Princess Michael’s Art Deco Pearl Necklace

Happy Birthday to Princess Michael of Kent, who turns 79 today ! One of the most flamboyant members of the extended Royal Family, Princess Michael possesses a remarkable collection of heirloom royal jewels and some modern acquisitions, which includes this spectacular Art Deco Pearl Necklace!

When Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark married Prince George, the Duke of Kent in 1934, she received a striking Pearl, Necklace, Bracelets and Pair of Earrings as a Wedding Gift from her groom, Prince George, which was described:

A Pearl Necklace Given to Princess Marina of Greece by Her Husband Prince George Duke of Kent For Their Wedding On 29 November 1934 at Westminster Abbey the 372 Historic Pearls Belonged to the Teck Family For Many Years and Were A Gift to the Groom From Queen Mary They Were Made Up Into A Necklace and Bracelet Each Containing A Diamond Motif the Design For Which Was Suggested by the Duke of Kent Himself the Design Worked in Wax Was Chosen by the Royal Couple and Was Carried out by James R Ogden and Sons of Duke Street St James’s the Photograph Shows the Completed Necklace with Two Diamond Motifs and the Other Motifs For Use in the Bracelet 1934

Princess Marina was never pictured wearing the necklace but often wore the Bracelet, or a modified piece as a choker, using one of Princess Louise’s Diamond Daisy Brooches as a clasp. The Art Deco clasp in this choker differs from the one on the necklace, but it may have been a modified pice created from the necklace or the additional Diamond Motifs.

After Princess Marina’s death in 1968, the Pearl Bracelets/Choker were among the jewels inherited by her younger son, Prince Michael of Kent, and after his marriage to Baroness Marie Christine von Reibnitz in 1978, the new Princess Michael was frequently pictured wearing the piece as bracelets.

In the 1980s, Princess Michael began wearing the Pearl Choker along with the Vladimir Pearl Earrings, which included a notable appearance in a series of Norman Parkinson portraits taken in 1981.

By the 1990s, Princess Michael was wearing a striking Pearl Necklace which used serves jewels from her collection along with the very visible clasps of the Pearl Choker/Bracelet, which was notably worn for the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh’s Golden Wedding Anniversary in 1997.

Princess Michael has also paired the Pearl Necklace with the Kent Festoon Tiara on a few occasions when they have represented the Royal Family at Guildhall Banquets.

More recently, Princess Michael wore the Pearl Necklace with the Kent Festoon Tiara and the Vladimir Pearl Earrings for the Wedding Gala of Crown Prince Leka of Albania in 2016. Though Prince and Princess Michael have recently retired from royal duties, let’s hope we see this necklace worn again soon!