Boffer, thank you. I know this history is well-known to many readers here, but not to me. I appreciate you taking time to explain. Would anyone be willing to list which pieces were bought by Queen Mary? Were they bought from Alexandra's sister? I often confuse the titles of members of the Russian imperial family.
--Previous Message-- : It was Her Majesty's Grandfather George V, who : was on the throne during the Russian : Revolution. : : And although they didn't offer exile to the : Russian Tsar, they did send HMS Marlborough : to rescue the Dowager Tsarina and other : lesser members of the imperial family. : It is said Queen Alexandra who emphatically : ordered her son to send the ship to rescue : her sister. : Saving the lesser members of the Imperial : family was diplomatically and politically : fine, and the British did the best they : could to help them under the circumstances : : But they feared the diplomatic and political : ramifications of offering exile to a deposed : Ruler in the middle of war. George V : believed it could spark a similar revolution : in Britain, he was stuck between a rock and : a hard place. : : The jewels that were sold by the : Grand-Duchess Vladimir and other members of : the Russian Imperial Family had been : smuggled out of Russia with during the : revolution by people who had survived. And : they were sold late in the 20s when it : became apparent that the Whites had lost the : Russian Civil War and there was no going : back, then they realised that they had to : sell the jewels for money. : : The jewels that were confiscated by the : Bolsheviks, from those that were killed in : Russia have never been seen again. : (Other than the sale of very important : jewels and stones by the Bolsheviks after : the revolution) all the other hoards of : jewels have disappeared. : : :
on December 20, 2011, 10:03 pm, in reply to "