INTERNATIONAL TIARA DAY EVENT 2026 DAY TWO — 21 May 2026: Favorite tiara debut ➽ Mary Donaldson, now Queen Mary of Denmark, in the Danish Ruby Parure for her pre-wedding dinner and gala theater concert (May 11 & 13, 2004)
While this is technically two separate tiara appearances, I've always considered this Mary's grand tiara debut that spanned over several days. With her wedding tiara, she had three tiara appearances in four days!
On May 11, 2004, Mary Donaldson made her tiara debut in the Danish Ruby Parure at her pre-wedding banquet at Christiansborg Palace that was hosted by Queen Margrethe II. For the banquet, Mary donned a silver gown designed by Malene Birger with the ruby parure.
Two days later, on May 13, 2004, the eve before her wedding to Crown Prince Frederik, Mary donned the Danish Ruby Parure again. This time for a theater gala at the Royal Theater in Cophenhagen, Denmark. For this occasion, Mary wore her hair down in soft waves instead of an updo like a few days prior. She also wore a stunning red gown designed by Uffe Frank, who also designed her wedding gown. The red gown was inspired by one of the gowns worn previously by Frederik's grandmother, Queen Ingrid of Denmark.
In 2004, the Danish Ruby Parure was celebrating it's 200th anniversary. The parure was purchased by Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte for his wife, Desiree Clary. Desiree wore the parure to the coronation of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Later in 1810, Jean Baptiste was elected the heir of the Swedish throne and the parure became royal jewels.
In 1869, the ruby parure went to Denmark with Princess Lovisa of Sweden when she married King Frederik VII of Denmark. The ruby parure has been in possession of the Danish Royals since 1869 and in 2000, Queen Ingrid of Denmark gifted them to her grandson, Crown Prince Frederik.
Ingrid's wish for the Danish Ruby Parure was for Frederik's future wife to wear them. Four years after Ingrid's death, Mary fulfilled that request by wearing the Danish Ruby Parure for the events of her wedding to Frederik. Mary has donned the Danish Ruby Parure several times in her twenty-two years of marriage to Frederik, with each time she wears them honoring Queen Ingrid of Denmark. (x)
