If the jewellery displayed at Versailles by the French First Lady and the various guests was mostly disappointing, there was nevertheless at least one exception.
Among the guests of the State banquet in Versailles were Yves de Gaulle, 71, one of the grandsons of former French President General Charles de Gaulle, accompanied by his wife Laurence (they are pictured on the photo below with TV host and royal expert Stéphane Bern).
Laurence de Gaulle wore an interesting diamond necklace, with a double-row of round and baguette diamonds at the front:
This diamond necklace is of historical interest, because it was frequently worn by Yves de Gaulle's grandmother, Yvonne de Gaulle (1900-1979), when she was France's First Lady from 1958 to 1969. Yvonne de Gaulle was a reserved, demure woman, who never looked for the limelight and enjoyed nothing more than her private family life in her countryside residence. Yet, as the devoted officer's wife she was, she "did the job" and assumed the duties of a First Lady with great dedication, if not with great pleasure.
During the numerous State visits received or paid by her husband as French president, or at other gala occasions, she was frequently seen wearing this diamond necklace.
As the De Gaulles, though both from a correct upper middle class, were not very rich and kept a very low-key personal lifestyle (Charles de Gaulle systematically declined all material privileges or favours offered to him, despite his tremendous historical role), I had often supposed this necklace was a loan from a French jeweller, borrowed by Yvonne de Gaulle to fulfil her official representation duties. But as the necklace is still in the De Gaulle family sixty years later, we must conclude that it was a personal property of Charles or Yvonne de Gaulle - possibly an official gift, then?
6 April, 1960: gala performance at Covent Garden Royal Opera House during de Gaulle's State visit to the United Kingdom:
April, 1960: reception at the White House in Washington, DC, with US President Dwight Eisenhower and reception (return dinner?) with Vice-President Richard Nixon:
June, 1961: State dinner at the Elysee Palace in Paris, and State gala performance at Versailles Royal Opera, in honour of US President John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy:
17 May, 1963: State dinner at Athens Royal Palace during the French State visit to Greece:
31 May, 1963: reception in Versailles Royal Opera in honour of King Gustaf VI Adolf and Queen Louise of Sweden:
October 1963: French State visit to Iran:
April 1965: return dinner at the Quai d'Orsay, receptions at Paris Opera House and at Versailles Royal Opera during King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid of Denmark's State visit to France:
27 October, 1966: State visit of King Mahendra of Nepal to France:
30 April, 1967: gala performance at Paris Opera House in honour of Saint-Cyr Military Academy:
10 January, 1968: New Year's reception for the Diplomatic corps at the Elysee Palace:
3rd February 1968: reception at the German embassy in Paris offered by (West-)German Federal President Heinrich Lübke on the occasion of the inauguration of the new German embassy in prestigious Hôtel de Beauharnais:
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