German Royal Jewels: The Isenburg Family Tiara and Crown Princess Cecilie’s Meander Tiara

These two very different tiaras were linked together in 2011, at the wedding of Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia and Princess Sophie of Isenburg. For her big day, Princess Sophie wore both of them – one for the religious ceremony and one for the evening reception.

The Isenburg Floral Tiara

The religious ceremony tiara was from her family collection. The Isenburg Floral Tiara was made in Paris in 1860s and is traditionally worn by female members of the princely family of Isenburg on their wedding day.

Among others previous wearers were Sophie’s sister, Archduchess Katharina of Austria and Isabelle, Princess of Wied. The tiara is made from silver arranged in floral pattern and adorned wth diamonds.

Princess Sophie wearing the Isenburg Floral Tiara on her wedding day

For the evening reception, Sophie opted for a tiara from her husband’s family: she wore Crown Princess Cecilie’s Meander Tiara. The platinum and diamond tiara was created by the imperial jeweller Koch, although some other sources attribute it to Friedlander. 

Crown Princess Cecilie Meander Tiara (right)

Crown Prince Wilhelm presented the tiara to Cecilie on the day of their wedding in 1905. The Crown Princess later loaned the tiara to Grand Duchess Kira Kirillovna of Russia upon her marriage to her second son, Prince Louis Ferdinand. In 1965, Kira’s daughter Princess Marie-Cecile wore the tiara for her own wedding to Duke Friedrich August of Oldenburg. 

Grand Duchess Kira  Kirillovna of Russia (left), Princess Marie-Cecile of Prussia (middle) and Princess Sophie of Isenburg wearing the Meander Tiara

The tiara is made up of two rows of meanders, separated by trellis-work. In the centre of each trellis is a large diamond. 

I rather like both tiaras but the Meander Tiara is definitely a winner: it's both delicate and a pretty substantial piece. And, what's perhaps more important for me, has quite an illustrious history.