Today marks the 145th Anniversary of the Death of Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse, who tragically passed away on this day in 1873! The fascinating second daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert who married the Grand Duke of Hesse and became a prolific champion of nursing until her tragic death, Princess Alice was the mother of, among others, Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia, and her splendid Jewellery Collection included this spectacular Pearl Pendant!
Hesse Strawberry Leaf Tiara | Hesse Star Tiara | Hesse Sapphire Necklace | Princess Alice’s Emerald Brooch | Princess Alice’s Pearl Pendant
When Princess Alice of Great Britain and Ireland, the second daughter of Queen Victoria, married Prince Louis of Hesse in 1862, she received some spectacular wedding presents; The Hesse Strawberry Leaf Tiara, Pearl and Diamond Stars, and a Sapphire Necklace, as well as some spectacular Pearl and Diamond Brooches from her mother, Queen Victoria, which may have included this striking Pearl ringed by Diamonds, from which a pearl was suspended.
Princess Alice wore the Pearl Pendant as the clasp of a Pearl Necklace with her Pearl and Diamond Stars for a portrait by the famed Winterhalter around 1867.
Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine notably wore the Pearl Pendant as the clasp of a Pearl Choker with the Hesse Strawberry Leaf Tiara for a series of Official Portraits in the early 1870s.
Grand Duchess Alice also wore the pearl pendant suspend from her legendary pearl necklace with the Hesse Star Tiara for a portrait in the 1870s, with the pearls later inherited by her great-granddaughter, Princess Margarita of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, and miraculously saved from a fire in the 1960s.
After Grand Duchess Alice’s tragic death in 1878, the Pearl Pendant seems to have been worn by her third daughter, Princess Irene, for the Wedding of her aunt, Princess Beatrice, and her cousin, Prince Henry of Battenberg, at Osbourne House.
Since Princess Irene was never publicly seen in it again, it is unknown what became of that pendant afterwards, though some of the other Pearl Jewels given by Queen Victoria to Princess Alice were auctioned by the Marchioness of Milford Haven in 2000, having been inherited by Princess Victoria, Marchioness of Milford Haven.
The current configuration of the Hesse Star Tiara does have a large pearl in the central element, which may be Princess Alice’s Pearl Pendant but one cannot be sure unless it is closely examined.
Hesse Strawberry Leaf Tiara | Hesse Star Tiara | Hesse Sapphire Necklace | Princess Alice’s Emerald Brooch | Princess Alice’s Pearl Pendant
