The wedding gift from the King and Queen of England, Edward VII and Alexandra, to their niece the new Queen of Spain was not the aquamarine set but a turquoise and diamond set.
A sketch of it was published in the newspapers of the time, along with all the other wedding gifts. I never seen Queen Ena wear it nor I know what happened to it.
The fabulous aquamarines were a gift from Ena´s husband. Many years ago I read on a spanish magazine one interview with the Queen on her later years (sorry, don´t recall the exact source). She recall she had seen her cousin Empress Alexandra of Russia wearing her aquamarines and she loved those stones. She was a bit afraid to ask such a gift to her husband because she thought that aquamarines would be imensely expensive, since the very wealthy Romanovs had bought them . She said her husband laughed when she told him that. And sometime later he presented her with the fabulous aquamarines we all know.
The big oval aquamarines that form the tiara were first set on the arches of Queen Ena´s pearl tiara
The aquamarine was inherited by Infanta Beatriz, and, since the gems were too heavy for the arches tiara, it was reset into the its present design. It was worn by Infanta Beatriz at the prewedding of Infanta Pilar
The aquamarine parure was also worn by the Infanta´s daughters at royal events, like the Danish prewedding in 2004 and the Astúrias prewedding the same year
And of course it was fabulous that Queen Ena´s greatgrandaughter, Pss Sybilla of Luxembourg, recently wore the amazing aquamarines at the prewedding of Ps Guillaume and Pss Stephanie
--Previous Message-- : Source: "Ottumwa Courier" (Iowa) : dated Thursday, January 22, 1931. : : I came across this newspaper article about : Queen Victoria Ena and her daughters. : : Direct Quote: : : SPAIN'S ROYAL FAMILY BUY CLOTHES IN PARIS. : (by Adelaide Kerr) : : Paris--(AP)---Behind the gilt-edged mirrors : of a couturier's salon the bright black eyes : of French midinettes lash (sp?) with pride : these days over the newly completed wardrobe : of a queen. : : And, while Queen Victoria of Spain, who : recently visited Paris, moves through the : courts of Europe, the house which designed : her clothes watches proudly her queenly : progress. : : Satin, sable, and silver dignity, beauty : and verse...these are the things of which : the winter wardrobe of the tall blond queen : of Spain is fashioned. : : The dresses and coats of her daughters, : the Infanta Beatrice and the Infanta Maria, : though chic and beautiful to the last : detail, are designed along simple lines. : : Four evening dresses, two evening wraps, : two morning frocks, an afternoon dress and : an afternoon coat for each of the three was : the royal order. With broken English, : voluble French, flashing eyes and dramatic : hands, the Paris workers can describe them : to the last detail. : : For Queen Victoria there was an evening : gown of silver gray satin, so pale in tint : that it is almost white, it is designed : along subtle lines with a high waist and : full circular skirt, which sweeps to the : floor and is handed in sable. : : Another gown of silver lame is also : bordered in sable, above which shows a : narrow band of aquamarine blue velvet. WITH : THIS QUEEN VICTORIA WEARS THE GREAT : NECKLACE, BRACELETS, DIADEM AND EARRINGS OF : AQUAMARINES AND DIAMONDS WHICH KING EDWARD : VII OF ENGLAND GAVE HER AT THE TIME OF HER : MARRIAGE. : : One of her morning frocks is made of : heavy brown crepe de chine with a bodice of : yellow chatreuse crepe attached in incruste : design. : : Her two daughters---the Infanta Beatrice, : dark-eyed and blond haired; and the Infanta : Maria Christina, blue-eyed, fair-haired and : said to be the "picture of the : queen"---always dress alike. : : For them there were evening gowns of : black lace and tulle to be worn with short : black lace coats. There always were formal : white satin gowns and accompanying short : emerald satin coats. : : Queen Victoria helps to select every : article of clothing which her daughters : wear. She lives continually with her : children and they "turn o mother for : everything." : : End of quote. : : King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra : apparently sent a wedding gift of these : aquamarine and diamond set of jewels to the : Spanish Queen: necklace, bracelets, diadem : and earrings. Is anyone in the Spanish royal : family known to have worn these since the : death of Queen Victoria Ena? : :
on June 10, 2014, 3:51 pm, in reply to "
. She said her husband laughed when she told him that. And sometime later he presented her with the fabulous aquamarines we all know. 
