Today marks the 65th Anniversary of the Death of Princess Margaret of Prussia, Landgravine of Hesse, who was also a short-time Queen consort-elect of Finland. The granddaughter of Queen Victoria and sister of Kaiser Wilhelm II, she had a plethora of glittering jewels, which had a tragic fate, among which we are featuring the Hesse Emerald Tiara-
Hesse Ears of Wheat Tiara | Hesse Amethyst Tiara | Hesse Emerald Tiara | Hesse Fleur-de-Lys Tiara
In 1893, Princess Margaret of Prussia received a glittering Emerald Parure consisting of a Tiara, Necklace, a pair of earrings, two bracelets, a brooch with a pendant, a brooch with three pendants, a brooch in the shape of a cross, and a small pendant, as a gift from her mother, Empress Frederich, the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria, when she married Prince Frederick Charles, the Landgrave of Hesse. Princess Margaret wore the Parure for a series of Official Portraits, among which were featured on cigarette cases.
In the late 1930s, Princess Margaret loaned her Emerald Parure to her daughter-in-law, Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark, the wife and later widow of her sixth son and the sister of the Duke of Edinburgh, who wore it for a portrait.
After the Second World War, the Hesse Family Jewels were buried at Schloss Friedrichshof, being used as a club by American Soldiers, when they were discovered and stolen by the club manager and her future husband. The theft wasn’t discovered until Princess Sophie was preparing to remarry in 1946, and while the culprits were found, only 10% of the jewels were returned in 1951, including the Hesse Ears of Wheat Tiara, but the fate of the Emeralds still remains a mystery.
UPDATE- Some of the pear-shaped emeralds were recovered and went into a new Tiara worn by Princess Tatiana of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, the then Landgravine of Hesse.
Hesse Ears of Wheat Tiara | Hesse Amethyst Tiara | Hesse Emerald Tiara | Hesse Fleur-de-Lys Tiara
Have you heard about the Hesse Crown Jewels heist? It’s a piece of history that reads like a movie script! At the end of WWII, US Army officers staying in Kronberg Castle discovered the jewels and stole them. Pictured here is Princess Margaret of Hesse wearing some of her jewels. pic.twitter.com/mshKyzOEWE
— Fold3 (@fold3) November 13, 2018
Have you heard about the Hesse Crown Jewels heist? It’s a piece of history that reads like a movie script! At the end of WWII, US Army officers staying in Kronberg Castle discovered the jewels and stole them. Pictured here is Princess Margaret of Hesse wearing some of her jewels. pic.twitter.com/mshKyzOEWE
— Fold3 (@fold3) November 13, 2018