Happy Sapphire Jubilee to Queen Elizabeth II, who became Queen on this day in 1952, upon the death of her father, King George VI. The Queen will mark the day privately, as she tends to remember the loss of her father rather celebrate than her own accession. In honour of her Sapphire Jubilee, we will take a look at all of the Queen’s sapphires. Continue reading
Happy Birthday to Princess Caroline of Monaco and Hanover, who turns 60 today. The daughter of Prince Ranier II and the famous Princess Grace of Monaco, Princess Caroline is the sister of Prince Albert II, and was heiress presumptive to her brother until recently. Married three times, Princess Caroline has four children, and is currently separated from her third husband, Prince Ernst August of Hanover. As the ‘First lady’ of Monaco from 1982 to 2011, Princess Caroline was the only wearer of the family tiaras, at home and at foreign royal events. In honour of her birthday, we will take a look at her tiaras. Continue reading
Happy Birthday to Queen Mathilde of Belgium, who turns 44 today. The daughter of Belgian and Polish Nobility, Mathilde married Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant (then heir to the Belgian throne) in 1999. The couple have four children, and succeeded to the Belgian Throne in 2014, after the abdication of her father-in-law, King Albert II. Queen Mathilde carries out official duties, representing Belgium at home and abroad, and is patron to many charities and organisations. In honour of her birthday today, we will feature the Belgian Royal Tiaras. Continue reading
Happy Birthday to Princess Birgitta of Sweden and Hohenzollern who turns 80 today. The daughter of Prince Gustaf Adolf and Princess Sibylla of Sweden, Princess Birgitta is the sister of King Carl XVI Gustaf and the second of the four ‘Haga Princesses’. She is also the first cousin of Queen Margrethe of Denmark and Queen Anne Marie of Greece. In 1961, she married Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern, son of the Prince of Hohenzollern, in a civil ceremony in Sweden and a religious ceremony in her grooms native Germany. The couple had three children but separated in 1990, while continuing to attend Royal events. Princess Birgitta was widowed in March 2016. She lives in Spain. In honour of her birthday, we are featuring her Pearl Circle Tiara. Continue reading
Happy Birthday to Princess Birgitta of Sweden and Hohenzollern who turns 80 today! The daughter of Prince Gustaf Adolf and Princess Sibylla of Sweden, Princess Birgitta is the sister of King Carl XVI Gustaf and the second of the four ‘Haga Princesses’. She is also the first cousin of Queen Margrethe of Denmark and Queen Anne Marie of Greece. In 1961, she married Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern, son of the Prince of Hohenzollern, in a civil ceremony in Sweden and a religious ceremony in her grooms native Germany. The couple had three children but separated in 1990, while continuing to attend Royal events together. Princess Birgitta was widowed in March 2016. She lives in Spain. Since we have already featured her Pearl Circle Tiara, in honour of her birthday, we are featuring one of her Wedding Tiaras, the Hohenzollern Clover Coronet. Continue reading
Happy Birthday to Tsaritsa (Queen) Margarita of Bulgaria! The consort of the exiled Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria, Queen Margarita is the daughter of Spanish aristocrats who were executed during the Spanish Civil War. She married Simeon in 1962, in Lausanne, Switzerland, and has five children. The Family finally returned to Bulgaria in 1996, and the former Tsar was even appointed Prime Minister from 2001 to 2005. Tsar Simeon and Tsaritsa Margarita currently reside in the grounds of his childhood home, Vrana Palace in Sofia. To celebrate her birthday, we will take a look at the tiaras worn by Tsaritsa Margarita! Continue reading
Today marks the anniversary of the death of Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, who died in 1981. The last surviving grandchild of Queen Victoria, and the Vicereine of both South Africa and Canada, Princess Alice lived through the reigns of six British monarchs. To mark the day, we are featuring one of her most important Tiaras, which was worn by the daughter-in-law of King George III, the mother of Queen Mary, and the granddaughter of Queen Victoria! Continue reading
On January 1st, Queen Margrethe of Denmark will host the annual New Year’s Court at Christian VII’s Palace, Amalienborg. This is one of the grandest Danish Royal events of the year, and we see Queen Margrethe, Crown Princess Mary, and Princess Marie decked out in their finest. While the Danish Royal family don’t have the large jewel vaults of their British and Swedish cousins, they still have a substantial collection of twelve tiaras many with illustrious histories, and even a few examples of modern design. Continue reading
The Dukes of Devonshire are one of the wealthiest and most illustrious aristocrats in England, with a magnificent collection based at Chatsworth House, and being featured in ‘Treasures from Chatsworth, Presented by Huntsman,’ an original video series produced by Sotheby’s. Episode 11 of the series focuses on the Devonshire Parure, and gives information which differs from the information we knew previously about the parure. We previously covered the Tiaras in the collection of the Devonshire’s HERE. Continue reading
Ahead of the upcoming Important Jewels Sale at Christie’s on 30th November 2016 in London, we take a look at Jewels for auction with a Royal/Noble provenance or purpose. Among the lots that are featured are a diamond necklace from an Italian Noble family, Jewelry albums, a sapphire and diamond suite, and four diamond tiaras.
