Princess Margaret’s Art Deco Diamond Clips

Happy Birthday to Serena, Countess of Snowdon, who turns 54 today! The accomplished Earl’s daughter who married (and divorced) Princess Margaret’s only son and became the late Queen’s beloved niece-in-law, the Countess possesses Princess Margaret’s striking Art Deco Diamond Clips, which originate from Queen Mary!

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A pair of versatile Art Deco Diamond Clips, these jewels appeared on Queen Mary in the 1930s, being worn by her on her hat, and more traditionally on her bodice. There is no confirmed provenance, but the Diamond Clips were probably acquired by Queen Mary herself.

After Queen Mary’s death in 1953, her Art Deco Diamond Clips were inherited by her granddaughter, Princess Margaret, who wore them quite frequently in the 1950s, most notably on a long Tour of the Caribbean in 1955.

Two years later, Princess Margaret wore Queen Mary’s Art Deco Diamond Clips for Trooping the Colour in 1957, among a series of appearances in the late 1950s, but they were not pictured in the decades following.

In 1993, Princess Margaret gave Queen Mary’s Art Deco Diamond Clips as a wedding gift to the Hon. Serena Stanhope when she married her only son, the then Viscount Linley. The Diamond Clips were the principal jewels of the new Viscountess and were worn for a variety of events, most notably the Christening of her son, the current Viscount Linley, in 1999.

Fittingly, Viscountess Linley also wore Queen Mary’s Art Deco Diamond Clips for the Funeral of Princess Margaret at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle in 2002.

In 2008, Viscountess Linley wore Queen Mary’s Art Deco Diamond Clips for the Wedding of Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.

In recent years, the Countess notably wore Queen Mary’s Art Deco Diamond Clips for Church at Sandringham, and while she has not been publicly seen since the announcement of their divorce in 2020, the Art Deco Diamond Clips probably remain with the Countess, though lets hope we will soon see them being worn by her daughter, Lady Margarita.

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