ole Lynggaard jewellery for both informal and grand occasions.

This week in Paris during the King and Queen’s historic state visit, Mary wore the large Gypsy earrings comprising cabochon-cut drops of white quartz, aquamarine, and London blue topaz, and diamonds.

The Queen often makes unannounced visits to its Copenhagen store to purchase pieces, such is the relaxed nature of the Danish royals.

READ MORE: Meet the designer behind Queen Mary’s iconic gowns

“There’s great pride in working with the royal family, and I think also respecting the royal family, as I think a lot of Danish people do.

“They get to be normal family when they are walking around Copenhagen. People really respect their privacy.

“And we certainly do the same when she comes in. Whenever the queen visits, she will come into the store in Copenhagen or will visit our workshop.

“They don’t announce it.”

van der Velde describes Mary as being “so beautiful” but “you know, like so many other women that come in… people love to see the collections”.

“It’s always very exciting. [But] she gets the same sort of treatment as anybody else.”

van der Velde says the brand is not told in advance when Queen Mary will wear items from the collections.

“They don’t talk about it, they don’t tell us,” she says, referring to the palace.

“In the company, I would say it’s an unwritten rule that we see it when everybody else sees it. And we are as excited as as the rest of the world.

“We’re just very honoured that she wears our jewellery.”

The Danish royals are not the only members of royal families across Europe who’ve worn the brand.

In Sweden, Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Madeleine and Princess Sofia have been seen in various pieces through the years, as has Queen Maxima of the Netherlands and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway.

“When you see [the jewels] put together in the way that the royals can do with the beautiful gowns and the beautiful palaces or places they go to, it is really, really special.”

Even Australian movie royalty, Nicole Kidman, was decked out in the brand’s jewels in the Netflix drama The Perfect Couple, which has attracted a new clientele for the company.

There are whispers Queen Mary might wear the Midnight tiara again soon, something van der Velde couldn’t confirm or deny.

”We don’t know that, we don’t know if she will wear it or when,” van der Velde says.

“I know she loves tiaras though,” she adds, referring to the Queen recently repurposing diamonds from the Crown Jewels to create a new tiara, now named the rose-cut diamond bandeau.

Since the change of throne on January 14, 2024, Mary now has access to the Crown Jewels and first wore the emerald set for an official portrait released in April last year.

Mary has also worn other tiaras recently that have a long history in Denmark including Queen Caroline Amalie’s gold tiara, a piece that had not been worn in 140 years, and the Pearl Poiré tiara, which had been regularly seen on Queen Margrethe during her 52-year reign.

van der Velde says there have been many requests over the years for the Midnight tiara to be recreated for clients, or something similar made, but “the answer always has been no”.

Many would assume it was Queen Mary’s support of the brand that began Ole Lynggaard’s connection with Australia but its CEO Søren [son of founder Ole] had worked as a Jackaroo on a farm near Canberra when he was a teenager in the 1980s. Charlotte’s daughter Sofia Lynggaard Normann recently designed two collections for the business, inspired by her time living in Bondi.

King Frederik’s nephew Count Nikolai moved to Sydney in 2023 to study and he’s been living and working in Australia on and off ever since.

Australians are hoping King Frederik and Queen Mary will return to Australia soon for another official tour. When they do, the public turnout will no doubt be enormous.

“I think, she’s done an excellent job,” van der Velde says of Mary’s time in the royal family.

Queen Mary of Denmark’s best jewellery moments

“When I first came to Australia [16 years ago] not a lot of people knew very much about Denmark.

“I think she has put Denmark on the map for a lot of Australians.

“I’m very proud to say I’m both Australian and Danish, and I think Australians feel like they have a queen now as well. That’s how a lot of Australians view her.”

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