Today’s tiara belonged to Countess Gunnila Bernadotte, a member of the Swedish Royal Family, who died in September. It was worn to various royal events by Countess Gunnila, who was an aunt by marriage to Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden, and Queen Anne Marie of Greece. The Tiara will be auctioned at Bukowski’s in Stockholm on December 13th. Continue reading
Owned by Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, (one of the most glamorous members of the British Royal Family), these Girandole earrings were worn at some of the grandest events in the middle of the 20th century. The earrings were also worn by the current Duchess, but were sold in the 1970s in lieu of death duties. They reappeared at Auction in 2000. Continue reading
Ahead of the Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels sale on 16 November 2016 in Geneva, we take a look at the jewels with Royal Provenance offered for sale. Among the 345 lots are a diamonds once owned by the Romanovs, a necklace and earrings from the Italian Princes Doria Pamphilj, pearls formerly owned by Sybil, Marchioness of Cholmondeley, and a diamond tiara. Continue reading
Today’s tiara belongs to the Kent branch of the British Royal Family. The Kent Diamond and Pearl Fringe Tiara first appeared on Katherine, Duchess of Kent in the 1970s, but is thought to have been a modified version of the crochet bandeau tiara once owned by Queen Mary. The tiara has also been worn by the Countess of St. Andrews and Lady Helen Taylor, daughter-in-law and daughter of the Duchess. Continue reading
Ahead of the Christie’s Geneva Magnificent Jewels Auction on 15 November 2016 in Switzerland, we take a look at the jewels with Royal Provenance offered for sale. Included are a suite of suite of sapphire and diamond jewelry from the collection of Empress Marie-Louise of France, an emerald cameo from the collection of Princesse Lobanoff de Rostoff & HRH Nicholas of Romania, a pearl necklace from a European Princely Family, a Fabergé box from the collection of Princess Anastasia of Greece, and a diamond bracelet formerly belonging to Countess Mona von Bismarck.
Happy Birthday to Gloria, the Princess von Thurn und Taxis, who turns 63 today! The impoverished Schönburg-Glauchau Countess became the extravagant ‘Princess TNT’ in the 1980s and, after being widowed young, she transformed into a successful businesswoman to save the massive family fortune, facilitated through the sale of some family jewels, but much of the collection remains intact, so to mark her birthday, we are featuring the spectcular Emerald Tiara! Continue reading
The spectacular Tiaras of the Duchesses of Devonshire are the Heirlooms worn by the fascinating Duchesses of the illustrious Cavendish Family seated at the magnificent Chatsworth House, which were often worn by the fascinating Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire!
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An antique diamond tiara that was worn by a French-Danish Princess and later by her Swedish daughter-in-law, who was the aunt of the Kings of Norway and Belgium, Princess Margaretha’s Floral Tiara’s current whereabouts are unknown, and it is speculated that it has been broken up. Continue reading
Commissioned by the Russian Tsar as a wedding gift for his only daughter when she married the son of Queen Victoria of Great Britain, the Ruby Tiara was worn by her descendants from the German Princely Family of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, most notably the sister of the Duke of Edinburgh, before being auctioned in the 1970s. Continue reading
