Queen Victoria’s Pearl Corsage Brooch

Today marks the 90th Anniversary of the death of Queen Victoria of Sweden, who died on this day in 1930. Born Princess Viktoria of Baden, she brought a plethora of jewels into the Swedish Royal Family when she married the future King Gustav V of Sweden in 1881, including today’s Pearl Corsage Brooch.

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August 7, 1862 – Birth of Queen Victoria of Sweden, wife of King Gustav V of Sweden, born Victoria of Baden in Karlsruhe (Germany) Victoria was the daughter of Grand Duke Frederick I of Baden, and Princess Louise of Prussia; a first cousin of Kaiser Wilhelm II. She was named after her aunt, Victoria, Crown Princess of Prussia. In 1881, she married Crown Prince Gustaf of Sweden and Norway, the son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway and Sofia of Nassau. The marriage was popular in Sweden where she was called "The Vasa Princess", because of her descent from the old Vasa dynasty, and she received a very elaborate welcome on the official in Stockholm. The marriage was reported not to have been a happy one but still produced three children. Suffering from ill health, she often spent the winters at spas abroad and would continue to spend the winters outside Sweden from that year until her death. In 1907, Victoria became Queen-consort of Sweden. As queen, she was only present in Sweden during the summers, but she still dominated the court. Queen Victoria lost a lot of her popularity among the Swedes for her often noted Pro-German attitude (consider her grandfather was first German Emperor Wilhelm I), particularly politically during World War I when she is said to have influenced her husband to large extents. She kept up a close contact with the German emperor, whom she often visited during the war. Toward the end of her life, with her health declining, she seldom spent time in Sweden. Her final visit to Sweden was on her husband's 70th birthday in June 1928, and Queen Victoria died on 4 April 1930 in Rome at age 67. #swedishroyals #swedishroyalty #swedishmonarchy #victoriaofbaden #gustafv #bernadotte #royals #royalty #royaleurope #royalconsort #frederickiofbaden #louiseofprussia

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Featuring a central perl surrounded by a diamond semi-sunburst with a series of elaborate diamond pendants suspended from the central element, which can also be replaced with a diamond element. The provenance of the piece is unknown, though it’s quite likely that it was a wedding gift, possibly even from the Swedish people who called Princess Viktoria “The Vasa Princess”, because of her descent from the old Vasa dynasty. Crown Princess and later Queen wore the Pearl Corsage Brooch throughout her life, with a variety of other jewels, usually the Baden Fringe Tiara as a Diadem, a Necklace and a Stomacher, but also with the Leuchtenberg Sapphires and her Diamond Stars.

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Unlike many of Queen Victoria’s other jewels, which went to her granddaughter, Queen Ingrid of Denmark, the Pearl Corsage Brooch, and the Baden Fringe, remained in the Swedish Royal vaults, but the Corsage Brooch didn’t publicly appear for almost a century until being worn by Queen Silvia, with the Baden Fringe, for a Dinner on a State Visit to Germany, a fitting tribute to a German Princess who became the Swedish Queen.

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