Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna’s Pearl Brooch

Today marks the 115th Anniversary of the Birth of Princess Ileana of Romania, who was born on this day in 1909! The Romanian Princess who married an Austrian Archduke and then had to flee both Austria and Romania to eventually settle in the United States, we have already talked about how Princess Ileana sold the magnificent Vladimir Sapphire Kokoshnik to fund her life in exile, but she retained her Diamond Scroll Tiara and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna’s Pearl Brooch!

Vladimir Sapphire Kokoshnik | Diamond Scroll Tiara | Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna’s Pearl Brooch

This striking Pearl Brooch consists of a large round pearl ringed with diamonds, with a large pear-shaped pearl as a pendant. The origin of this Brooch is unknown, but it was likely among the Wedding Gifts of Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna when she married Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh in 1874, who owned another similar Pearl Brooch.

Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna was pictured wearing the Pearl Brooch on numerous occasions since the 1880s, pairing it with her Diamond Tiara and her Faberge Pearl and Diamond Tiara, with notable appearances in portraits and for the Wedding of the Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and Princess Dorothea of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1898.

In 1903, Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna and her daughters loaned their Jewellery to a Charity Exhibition in Cobourg, which included her Pearl Brooch alongside her Fringe Tiara, Faberge Pearl and Diamond Tiara, Queen Marie of Romania’s Diamond Loop Tiara, and Grand Duchess Victoria Melita’s Emerald Tiara.

Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna continued to wear the Pearl Brooch, pairing it with her Fringe Tiara for the Coronation of her nephew, King George V, in 1911, and a series of Official Portraits before she passed away in Switzerland in 1920, reportedly after receiving a telegram addressed to ‘Frau Coburg’.

The Pearl Brooch was among the jewels, including a Cartier Pearl Tiara, which was inherited by her elder daughter, Queen Marie of Romania, and was worn as a pendant for portraits with the Vladimir Sapphire Kokoshnik, and events like the Wedding Ball and Wedding of Princess Ileana of Romania and Archduke Anton of Austria in 1931, before being inherited by Princess Ileana of Romania in 1938.

After fleeing both Austria and Romania into exile first in Argentina and then in the United States after the Second World War, Princess Ileana had to sell the Vladimir Sapphire Kokoshnik to fund her children’s education, but retained her Diamond Scroll Tiara and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna’s Pearl Brooch, which she most notably wore for the Wedding of her eldest son, Archduke Stefan, and Mary Jerrine Soper in 1954. The current location of the Pearl Brooch is unknown but Princess Ileana’s children still retain her Diamond Scroll Tiara so this probably also remains with them.

Vladimir Sapphire Kokoshnik | Diamond Scroll Tiara | Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna’s Pearl Brooch

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Fringe Tiara

Origin: Wedding Gift from her mother, Tsarina Marie Alexandrovna in 1874

Notable Appearances: The Coronation of her nephew, Tsar Nicholas II, in 1896 and the Coronation of her nephew, King George V, in 1911.

Fate: Left to Princess Beatrice, Duchess of Galliera, who sold it to her sister, Queen Marie of Romania, and was in turn inherited by her daughter, Queen Marie of Yugoslavia, who sold it at Auction in 1960. Now unknown.

Bolin Ruby Tiara

Origin: Wedding Gift from Tsar Alexander II in 1874

Notable Appearances: The Coronation of her nephew, Tsar Nicholas II, in 1896

Fate: Left to the Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and later frequently worn by Princess Margarita of Greece, before being sold at auction in 1978 and later dismantled