Queen Mette-Marit, Queen Sonja and Family Choose Gems That Speak "The Language of Royal Mourning" at King Harald's Funeral, Says Jewelry Expert

Royal families from around the globe gathered to remember King Harald V of Norway at his funeral on Wednesday, September 9, and members of his family paid tribute to the 89-year-old with jewelry steeped in royal tradition.

The women of the Norwegian royal family—as well as many of the guests—wore classic pearl jewelry to King Harald’s funeral at Oslo Cathedral. It’s a choice that dates back to Queen Victoria’s day, as Eddie Le Vian, CEO of Le Vian jewelers, tells Marie Claire.

“Pearls have spoken the language of royal mourning for generations,” Le Vian says. “Since Queen Victoria mourned Prince Albert, pearls have come to evoke tears, remembrance and dignity. To me, their symbolism is profound: a pearl is formed layer by layer, just as grief is carried layer by layer. The tears may eventually dry, but the love—and the pearl—remain.”

King Harald’s widow, Queen Sonja, led the Norwegian royal family in mourning the late monarch, who died on August 28. The strand of pearls wrapped around her neck multiple times was the most striking of the royal women, and Le Vian notes that her ensemble “feels intensely personal.”

“The close rows of pearls encircle her like an embrace, while the long strand descends almost like a river of tears,” the jewelry expert shares. Queen Sonja paired the dramatic necklace with a black mourning veil, a pearl bracelet and large pearl earrings, adding King Harald’s royal family order to her black dress.

Like her mother-in-law, King Haakon's wife, Queen Mette-Marit, also wore a pearl necklace, but went for a simpler three-stand design with a diamond clasp and diamond-accented pearl studs.

Le Vian says that Mette-Marit’s “layered pearls carry a different but equally moving meaning.”

“Standing beside Queen Sonja as Norway’s new queen, she is at the threshold between two reigns,” he shares. “Her pearls become a bridge—between mother and daughter-in-law, private grief and public duty, King Harald’s legacy and King Haakon’s future.”

The new queen's daughter, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, also chose pearls for her grandfather's funeral. In addition to a classic pair of pearl studs, the future queen wore a special gift from her grandmother. Queen Sonja gave Ingrid Alexandra the pearl necklace she wore on Wednesday as a christening present, and it features a diamond heart pendant with a ruby center hanging from a tiny string of pearls.

Ingrid Alexandra swapped out her earrings for a pair of dangling pearls during a balcony appearance after the funeral, removing her veiled headpiece to wear a simple black headband.

King Harald and Queen Sonja's only daughter, Princess Märtha Louise, went for a bolder pearl look, layering a five-strand choker with a diamond and pearl clasp with a more classic single strand of pearls. She added oversized pearl button earrings and a similar veiled headband as her niece, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra.

“Diamonds announce light. Pearls hold it," Le Vian says. "That is why pearls feel so profoundly right in mourning: they resemble tears, yet they endure long after the tears have fallen.”