Kent Diamond Circle Earrings

Happy Birthday to Princess Michael of Kent, who turns 75 today (along with my grandfather)! One of the most flamboyant members of the extended Royal Family, Princess Michal possesses a remarkable collection of heirloom royal jewels, including today’s versatile Diamond Circle Earrings.

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Featuring large single diamonds surrounded by a removable diamond circle frame, the earrings first appeared on Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent in the early 1950s, most notably in a Dorothy Wilding portrait, when it was paired with the Kent Festoon Tiara. The provenance of the earrings is unknown, as Princess Marina was widowed and in reduced circumstances at the time, though its possible that the diamonds were among the jewels inherited from Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll.

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After Princess Marina’s death in 1968, her Diamond Circle Earrings were inherited by her younger son, Prince Michael, and among the first royal heirlooms worn by his bride, Baroness Marie Christine von Reibnitz, at the Ball held in Vienna on the eve of their wedding in 1973, along with the Kent City of London Fringe Tiara. Princess Michael has continued to wear the Diamond Circle Earrings in its various configurations, also replacing the central diamonds with sapphires to pair with Princess Marina’s Art Deco sapphire and diamond clips, which can also be worn in a necklace. Princess Michael continues to attend, and be pictured at, State Banquets and other glittering royal events, so there is no doubt we will continue to see the versatile Kent Diamond Circle Earrings for years to come.

Learn about the Kent Festoon Tiara, Kent City of London Fringe Tiara, and the Argyll-Kent Daisy Brooches!

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