Today marks the 115th Anniversary of the Birth of the late Queen Giovanna of Bulgaria, who was born on this day in 1907! The Italian Princess who married the Bulgarian Tsar that was poisoned by Hitler, and spent much of her life in exile, Queen Giovanna possessed some spectacular jewels, which included this Art Deco Pearl and Diamond Tiara!
Bulgarian Köchert Tiara | Pearl Tiara | Queen Marie-Amélie’s Diamond Parure | The Bulgarian Royal Tiaras
When Princess Giovanna of Savoy was marrying Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria in 1930, she received this splendid Pearls and Diamond Tiara as a wedding gift from her parents, King Victor Emanuel III and Queen Elena of Italy. The Tiara was worn by the new Bulgarian Queen for a portrait soon after her marriage, and was taken into exile in the 1940s.
In 1993, Queen Giovanna’s daughter-in-law, Tsaritsa Margarita, wore the Pearl and Diamond Tiara for the Wedding Ball of Duke Friedrich of Württemberg and Princess Marie of Wied at Schloss Altshausen in 1993. The Bulgarian Royal Family are closely linked to the House of Württemberg through Queen Giovanna’s sister-in-law, who married into the Württemberg Royal Family.
Earlier that year, Queen Giovanna’s Pearl and Diamond Tiara was worn by Doña Carla María de la Soledad Royo-Villanova y Urrestarazu when she married Kubrat, Prince of Panagyurishte, the third son of Tsar Simeon and Tsaritsa Margarita.
In 1996, Doña Miriam de Ungría y López wore Queen Giovanna’s Pearl and Diamond Tiara when she married Kardam, Prince of Tarnovo, the eldest son of Tsar Simeon and Queen Margarita.
Queen Giovanna’s Pearl and Diamond Tiara was most recently worn by Princess Alexandra von Kohary, daughter of Princess Marie Louise of Bulgaria and the only female-line granddaughter of Queen Giovanna, when she married Jorge Champalimaud Raposo de Magalhães in 1999.
Following Queen Giovanna’s death in 2000, the location of the Pearl and Diamond Tiara is unknown, but it probably no longer belongs to the main line of the Royal Family as it was not worn to any royal events over the last two decades, though that may also be due to security and transportation issues. It was thought that the Tiara may be worn by Princess Mafalda, the eldest granddaughter of Tsar Simeon, for her wedding earlier this year, but no images were released from the wedding.
Bulgarian Köchert Tiara | Pearl Tiara | Queen Marie-Amélie’s Diamond Parure | The Bulgarian Royal Tiaras