Archives for 2017

The Daily Diadem: Queen Marie Amelie’s Sapphire Parure Tiara

10.29.2017 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

Wikimedia Commons

Princess Marie Isabelle d’Orleans, Countess of Paris wears the tiara and jewels from Queen Marie Amelie’s sapphire parure; see the tiara, which is now owned by the Louvre, in color over here!

Jewels in Motion: Elizabeth and Philip’s Engagement (1947)

10.29.2017 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

In a few weeks, Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary. We’ll be providing an in-depth look at the jewels surrounding their wedding festivities all month, and we’re kicking things off today with a look at their official engagement announcement. The photos from the engagement may feel familiar, but when seen in motion, they take on a whole new significance and warmth. Enjoy!

Prince Philip and Princess Elizabeth’s engagement was officially announced in July 1947, but the two had been seriously discussing marriage for at least a year beforehand. Philip later said that the couple “began to think about [marriage] seriously, and even talk about it” during his visit to Balmoral in the summer of 1946. He proposed on the visit, and Elizabeth accepted

Elizabeth’s parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, asked the couple to wait until after the princess’s 21st birthday to make their engagement official, and they reluctantly agreed. The press caught wind of the couple’s serious attachment, however, at the wedding of Philip’s cousin, Patricia Mountbatten (later Countess Mountbatten of Burma). Patricia’s father, Lord Mountbatten, was also in the process of helping Philip obtain British citizenship. Philip became naturalized in February 1947, renouncing his Greek royal title in the process

Elizabeth turned 21 in April 1947, and in the summer of 1947, the couple confirmed the public’s suspicions and officially announced that they would marry in November

Philip presented Elizabeth with an engagement ring made with diamonds taken from one of his mother’s tiaras. (More on that, including its Romanov connections, over here.) For the official photocall, Elizabeth wore the ring with pearls and her Diamond Clematis Brooch

Philip, who was by then just plain Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, wore his naval uniform for the photograph session

In a move that echoed a famous moment from Patricia Mountbatten’s wedding, Philip helped Elizabeth put on her coat during the photographs

The couple provided some action for newsreel cameras with a walk in the palace gardens

A family photo session was also part of the engagement announcement, underscoring the fact that “We Four” was now “We Five”

Philip linked arms with his bride-to-be and his sister-in-law, Princess Margaret, during the session. Elizabeth’s engagement ring was also on full display here

Although he liked Philip, King George VI initially had reservations about his daughter’s choice of husband, in part because he felt she was too young, and he simply wasn’t ready for her to marry at all

Elizabeth, who had remained steadfastly in love with Philip since she was a young teenager, did not waver in her choice, even during the four-month tour of South Africa, which the palace had hoped would slow down the relationship a bit

The restoration of the Greek monarchy in September 1946 had also made the couple’s engagement a bit more precarious, as the government worried that Philip and Elizabeth’s marriage would be a tacit political endorsement of his first cousin, King George II. Philip’s renunciation of his Greek titles was designed in part to help smooth this over. King George II died unexpectedly in April 1947, before the British royal engagement could even be publicly announced. His youngest brother (and another of Philip’s first cousins), Paul, succeeded to the Greek throne

The Queen Mother, who wore pearls with Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee Brooch for the photo session, also initially had reservations about the marriage, as did Queen Mary, partly because they saw Philip as a bit of an outsider

Princess Margaret, pictured wearing pearls and a nervous smile, gained a brother-in-law through the marriage. Eventually, because her father died nearly a decade before her own marriage, Philip would walk her down the aisle at her own wedding in Westminster Abbey

The images of Philip with the royal princesses during the engagement photocall are fun-loving and playful. The official engagement announcement from the palace, released on July 10, 1947, is a bit more formal: “It is with the greatest pleasure that the King and Queen announce the betrothal of their dearly beloved daughter The Princess Elizabeth to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, RN, son of the late Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Andrew (Princess Alice of Battenberg), to which union the King has gladly given his consent.”

Queen Mary’s Sapphire Bandeau

10.28.2017 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

Today, we’re taking a closer look at one of the long-lost British tiaras that’s hopefully waiting patiently somewhere deep in the royal vaults: Queen Mary’s Sapphire Bandeau.

Princess Toria of the United Kingdom, Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom, and Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia, pictured ca. 1903 (Wikimedia Commons)

You’ll often see the tiara referenced by another name: Marie Feodorovna’s Sapphire Bandeau. That name suggests that it comes from the Romanovs — Marie Feodorovna was, after all, Empress of Russia. But she had even wider royal connections that that. Before her marriage, she was Princess Dagmar of Denmark; her siblings included Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom, King Frederik VIII of Denmark, and King George I of Greece. Her jewel collection was outstanding, and after the Russian Revolution, pieces began to pop up at sales and auctions all over Europe.

And no one liked a jewel sale more than Queen Mary. She reportedly bought the piece in 1921 at a Paris auction, where it had been offered for sale by the exiled Princess Nicholas of Greece. No one’s quite sure how Princess Nicholas (who was born Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna) got the tiara, but it is possible that Marie Feodorovna was involved. After all, Prince Nicholas was one of the empress’s Greek nephews. Perhaps she had given the tiara to the Nicholases when they married in Russia in 1902? Some have also suggested that Princess Nicholas inherited the tiara from her mother, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, but ultimately, the provenance is unclear. Was it really one of the former empress’s tiaras? Who was its first owner? Was it even really Russian? We simply don’t seem to know.

Regardless, the tiara, which features distinctive sunray designs, was now Mary’s. (Had Princess Nicholas held on to it just a bit longer, it might have made its way to Britain anyway — one of her daughters was Princess Marina, who later married Queen Mary’s son, the Duke of Kent.) The central sapphire and diamond element of the tiara was removable, making it a more versatile piece; above, Mary wears it with the carved emerald brooch from the Delhi Durbar Parure. After Mary’s death, the tiara was apparently left to Queen Elizabeth II (along with all of the rest of Mary’s personal property). The Queen has never worn it, at least not in public.

Instead, the Queen appears to have decided to loan the tiara to her younger sister, Princess Margaret. She wore the tiara often during the 1950s and 1960s. Above, she wears the tiara during the 1958 state visit of President Heuss of Germany, and below, she wears it to the wedding of Princess Astrid of Norway in 1961. (Warning: the GIF below features flash photography.) Margaret also appears to have worn the sapphire element separately as a brooch for decades.

Since then, the bandeau has disappeared into the tiara mists. It’s one I’ve suggested as a possible out-of-the-box bridal option for Meghan Markle, but I’d also love to see this one on the Duchess of Cambridge, who wears sapphires particularly well. Here’s hoping it’s in the palace vaults, just waiting for another outing!