The Crown Jewels
The Danish Crown Jewels are the result of the great interest generations of queens and princesses have taken in jewellery and precious stones.
The history of the Crown Jewels begins with Christian VI’s queen, Sophie Magdalene. She was widowed in 1746 and expected to die presently of grief. She therefore wrote her will, in which she specified that her jewellery was not to be given to a specific person, but should always be “with the crown”. In this way there would always be a magnificent item of jewellery available to the incumbent queen. The jewellery has been used and redesigned in relation to the demands of the age, and some queens have used it quite a lot, others hardly at all.
Frederik VIII’s queen, Lovisa, was very interested in the Crown Jewels and defined which jewels were Crown Jewels, and added some of her own items. Those she supplied are exhibited at Amalienborg.
There are four sets of jewellery called Crown Jewels at Rosenborg. They were all given their current form by Christian VIII’s queen, Caroline Amalie, who had them redesigned in the 1840s, though many of the stones are much older.
The Crown Jewels may only be used by the Queen and only within the country’s borders. They are typically used a couple of times a year. The Crown Jewels are always worn at the New Year Reception, and otherwise usually during state visits, special family events, and similar occasions. For example the large pearls and rubies, the emerald set, and the brilliant set were all worn on the occasion of the Crown Couple’s wedding in 2004.