The Fascinating Diamonds and Turquoises of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Last week, the world learned of the passing of Prince Andreas, the head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. In his honor today, we’ve got a look at a special suite of jewelry treasured by his grandmother and now worn by his daughter-in-law, Princess Kelly.

Andreas was born in Germany in 1943, in the midst of World War II. He was the only child of Prince Friederich Josias of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his first wife (and first cousin), Countess Viktoria-Luise of Solms-Baruth. Friedrich Josias was the youngest of the five children of Carl Eduard, the last reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein. Carl Eduard was a grandson of Queen Victoria, but his allegiance to Germany and its right-wing leaders made him an enemy during the world wars.

Andreas’s parents divorced when he was still a toddler. He moved with his mother from Germany to New Orleans, where he spent the better part of his childhood. As he grew, he spent more time in Germany with his paternal grandmother, Princess Victoria Adelheid. Eventually, he moved back permanently to Germany, where he fell in love with Carin Dabelstein and married her in 1971. They had three children together in a marriage that lasted until Carin’s passing in 2023 after living for many years with multiple sclerosis.

In 1954, Andreas’s distant father succeeded to the headship of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He passed in 1998, and Andreas inherited the job of managing the family’s estates, which included real estate holdings as well as farms and forests. He proved himself to be a capable shepherd of the family assets, rebuilding their fortune after years of mismanagement and neglect. He worked as the administrator of the family foundations until 2012, when, following his Parkinson’s diagnosis, he handed the job over to his elder son, Prince Hubertus.

Prince Andreas is survived by his three children—Princess Stephanie and her husband, Jan Stahl; Prince Hubertus and his wife, Princess Kelly; and Prince Alexander—as well as three grandchildren. He was also the godfather of Princess Madeleine of Sweden, the daughter of his cousin and close friend, King Carl XVI Gustaf.

Over the years, the family has managed to retain a few pieces of important jewelry that belonged to Andreas’s grandmother, Victoria Adelheid. Among the collection is a parure of diamond and turquoise jewelry that includes a tiara, a necklace, a pair of earrings, and a brooch. Above, Victoria Adelheid wears parts of the suite in a formal portrait, including the tiara, which is a wide, open diadem that fit well with the piled-up hairstyles of the turn of the 20th century.

Victoria Adelheid continued to wear her turquoises even as hairstyling fashions changed. Here, she’s wearing the complete parure of turquoises on the right side of a group photograph taken at a gala celebrating the upcoming wedding of her daughter, Princess Sibylla, to Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden in 1932. (They are the parents of the present King of Sweden.)

Several more relatives are pictured in the photograph, including Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf and Crown Princess Louise, who wears Queen Sofia’s Tiara. Duke Carl Eduard’s sister, Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, can also be spotted wearing a diamond tiara. (This one, perhaps?) The bride wears a spectacular diamond and aquamarine kokoshnik that belonged to the groom’s late mother, Princess Margaret of Connaught. That tiara remains with the Swedish royal family today.

In recent years, the diamond and turquoise suite has primarily been worn by Prince Andreas’s daughter-in-law, the American-born Princess Kelly. She’s often one of the most vibrant figures at family weddings and celebrations, because she pairs the turquoises and the purple and green sash of the family order with gowns in bright shades of blue. Here, she wears an electric blue dress with the jewels and decoration at the wedding of Princess Madeleine of Sweden in June 2013.

For Madeleine’s wedding, Kelly opted to wear just the tiara from the turquoise suite, pairing it with a small pair of pearl drop earrings. The large size of the tiara’s frame is clearer in these modern photos.

One of Kelly’s most successful outings in the turquoises came in April 2016, when she joined Andreas and Hubertus for a banquet in Stockholm celebrating King Carl XVI Gustaf’s 70th birthday. On this occasion, she wore a navy dress with an off-the-shoulder neckline, and she was able to leave the show-stealing order sash at home. Instead, she wears a medal given to guests to commemorate their attendance at the royal birthday celebration.

For this event, Kelly wore both the tiara and the necklace from the turquoise set. The tiara is placed in a more halo-like position in her hair, framing her face quite nicely. She sensibly wore just a pair of small diamond earrings instead of the large turquoise earrings from the suite.

One of the most recent appearances of the turquoises came in June 2022, when Kelly wore them to attend the wedding of Prince Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Carina Axelsson in Germany. On this occasion, Kelly matched the color of her gown to the turquoises themselves.

Once again, she opted to wear just the tiara and necklace from the suite and the same small diamond stud earrings. The tiara was placed on a half-up, half-down hairstyle for the event. For my money, I think an updo is the best way to showcase this particular sparkler.

Before I go today, a scheduling note: because I’m still traveling, there will not be a new article posted at Hidden Gems tomorrow. However, I do have a roundup of bonus content scheduled here for you all to enjoy while you wait for more sparkle, so be sure to stop by to see it!