Today marks the 99th Anniversary of the Birth of Queen Farida of Egypt, who was born on this day in 1921. Throughout her ten-year tenure as the Egyptian Queen Consort, Queen Farida frequently wore her magnificent Diamond Peacock Tiara, which we are featuring today!
Queen Farida’s Diamond Peacock Tiara | Art Deco Floral Tiara | Art Deco Diamond Chandelier Earrings
A magnificent Art Deco Diamond Tiara featuring a stylized peacock motif was a part of a suite of Jewels, which included her Art Deco Diamond Chandelier Earrings and a Boucheron Diamond Necklace, that was given to Safinaz Zulficar when she married King Farouk of Egypt in 1938. While the maker is unknown, the Tiara dates around the same time as Princess Fawzia’s Van Cleef & Arpels Tiara and Queen Nazli’s Van Cleef & Arpels Diamond Parure, so Van Cleef & Arpels is a possible creator, as is Boucheron, where Queen Farida’s magnificent Diamond Necklace was from.
16-year old Safinaz Zulficar first wore the Diamond Peacock Tiara with her Art Deco Diamond Chandelier Earrings and Boucheron Diamond Necklace for her Wedding to King Farouk of Egypt in Cairo in 1938.
In the years after her wedding, Queen Farida often wore the Diamond Peacock Tiara for numerous Portraits and Banquets, including for the Shah of Iran and Princess Fawzia of Egypt’s Wedding Banquet in 1939.
Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone visited Egypt for the Wedding and described meeting Queen Farida:
The little Queen, who was very sweet and gay. She was dressed in semi-evening with lots of diamonds of which she was very proud.”
Queen Farida often wore the Diamond Peacock Tiara for Banquets, Portraits and King Farouk’s Birthday Banquets in the 1940s, usually with her Art Deco Diamond Chandelier Earrings and also with her Art Deco Floral Tiara as a Corsage.
In 1948, King Farouk divorced Queen Farida due to a lack of male heir, and she returned all of her Jewels back to the King. Following the abolition of the Monarchy in 1953, some Jewels that remained in Egypt and retained by the Government, recently going on display at the Royal Jewelry Museum in Alexandria, but the Diamond Peacock Tiara was not among them so it was possibly broken up before then. . After her divorce in 1948, the Tiara disappeared from public view, and since she wore smaller Tiaras in Greece in 1964, and at the Wedding of King Leka of Albania in 1975.
Queen Farida’s Diamond Peacock Tiara | Art Deco Floral Tiara | Art Deco Diamond Chandelier Earrings
Queen Farida’s Diamond Peacock Tiara Is a Beautiful Tiara
Queen Farida of Egypt Is a Is a Beautiful Woman
Queen Farida of Egypt was a Ravishing Queen
That is interesting that Qu Farida was only 16 when she was married to King Farouk. There was a rumor that, ca 1955-59, a half-Egyptian girl (the most beautiful and nice girl) at my school was being protected by her mother as the foreign father was trying to steal her for an Egyptian marriage to help get king Farouk back in power. I wonder if there is somewhere a list of names of those involved with the court of the King. The girl was Amar Massamasuda (phonetically).
How fascinating. I’ll look it up and let you know!