Earlier this month, the 18th Duke of Norfolk, the Earl Marshal and Premier Duke in the Peerage of England, married the Hon. Francesca Vaughan Herbert, and at the South African State Banquet earlier this week, the newlywed Duchess of Norfolk was pictured wearing a family heirloom; the spectacular Sapphire and Diamond Necklace!
The Duchess of Norfolk’s Sapphire Necklace | Pearl and Diamond Tiara
Composed of sapphire and diamond clusters joined by diamonds and sapphires, from which diamond pendant fringes are suspended, the necklace seems to be an heirloom of the Beaumont Family, belonging to Mona Fitzalan-Howard, 11th Baroness Beaumont, the grandmother of the present Duke, who married the 3rd Baron Howard of Glossop in 1914. Baroness Beaumont was notably pictured wearing the necklace along with a Tiara and her Peeress Robes in a portrait taken at Carlton Towers likely around the time of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
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In 1971, the Sapphire Necklace was worn by Lady Tessa Fitzalan-Howard for her Wedding to the 5th Earl of Balfour just a few weeks before her grandmother, Baroness Beaumont’s, death. The necklace seems to have also been worn by one of her four daughters, possibly at their wedding.
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The Sapphire and Diamond Necklace was also worn by her younger sister, Lady Marcia Fitzalan-Howard, for her wedding to Patrick Ryecart in 1977, which has cemented its reputation as a bridal piece.
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The Tiara of the previous Duchess of Norfolk was inherited by her daughters and current belongs to the Marchioness of Lothian, while Baroness Beaumont’s Tiara seems to have been acquired by Imelda Marcos at some point in the 1980s. The family seem to have also had a Tiara composed of Diamond Sunbursts, that was worn by Georgina Susan Gore when she married the present Duke in 1987 and most recently by his niece, Lady Maria Balfour, in 2006, though since it was not worn to two subsequent events, it likely no longer belongs to the Family.
Henry, Earl of Arundel and Surrey, eldest son of the Duke and Duchess of Norfolk and Miss C.M.E. Colacicchi pic.twitter.com/CQcYgqSlSJ
— Louise G. (@LouiseGhislaine) July 19, 2016
Henry, Earl of Arundel and Surrey, eldest son of the Duke and Duchess of Norfolk and Miss C.M.E. Colacicchi pic.twitter.com/CQcYgqSlSJ
— Louise G. (@LouiseGhislaine) July 19, 2016When Henry Fitzalan-Howard, the Earl of Arundel and Surrey, eldest son and heir of the Duke of Norfolk, married Cecilia Mary Elizabeth dei Conti Colacicchi, Nobile di Anagni in 2016, the new Countess of Arundel wore the Sapphire and Diamond Necklace for the Wedding in the Cathedral Church of Our Lady and St Philip Howard in Arundel.
Members of the Royal Family and the President of South Africa arriving for the State Banquet.
🎥 Sky #UKSAStateVisit pic.twitter.com/cBuXZKwYwn
— ChristinZ (@ChristinsQueens) November 22, 2022
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Members of the Royal Family and the President of South Africa arriving for the State Banquet.
🎥 Sky #UKSAStateVisit pic.twitter.com/cBuXZKwYwn
Following his divorce earlier this year, the Duke of Norfolk married the Hon. Mrs Francesca Vaughan Herbert, former wife of the Hon. Harry Herbert, brother of the Earl of Carnarvon, at the Chelsea Old Town Hall earlier this month. As the wife of the Earl Marshal and Premier Duke in the Peerage of England, the new Duchess wore the Sapphire and Diamond Necklace as she took part in the procession at the South African State Banquet at Buckingham Palace earlier this week, walking beside Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex. Since the Duke, as Earl Marshal, is responsible for organising the Coronation of King Charles III next year, there is no doubt we will continue to see this spectacular family heirloom for years to come!
The Duchess of Norfolk’s Sapphire Necklace | Pearl and Diamond Tiara
That’s such a beautiful necklace! But I’m wondering why the Duchess of Norfolk wasn’t wearing a tiara. Is it that only HRH women wear tiaras at State Banquets?