QUEEN LETIZIA REVIVES THE RUSSIAN TIARA: AN IMPERIAL JEWEL RETURNS TO DIPLOMATIC SPLENDOR
Queen Letizia has brought back to the public stage one of the most emblematic jewels of the Spanish monarchy. Her choice reflects the power of symbols and the silent language of royal diplomacy.
In an evening that evoked the grandeur of receptions from a bygone era, Queen Letizia once again made history. During the state banquet held in honor of the Sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq, at the Royal Palace of Madrid, the Spanish monarch revived one of the most majestic and enigmatic pieces in the royal collection: the so-called Russian Tiara. Its reappearance, after years of absence, symbolized not only the elegance of the Spanish Crown but also the silent power of diplomacy adorned with diamonds.
The tiara’s lineage dates back to the late 19th century. It was a personal commission by Queen María Cristina of Habsburg-Lorraine, second wife of Alfonso XII and mother of Alfonso XIII. Inspired by traditional Russian kokoshniks semicircular headdresses worn by married women in Imperial Russia the piece was crafted in 1886 by jeweler Francisco Marzo. Made of platinum, pearls, and diamonds, it reflected the European courts’ fascination with the czarist aesthetic that Catherine the Great had elevated to a symbol of imperial sophistication.
After the death of the Countess of Barcelona in 2000, King Juan Carlos reached an agreement with his sisters to retain the tiara, which then passed to Queen Sofía’s personal jewelry collection. The Queen wore it during several state visits between 2006 and 2010, cementing its role as a jewel of dynastic continuity.
But it would be Letizia Ortiz who breathed new symbolic life into it. The current Queen debuted the tiara in 2018, at the state banquet honoring China’s President Xi Jinping; wore it again in 2024 in Amsterdam, during the official visit to King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands; and now, for a third time, in honor of the Sultan of Oman. On each occasion, the tiara has been paired with the same cobalt-blue gown a nod to Letizia’s stylistic consistency and her understanding of the visual language of power.
Her choice was far from accidental. In diplomacy, symbols carry as much weight as words. Reviving a jewel of European origin and Russian inspiration to receive an Arab leader conveys a sophisticated statement of respect and cultural balance. Letizia completed her look with the diamond drop earrings from Queen Victoria Eugenie’s joyas de pasar and the insignia of the Order of Oman, bestowed upon her by the Sultan himself during the visit.
The reappearance of the Russian Tiara also marks a return to the ceremonial splendor of the Royal Palace after years of restrained protocol. In an era when images speak as powerfully as gestures, Queen Letizia reaffirms, with every detail, that elegance remains a form of diplomacy.