Today marks the 130th Anniversary of the Birth of Princess Maud, Countess of Southesk, who was born on this day in 1893! The granddaughter, niece and cousin of Kings, who was made a Princess by King Edward VII, and married a Scottish Earl, Princess Maud possessed some spectacular Royal Heirlooms, including Queen Alexandra’s Sapphire Necklace!
Queen Alexandra’s Amethyst Tiara | Sapphire Necklace
When the future King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra celebrated their Silver Wedding Anniversary in 1888, the then Princess of Wales received a sapphire and diamond collar necklace, composed of eight sugarloaf-cabochon sapphires surrounded by diamonds, held by twisted diamond bar panels, as a gift from her brother-in-law, Tsar Alexander III of Russia, and sister, Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia (as discovered by the wonderful Beth).
The following year, the Princess of Wales put the sugarloaf-cabochon sapphires into herAmethyst Tiara, another gift from the Tsar, for the Wedding of her daughter, Princess Louise of Wales, and the Duke of Fife (also revealed by Beth).
After Queen Alexandra’s death in 1925, the Sapphire Necklace, and the Amethyst Tiara, were inherited by the aforementioned Princess Louise, Duchess of Fife, who left them in 1931, to her younger daughter, Princess Maud, then Lady Maud Carnegie and later Countess of Southesk, who wore the Tiara with the Amethysts for the Coronation of her cousin, King George VI in 1937.
Lady Maud Carnegie was only photographed wearing Queen Alexandra’s Sapphire Necklace once, for a Ball to assist the children of Russian Émigrés in 1939 organised by Countess Maria Vorontsova-Dashkova, Princess Nikita Alexandrovich of Russia, who was married to a grandson of Tsar Alexander III and Tsarina Maria Feodorovna.
After Princess Maud’s death in 1945, her Jewels were auctioned by trustees acting on behalf of her minor son, the future 3rd Duke of Fife. Queen Alexandra’s Sapphire Necklace sold for £4,900 to a London dealer and resurfaced again in 1986, when it was auctioned by Christie’s in New York. The Amethyst Tiara sold for £1750, and the Diamond and Amethyst Necklace sold for £580, along with a Diamond, Turquoise and Pearl Tiara. Queen Alexandra’s wedding gift to Princess Maud. The current location of the jewels in unknown.
Queen Alexandra’s Amethyst Tiara | Sapphire Necklace
HFJ | Royal Magazin | RJWMB
