Today marks the Anniversary of the Birth of Princess Eugenie of Greece, who was born on this day in 1910! The Greek Princess, cousin of many prominent royals, who was married first to a Radziwiłł Prince and then to a German-Italian Prince, the Princess wore several spectacular jewels but to mark the anniversary today, we are featuring her Art Deco Diamond Earrings!
Diamond Tiara | Radziwiłł Tiara | Cartier Olive Wreath Tiara | Diamond Star Tiara | Castel Duino Sapphire Necklace | Art Deco Diamond Earrings
A pair of striking Art Deco Diamond Earrings composed of geometric diamond clip elements suspended from a long line of diamonds, these pieces were likely acquired by the fabulously wealthy Princess Marie Bonaparte, Princess George of Greece for her only daughter, Princess Eugenie, at some point in the 1920s or 1930s, possibly from her favourite jeweller Cartier.
Princess Eugenie was initially pictured wearing the Earrings for a Gala, possibly in Paris, in the 1930s, along with her massive Cross Brooch/Pendant.
Princess Eugenie notably wore her Art Deco Diamond Earrings with the Alexandrine Drop Tiara borrowed from Queen Alexandrine of Denmark for the Wedding Banquet of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Princess Ingrid of Sweden at the Royal Palace of Stockholm in 1935, and repeated the same companion the following evening for the Wedding Gala.
Two years later, Princess Eugenie and her father, Prince George, represented Greece at the Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth at Westminster Abbey, when she wore her Art Deco Diamond Earrings with her mother’s Cartier Bandeau Tiara, and likely also wore them for the Wedding Gala of Crown Prince Paul of Greece and Princess Frederica of Hanover in 1938.
During her short-lived marriage to Prince Dominik Radziwiłł, Princess Eugenie wore the Radziwiłł Tiara and some Habsburg Heirlooms but those had been stolen by her former husband after their divorce in 1946, thus Princess Eugenie wore her Art Deco Diamond Earrings with her mother’s Cartier Bandeau Tiara when she attended the Wedding Ball of Queen Elizabeth II and her first cousin, Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, in 1947.
By the time of her second marriage, to Prince Raimundo of Thurn and Taxis, the 2nd Duke of Castel Duino, Princess Eugenie had acquired several other jewels like her Diamond Tiara and the Castel Duino Sapphire Necklace, so her Art Deco Diamond Earrings were not publicly pictured at any of the royal events she or her daughter, Princess Tatiana, attended though the 1950s or 1960s, thought hey remained in Princess Eugenie’s possession until the end of her life.
After her death in 1989, her jewels were inherited by Princess Eugenie’s three children, including Princess Tatiana Radziwiłł and the 3rd Duke of Castel Duino, and in 1999, the Art Deco Diamond Earrings were sold, along with the Cartier Olive Wreath Tiara and Diamond Star Tiara, at the Beaussant Lefèvre Auction House. The current location of the Earrings is unknown.
Diamond Tiara | Radziwiłł Tiara | Cartier Olive Wreath Tiara | Diamond Star Tiara | Castel Duino Sapphire Necklace | Art Deco Diamond Earrings
