Princess Marina’s Diamond Girandole Earrings

Today marks the Anniversary of the Birth of Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, who was born on this day in 1906! The glamorous Greek Princess who married the dashing British Prince, was widowed during the Second World War, and continued to be a busy working British Royal until her untimely death in 1968, Princess Marina possessed an exception jewellery Collection, among the highlights of which were her Diamond Girandole Earrings!

Cambridge Sapphire Parure | Festoon TiaraCity of London Fringe Tiara | Pearl Bandeau | Bow Brooch | Cartier Sapphire Clips | Diamond Girandole EarringsArt Deco Brooch | Pearl Earrings | Emerald BroochDiamond Circle Earrings | Daisy Brooches | Cartier Flower Brooch

Not long after Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark married Prince George, the Duke of Kent in 1934, she received these spectacular Diamond Girandole Earrings composed of a detachable pear-shaped diamond pendant set within old mine-cut diamond surround with similar articulated pendants on either side to the scrolled diamond surmount and detachable cluster top, mounted in silver and gold ca 1780, which reportedly came from the collection of her grandmother, the Grand Duchess Vladimir.

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The Duchess of Kent began wearing her Diamond Girandole Earrings soon after her wedding, most notably for the Coronation of King George VI in 1937, the Presentation Court at Buckingham Palace, the Royal Variety Performance in 1938, a Gala Performance at Covent Garden in 1939, and a spectacular Cecil Beaton photoshoot with her sisters, Princess Olga of Yugoslavia and Princess Elisabeth, Countess of Törring-Jettenbach, almost always with the City of London Fringe Tiara and her spectcular Diamond Bow Brooch. 

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Princess Marina was tragically widowed during the Second World War, but the Diamond Girandole Earrings remained frequently worn following the Second World War, with appearances at a Gala at Hertford House in 1950, a Gala Performance at Covent Garden, the Opening of the Festival of Britain in 1951, her Far East Tour in 1952, a visit to Athens, and then the the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, when the Earrings were paired with the Kent Festoon Tiara.

Princess Marina continued to wear the Diamond Girandole Earrings through the 1950s and 1960s, including for the Wedding Gala of her nephew, Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia, and Princess Maria Pia of Savoy in 1955, the Royal Film Performance of ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ in 1957, on the French State Visit to Britain in 1960, and a Gala during the Greek State Visit in 1963.

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 After Princess Marina’s death in 1968, the Diamond Girandole Earrings were inherited by her son, the Duke of Kent, and worn by his wife, the Duchess of Kent for several official portraits and numerous occasions from the 1960s throughout to the 1990s, including a Gala at Versailles in 1972, at a State Opening of Parliament, with a final appearance at King Constantine II of Greece’s 50th Birthday Gala in 1990. The Duchess reportedly once said that she had spent time crawling on floors to retrieve diamonds from those earrings, as they tended to fall off easily.

By the mid-1990s, the Duke and Duchess of Kent faced serious financial difficulties, with the Diamond Girandole Earrings discreetly sold before appearing at Auction at Christie’s in 2000, with four of the larger diamonds in each earrings replaced with imitations.

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The Earrings were later owned by jeweller SJ Phillips, and loaned to Kim Kardashian for the Hollywood Life Style Awards in 2007, as well as for the “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” Premiere Party two days later. The Earrings were also worn by the Hon. Daphne Guinness for the Funeral of Alexander McQueen in 2010.  

Cambridge Sapphire Parure | Festoon TiaraCity of London Fringe Tiara | Pearl Bandeau | Bow Brooch | Cartier Sapphire Clips | Diamond Girandole EarringsArt Deco Brooch | Pearl Earrings | Emerald BroochDiamond Circle Earrings | Daisy Brooches | Cartier Flower Brooch

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This is an updated version of a previous article on the Diamond Girandole Earrings, which as published in 2016!

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