Today marks the Anniversary of the Birth of Queen Frederica of Greece, who was born on this day in 1917. The only daughter of the Duke of Brunswick and Princess Viktoria Louise of Prussia, who became the Queen Consort of Greece, Queen Frederica wore a variety of glittering jewels, one of which we are featuring today, her versatile Diamond Art Deco Clip Brooches-
The exact origin of the Art Deco Diamond Clips is unknown but they may have been among the wedding gifts when Princess Frederica of Hanover married Crown Prince Paul of Greece in 1938.
While they are now worn as Brooches, Queen Frederica wore her Art Deco Diamond Clips as a Bracelet on a large Gold Bangle, most notably with Queen Sophie’s Diamond Tiara in a series of portraits taken soon after her husband’s accession in 1947.
The Art Deco Diamond Clips were worn by Queen Frederica as a Bracelet on numerous occasions in the 1950s, usually with Queen Sophie’s Diamond Tiara and the Greek Emerald Parure.
In 1963, Queen Frederica gave her Art Deco Diamond Clip Bracelet to Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark upon her engagement to Crown Prince Constantine of Greece, who wore the Bracelet with Diamond Stars and her Van Cleef & Arpels Ruby Necklace for the Greek Monarchy Centenary Celebrations in 1963 and Official Portraits in 1964.
Queen Anne Marie also wore the Art Deco Diamond Clip Bracelet with the Greek Emerald Parure for her Wedding Ball at the Royal Palace of Athens in 1964 and also the Ruby Parure for the Wedding of Prince Michael of Greece in 1965.
In the 1970s, Queen Anne Marie began to wear Queen Frederica’s Art Deco Diamond Clips as Brooches.
The Art Deco Diamond Clips were worn by Queen Anne Marie for the Wedding Gala of her niece, Infanta Elena of Spain, in 1995.
A few years later, Queen Anne Marie wore Queen Frederica’s Diamond Art Deco Clips for the Wedding Gala of her daughter, Princess Alexia of Greece, and Carlos Morales Quintana at Bridgewater House in London in 1999
Queen Frederica’s Diamond Art Deco Clips were also worn by Queen Anne Marie for the Wedding Gala of her nephew, the Prince of Asturias, at the El Pardo Palace in Madrid in 2004.
More recently, Queen Anne Marie gave Queen Frederica’s Art Deco Diamond Clips to Crown Princess Marie Chantal, who worn them at the Wedding of Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg in 2011.
The following year, Crown Princess Marie Chantal wore Queen Frederica’s Art Deco Diamond Clips with Queen Sophie’s Diamond Tiara for Queen Margrethe’s Ruby Jubilee Banquet in 2012. Let’s hope we see these Royal Heirlooms worn again soon!
Queen Sophie’s Diamond Tiara
Diamond Fringe Tiara
Antique Corsage Tiara
Diamond Earrings
Art Deco Diamond Clip Brooches
JAR Earrings
Seed Pearl Brooch
Diamond Fringe Tiara
Greek Emerald Parure
Greek Ruby Parure
Khedive of Egypt Tiara
Antique Corsage Tiara
Pearl and Star Tiara
Diamond Stars
Aquamarine Pendant
Diamond Sautoir
Modern Diamond Necklace
Sapphire Necklace
Van Cleef & Arpels Ruby Necklace
Van Cleef & Arpels Suite
Embed from Getty Images
While they are now worn as Brooches, Queen Frederica wore her Diamond Art Deco Clips as a bracelet on a large gold bangle, most notably in a series of portraits taken soon after her husband’s accession in 1947. The provenance of the Clips is unknown, but given their design, they might have been wedding gifts in 1938. The bangle was primarily worn in the late 1940s and the 1950s, and seems to have retired to the vault for a few decades, though it was taken with the Greek Royal Family when they went into exile in 1967, and was inherited by King Constantine at Queen Frederica’s death in 1981.
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Queen Anne Marie has worn Queen Frederica’s Diamond Art Deco Clips as a singular or double Brooches, most notably at the wedding balls of her Spanish niece and nephew (Queen Frederica’s maternal grandchildren), Infanta Cristina in 1997 and King Felipe in 2004, as well as the pre-wedding gala of her eldest daughter, Princess Alexia, in 1999. UPDATE- she also wore it at her Pre-wedding Gala in 1964)
Embed from Getty Images
In recent years, Queen Anne Marie has loaned Queen Frederica’s Diamond Art Deco Clip Brooches to Crown Princess Marie Chantal, who worn them at the Wedding of Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, and most notably with Queen Frederica’s favourite Diamond Tiara at Queen Margrethe’s Ruby Jubilee Banquet in 2012. There is no doubt we will continue to see Queen Frederica’s Diamond Art Deco Clips for years to come.
These diamond clips are lovely! You can be very creative in their use. They are perfect for those who don’t like traditional brooches! I remember that Queen Letizia used some diamond clips when she attended Crown Prince Frederik’s wedding. She wasn’t married yet (not for another week or so), so she wasn’t wearing a tiara, but she did wear a pair of excellent clips on her divine red dress and they were very similar to these. I’m thinking they were loaned to her by her future MIL, Queen Sofia and now I wonder, could there have been more than one pair of diamond clips in Queen Frederica’s jewelry box? Or do Queen Sofia’s diamond clips have a completely different provenance?
Queen Frederica did have a couple of clip brooches, one of which did end up with Queen Sofia, but the ones worn by Queen Letizia came from the Countess of Barcelona, which I featured a few months ago! http://royalwatcherblog.com/2019/01/02/countess-of-barcelonas-ruby-clip-brooch/
Ah, yes! They are ruby and diamond! There is another lady who also wear similar clips from time to time, the lovely Duchess of Gloucester. No doubt she inherited those from her MIL. It turns out the Countess of Barcelona and the Duchess of Gloucester both married in 1935 and Queen Frederica in 1938, so these diamond clips were probably a very popular wedding gift. How I wished it had still been the case when I married in 1973! 🙂