Beauchamp Pearl and Diamond Tiara

~ Saad719

Happy Birthday to Cik Puan Besar (Queen Dowager) Kalsom of Pahang, who turns 70 today! The consort of one of the most illustrious Malay States for almost three decades, Sultanah Kalsom has worn many splendid Tiaras, the most illustrious and spectacular of which is the Beauchamp Pearl and Diamond Tiara!

Beauchamp Pearl and Diamond Tiara | Diamond Tiara

Originally of Persian and Pakistani descent, the then Anita Abdullah worked as an air stewardess for a prominent airline before she married Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Al-Musta’in Billah Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Abu Bakar Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mu’adzam Shah of Pahang in 1992, taking the title of Sultanah Kalsom as a Consort of non-royal descent. Sultanah Kalsom is involved in a number charitable activities across Malaysia, including those combating domestic violence and promoting childhood development and female empowerment, and is also the patron of a “Tiger Ball” that raises money for protecting endangered tigers across Asia. The Sultan and Sultanah had one son, Tengku Abdul Fahd Mu’adzam Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Al-Musta’in Billah, and were married until his death in 2019, just months after his abdication, and the accession of her son, Sultan Abdullah, as King of Malaysia. After becoming a widow, Sultanah Kalsom was given the title of Cik Puan Besar (Queen Dowager) of Pahang.

Featuring three pear-shaped, hanging pearls in an ornate Belle Epoque Frame, this large Tiara is likely a 19th century Heirloom of the Lygon Family, and was among the Beauchamp Family Heirlooms gifted to Lady Lettice Grosvenor when she married the controversial 7th Earl Beauchamp in 1902. Their family inspired the Marchmain Family in Brideshead Revisited.

Their daughter-in-law, the fabulous Mona, Countess Beauchamp wore the Pearl and Diamond Tiara with Empress Eugénie’s Diamond Bow Brooch at a Gala Performance at Covent Garden during the French State Visit in 1939.

While not pictured, Countess Beauchamp was also described wearing the Beauchamp Tiara at the Battle of Balaclava Centenary Ball in 1954, and the Anglo-Danish Society Dinner in London in 1955.

Earl and Countess Beauchamp, the latter wearing a magnificent pearl and diamond tiara

The Earldom became extinct upon the Earl’s death, but the Countess continued to reside at the Family Seat of Madresfield, giving a rare interview to Selina Hastings.

Her husband died in 1980 and Mona continued at Madresfield alone. Very occasionally the large and lovely garden was opened to the public to raise money for the village church. The house never. ‘All the time all sorts of people write and ask to see the house, and my answer is always the same.’ ‘What is your answer?’ ‘No.’ Once a year at Christmas the local vicar takes a service in the family chapel, where Lady Beauchamp went most days, just for a few minutes, to say her prayers. When in London during the week, where she was driven in a powder-blue Rolls Royce, she would sometimes look into the church at the bottom of Sloane Street to communicate with her creator.

In the old days the Lygon town house was a many-storeyed mansion in Belgrave Square. This is now the Ghanaian High Commission, although its spacious stable block in Halkin Place has been retained and converted into a six-bedroom ‘pied-à-terre’. ‘The original house was much too big, so I asked the Grosvenor Estate if I could convert it into flats. They said I could not, because they did not wish undesirables living there.’ A deep inhalation on the little cigar. ‘So I sold it to the Ghanaian Government.’ Another sweet smile.

While Madresfield went to a niece, the Tiara was soon sold off at Auction not long after the death of the Countess Beauchamp in 1989. Empress Eugénie’s Diamond Bow Brooch was also sold off around this time and is now among the French Crown Jewels on display in the Galerie d’Apollon of the Musée du Louvre.

The Tiara was acquired by Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang for his new wife, Sultanah Kalsom, who was prevented from wearing the Pahang State Tiara.

Sultanah Kalsom wore the Beauchamp Pearl and Diamond Tiara for countless events over the next 28 years, for Birthday Parties, Galas, and Weddings, usually perched low on her forehead.

However, the Tiara has not been worn since the Sultan’s death in 2019, and the now Cik Puan Besar Kalsom usually wears her smaller Diamond Tiara.

Beauchamp Pearl and Diamond Tiara | Diamond Tiara

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Beauchamp Pearl and Diamond Tiara

Diamond Tiara

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The Gandik Diraja Tiara

The Gandik Diraja Tiara

Diadem

Johor Diamond Tiara

Perak Diamond Tiara

Emerald Tiara

Diamond Tiara

Pearl Tiara

Ruby Tiara

Sapphire Tiara

Diamond Tiara

Perak Diamond Tiara

Selangor Diamond Crescent Tiara

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Terengganu State Diadem

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Originally of Persian and Pakistani descent, the then Anita Abdullah worked as an air stewardess for a prominent airline before she married Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Al-Musta’in Billah Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Abu Bakar Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mu’adzam Shah of Pahang in 1992, taking the title of Sultanah Kalsom as a Consort of non-royal descent. Sultanah Kalsom is involved in a number charitable activities across Malaysia, including those combating domestic violence and promoting childhood development and female empowerment, and is also the patron of a “Tiger Ball” that raises money for protecting endangered tigers across Asia. The Sultan and Sultanah had one son, Tengku Abdul Fahd Mu’adzam Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Al-Musta’in Billah, and were married until his death in 2019, just months after his abdication, and the accession of her son, Sultan Abdullah, as King of Malaysia. After becoming a widow, Sultanah Kalsom was given the title of Cik Puan Besar (Queen Dowager) of Pahang.

Featuring three pear-shaped, hanging pearls in an ornate Belle Epoque Frame, this spectacular Tiara is likely a 19th century Heirloom of the Lygon Family, and was among the Beauchamp Family Heirlooms gifted to Lady Lettice Grosvenor when she married the controversial 7th Earl Beauchamp in 1902 (their family inspired the Marchmain Family in Brideshead Revisited). Their daughter-in-law, the fabulous Mona, Countess Beauchamp, was notably pictured in the Tiara at a Gala Performance at Covent Garden during the French State Visit in 1939. Mona was the last Countess Beauchamp and after her death in 1989 the Family Seat of Madresfield went to a niece while the Tiara was soon sold off.

The buyer was none other than Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah of Pahang, who married the former Air Hostess in 1991, and the new Sultanah Kalsom wore the Beauchamp Pearl and Diamond Tiara for countless events over the next 28 years, for Birthday Parties, Galas, and Weddings, usually perched low on her forehead.

Despite the spectacular size of the, or in spite of it, Sultanah Kalsom mainly preferred her other Tiaras, usually a much smaller diamond version, for Gala Occasions, and in recent years but lets hope tit is worn by a Pahang Prince too sometime zoom. We wish HH a very Happy Birthday and Many Happy Returns!

Royal Magazin

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