Today marks the 20th Anniversary of the Death of the Hon. Frances Shand Kydd, who passed away on this day in 2004! To mark the Anniversary, we are featuring her striking Diamond Earrings, which were famously loaned to her youngest daughter, Princess Diana, on her Wedding Day!
Diamond Earrings | Fermoy Tiara
The striking Diamond Earrings are each composed of a central pear-shaped diamond surrounded by 50 smaller diamonds in an antique setting. While they rest in a case by Collingwood Jewellers, the exact origin of these Earrings is unknown, but they could have been among the wedding gifts when the Hon. Frances Roche married Viscount Althorp in 1954.
In 1981, Lady Diana Spencer borrowed these striking Diamond Earrings, paired with an infamous black gown from the Emmanuel’s, for a Concert at the Goldsmiths Hall in London, her first Official Engagement just days after announcing her Engagement.
A few months later, Lady Diana paired the Diamond Earrings with the iconic Spencer Tiara for her Wedding to the Prince of Wales at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
The Hon. Frances Shand Kydd wore her Diamond Earrings on numerous occasions, including the Christening of Prince Harry at Windsor Castle in 1984 and Viscount Althrop’s 21st Birthday Party at Spencer House in 1985.
The Hon. Frances Shand Kydd also wore her Diamond Earrings for the Wedding of her only son, Viscount Althrop, in 1989.
In later years, the Hon. Frances Shand Kydd wore the Diamond Earrings for the Funeral of her daughter, Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997.
For many years, the Hon. Frances Shand Kydd’s Diamond Earrings were a part of the traveling Diana Exhibition.
After her death in 2004, the Diamond Earrings were inherited by her elder daughter Lady Sarah McCorquodale and in 2011, it made headlines when Lady Sarah withdrew them from the Exhibition to wear at the Wedding Gala of her nephew, Prince William, at Buckingham Palace.
More recently, Lady Sarah wore the earrings at the Wedding of her daughter, Emily McCorquodale, in 2013, and there is no doubt we will continue to see these special family heirlooms worn for years to come!
Diamond Earrings | Fermoy Tiara
