The diadem was made for Princess Louise of the Netherlands. She was born in Germany, the daughter of the then Prussian King Frederick William III. In 1825 she married her cousin Prince Willem Frederik of Oranje-Nassau, the second son of King William I and brother of Willem II. Thus she became a Dutch princess.
Louise’s granddaughter, Louise of Sweden, married the future King Frederick VIII of Denmark. This Louise, better known as Lovisa in Sweden and Denmark, took the diadem to Denmark after her marriage. Lovisa’s son Christiaan X is Margrethe’s grandfather.
The diadem, made of diamonds and 18 pearls, is part of a set called the Perlepoire set, or the ‘pear pearl set’. This set consists of a diadem, necklace, earrings and brooch. Margrethe wears all four in the state portrait.
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