Carlota Giner Burgueño wore the spectacular Mellerio Diamond Tiara of the groom’s great-great-great-grandmother, Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duchess of Parma, to marry Gonzalo Valdenebro y de Morales, grandson of Princess Inés of the Bourbón-Two Sicilies, in Madrid last weekend.
Last weekend, the wedding of Gonzalo Valdenebro y de Morales, grandson of Princess Inés of the Bourbón-Two Sicilies, and Carlota Giner Burgueño took place at the church of Santa Bárbara, part of the Royal Convent of the Salesas Reales in Madrid. Gonzalo is a descendant of King Alfonso XII through his maternal line: he is the great-grandson of Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria, son of Infanta María de las Mercedes.
For the occasion, as revealed by Spanish Royal Jewels, Carlota wore a spectacular historic Tiara belonging to her husband’s maternal family, his great-great-great-grandmother, Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duchess of Parma.
It consists of a succession of 29 delicate leaves, set on a base enriched with important solitaire diamonds that came from the collection of the Dukes of Parma. The piece was made by Mellerio in 1875 for Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, who was Duchess of Parma through her marriage to Duke Robert I.
The design was not entirely new. Two years earlier, in 1873, Mellerio had presented a very similar piece at the Vienna World’s Fair, where it occupied a prominent place in the Maison’s display. In fact, this motif appears repeatedly among Mellerio’s creations from this period.
Duchess Maria Pia died prematurely in 1882, at just 33 years of age, and as far as we know, she was never photographed or portrayed wearing this jewel. We have to wait until 1903 to see it again. That year, her son Elias, the future Duke of Parma following the death of his elder brothers without issue, married Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria. The young Archduchess wore this Diamond Tiara on her wedding day, accompanied by some of the historic jewels of the House of Parma.
Archduchess Maria Anna was also photographed wearing the piece on other occasions, leaving us valuable visual evidence of this spectacular Mellerio creation. After her death, the tiara remained in the hands of her descendants, eventually passing through the line of her daughter, Princess Alicia, Infanta of Spain and Duchess of Calabria by marriage.
And once again, several decades would pass before the spectacular tiara was seen in public. In 2006, Manuel de Morales y de Borbón, son of Princess Inés of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and therefore grandson of Infantes Carlos and Alicia, married Emma Ruiz de Azcárate y García de Lomas. On that occasion, the historic tiara made another public appearance as a bridal jewel.
Almost twenty years later, it has once again taken centre stage at a family occasion for the wedding of Gonzalo Valdenebro and Carlota Giner on Friday.
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This article was written by assistant editor, David Rato, who runs the Spanish Royal Jewels account on Instagram!
