Original Coverage & Source Attribution: www.nine.com.au
The coming auction of a swathe of historic jewels linked to Europe’s royal and noble families has caused anger in Sweden with experts calling the sale “inappropriate”.
One of the lots in Sotheby’s Royal & Noble Jewels auction, on November 11 in Geneva, is a sapphire and diamond demi-parure (a necklace and matching earrings) that once belonged to the mother of Sweden’s current king.
King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden with Queen Silvia and their daughters Crown Princess Victoria (right) and Princess Madeleine (left) in 2025 at the Royal Palace. Sara Friberg/The Royal Court of Sweden
The suite is estimated to sell for $515k to $850k AUD.
King Carl XVI Gustaf is understood to be considering purchasing the jewels during the auction to ensure they remain with the royal family.
The sapphires were most recently seen at the royal weddings of his two daughters Crown Princess Victoria and Princess Madeleine, in 2010 and 2013 respectively.
The impressive cabochon-cut sapphire and diamond necklace and earrings were worn by King Carl XVI Gustaf’s older sister Princess Birgitta, who died in 2024 aged 87.
She inherited the jewels from their mother, Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who was a descendant of Queen Victoria.
Before the sapphires were set into the necklace and earrings, the loose stones belonged to Tsarina Maria Feodorovna, the mother of Russia’s last Tsar Nicholas II, who survived the Russian revolution and spent her final years in her native Denmark.
They came into the Swedish royal family’s collection when Sibylla married Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden in 1932. Princess Sibylla frequently wore the sapphire jewels together with historical tiaras from the royal collection.
Princess Birgitta of Sweden wore the sapphires to the wedding of her niece, Princess Madeleine, at the Royal Palace on June 8, 2013 in Stockholm. Getty
Tragedy struck the family when her husband Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf died in a plane crash in 1947 in Denmark, leaving Sibylla to care for her young children including her son, who was immediately named crown prince and heir to the throne (the now King Carl XVI Gustaf).
Sadly, Princess Sibylla died in 1972 − the year before her son ascended the throne.
Her sapphire jewels passed to her daughter, Princess Birgitta who wore them regularly during her life including to many official functions with her brother the king.
One of their most high-profile outings was at the weddings of her two nieces, Crown Princess Victoria and Princess Madeleine.
But two years after her death, the jewels are going to auction.
A sapphire and diamond necklace and earrings that once belonged to Princess Sibylla of Sweden, mother of King Carl XVI Gustaf, is going to auction at Sotheby’s on November 11. Sotheby’s
The auction also includes other six pieces owned by Princess Sibylla and Princess Birgitta including a diamond and pink sapphire brooch, two bracelets and three rings.
Experts in Sweden believe the king was blindsided by the decision to sell his mother and sister’s jewellery.
“Selling his mother’s jewellery at auction goes against everything the king stands for,” editor in chief of Swedish magazine Svensk Damtidning, Johan T Lindwall, said.
Princess Sibylla wears the sapphire jewels in this portrait taken in 1947. Sotheby’s
“I don’t think it’s out of the question that the king himself will buy back his mother’s jewellery. It’s rather very likely as they have great sentimental value for the king.”
Swedish royal expert Herman Lindqvist told the publication it was “inappropriate to sell such items”.
He said: “It is something that should be preserved within the family. Then they can, of course, do whatever they want with their heirlooms but I don’t think it is appropriate or tasteful to do so [at auction].
Crown Princess Victoria married personal trainer Daniel Westling, now Prince Daniel, in a royal wedding attended by royalty from around the world on June 19 2010. Jonas Ekstromer – Pool/Getty Images
“Personal valuables that are tied to personal memories should not be sold in that way. Then it can be done more discreetly and privately.”
Princess Christina, who is the other sister of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Princess Birgitta, has not commented on the auction.
According to Svensk Damtidning, she has previously spoken of thee importance of royal jewellery and how it continues the family’s history through generations.
