Queen Nazli’s Diamond Tiara 

Today marks the 45th Anniversary of the Death of Queen Nazli of Egypt, who died on this day in 1978. The accomplished Aristocrat who became the first Egyptian Queen and the mother of the last King, Queen Nazli possessed a specular jewellery collection, which included this Diamond Tiara!

Diamond Tiara | Van Cleef & Arpels Diamond Necklace

A striking Diamond Tiara composed as a kokoshnik, with a delicate design that would date it to the 1910s or the early 1920s, this Tiara of unknown provenance was likely acquired for Queen Nazli but was not photo-raged until the mid-1930s, when she began to have a prominent public position as the Queen Mother.  

In 1939, Queen Mother Nazli commissioned her famous Diamond Parure from Van Cleef & Arpels to celebrate the Wedding of her daughter, Princess Fawzia of Egypt, to the Shah of Iran, but in the following years, she continued to wear the Van Cleef & Arpels Diamond Necklace with the older Diamond Tiara for several occasions, including during the celebrations of the Wedding of the Shah of Iran and her daughter, Princess Fawzia of Egypt, in 1939.  

In later years, Queen Nazli often loaned the Diamond Tiara to her second daughter, Princess Faiza, to wear for several prominent occasions including the Wedding Banquet of the Shah of Iran and Princess Fawzia of Egypt in 1939 and King Farouk’s 22nd Birthday Banquet in 1942. 

Queen Nazli retained her Jewels after being sent into exile by King Farouk in 1950, living in Los Angeles with her youngest daughter, Princess Fathia, and conversing to christianity. By 1975, the former Queen Nazli was forced to Auction much of her Jewellery Collection at Sotheby’s, and while some pieces, like the Van Cleef & Arpels Parure, were documented, it is unknown if the older Diamond Tiara was included in that sale or what it fetched. The current location of that heirloom is unknown. 

Diamond Tiara | Van Cleef & Arpels Diamond Necklace

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