Princess Marie Louise’s Pearl Choker

Today marks the Anniversary of the Death of Princess Marie Louise, who passed away on this day in 1956! The fascinating granddaughter of Queen Victoria who married and divorced a German Prince, and later became a Princess ‘of nowhere’, the Princess possessed some splendid jewels, including this Pearl Bracelet/Choker!

When Princess Marie Louise married Prince Aribert of Anhalt in 1891, she received this Pearl and Diamond Choker as a wedding gift from her parents, Princess Helena and Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, which could also be worn as two bracelets, and was similar to Queen Mary’s City of London Choker received two years later.

Princess Marie Louise wore her Pearl Choker, along with her Diamond Sunburst Brooch and Diamond Star Brooch, on her Wedding Day at Windsor, and retained her jewels following her divorce a few years later.

By the 1930s, Princess Marie Louise often wore the Pearl Bracelets for Gala events and portraits, including for the Coronation of King George VI in 1937, with her new Cartier India Tiara.

Another prominent appearance came at the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, when Princess Marie Louise hid sandwiches and a flask in her coronet, pairing the Pearl Bracelet with the Cartier India Tiara and her Diamond Sunburst Brooch.

Princess Marie Louise wore the Pearl Bracelets with the Cartier India Tiara for the the Swedish State Visit to Britain in 1954, and a series of portraits by Cecil Beaton, who began the session by thinking she must be ‘an old gaga absurdity,’ but by the end of the session he thought her ‘absolutely enchanting.’

After her death in 1956, Princess Marie Louise left her Diamond Sunburst Brooch to the Queen Mother, the Cartier Indian Tiara to the Duke of Gloucester, the Honeysuckle Tiara and Cartier Stomacher to Princess Patricia of Connaught / Lady Patricia Ramsay, and her Diamond Star Brooch to Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, but this Pearl Bracelet/Choker was inherited by Queen Elizabeth II.

The Queen was photographed wearing an identical pearl and diamond bracelet on a couple of occasions through the 1960s, including a Film Premiere at the Dominion Theatre in London in 1969. Since her passing, most of the Queen’s jewels are in the possession of King Charles, and since Queen Camilla has worn the Diamond Sunburst Brooch in recent years, we can hope that this will be worn again soon!