Happy Birthday to Princess Marie de Ligne la Trémoïlle, who turns 100 today! The French Aristocrat married into the Trémoïlle Branch of the illustrious Ligne Princely Family, Princess Marie, known in the family as Princess Yayo, was pictured wearing this spectacular Diamond Tiara which we are featuring today!
UPDATE: Princess ‘Yayo’ passed away in March 2023 at the age of 100.
But first lets learn about Princess Yayo. Born Maria del Rosario de Lambertye-Gerbeviller, one of the three daughters of Charles de Lambertye-Gerbéviller, Marquis de Gerbéviller and Lorena Sancho-Mata y Contreras, a relative of the Duke of Alba, she was the younger sister of Princess Armand d’Arenberg and Princess Leontine de Ligne, growing up at the Château de Gerbéviller. In 1942, she married Prince Jean Charles Lamoral de La Trémoille, a cadet member of the House of Ligne, who inherited the titles of his maternal uncle, Prince Louis Jean Marie de La Trémoille, becoming the 13th Duke of Thouars, 12th Duke of La Trémoïlle, 15th Prince de Tarente, 19th Prince de Talmond and 19th Count of Laval as well as disputed potential claims to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, though in Belgium, the legal surname of ‘de La Trémoïlle’ was added to the branch of the family, making them “HH Prince/ss de Ligne de La Trémoïlle”.
The couple had three children, the current Prince de Ligne de La Trémoïlle, as well as the Princess de Mérode and Princess Alain de Polignac, residing at the Chateau de Antoing in Belgium and the Château de Serrant in France, where she used to sleep (during the summer) in the main state bedroom, as well as on the Rue Oudinot in Paris, where they were leading socialites in the 1950s. Princess Yayo remains at the heart of the extended Ligne la Trémoïlle Family, residing in Paris with frequent visits to the Chateau de Antoing and also the main Ligne seat at the Chateau de Beloeil. We wish her a very Happy Birthday and Many Happy Returns!
This spectacular Diamond Tiara, featuring ornate scrolls, was first appeared on Princess Yayo at a Ball at the Chateau de Groussay in 1950, with her sister, Princess Armand d’Arenberg, and Madame Bertrand de la Haye Jousselin. The Tiara was paired with an ornate Diamond Necklace with an emerald clasp and two clip brooches that featured large emeralds.
Princess Yayo also wore the Tiara at another Ball in the 1950s, with a large stone worn as a pendant from an elaborate necklace, and likely the clasp of the previous necklace worn as a brooch.
In 1966, the Diamond Tiara was worn by Princess Yayo’s daughter, Princess Hedwige de Ligne, for her Wedding to Prince Charles de Mérode at the Chateau de Antoing. The couple now reside at the Château de Serrant.
Embed from Getty Images
The current location of the Tiara is unknown. When Isabella Orsisi married Princess Yayo’s grandson in 2008, she wore a newly designed Aquamarine Tiara, which may mean that this Tiara is no longer in the main branch of the family. Until there is a reappearance, the fate of this Tiara remains up for discussion.
