It's quite "funny" (if I dare say!!) the Louvre museum is buying back all these jewels sold a century and a half ago by the french republic. It would have been less expensive to keep everything !!
--Previous Message-- : Arthur, : : I know that this story has been repeated : many times on the net, but these earrings : were not given to princess Isabelle : d'Orléans Bragance by King Ferdinand in 1931 : for her wedding to the old comte de Paris, : but by king Simeon to princess Marie Thérèse : of Wurtemberg for her wedding in 1957 to the : present comte de Paris. : : That version has been confirmed officially : by the current comte de Paris himself and : also by princess Philomena duchess of : Vendôme who is the current owner of these : earrings. They were given to her by her : mother in law (princess Marie thérèse of : Wurtemberg). : : The fact that they were worn once by : princesse Isabelle, wife of the old comte de : Paris, is not a proof that she owned them. : She herself told me that these earrings had : been given to her daughter in law by king : Simeon. She simply had them in custody : during a long time for the very simple : reason that her daughter in law did not have : a safe in her own apartment. And one day she : simply decided to wear them. : : The funny thing is that none of them had any : idea these sapphire and diamond earrings : were french crown jewels. : : Another interesting thing is that king : Ferdinand seemed to have bought quite a few : pieces from the french crown jewels. King s : Siméon once said that when his grand father : died in 1948 in exile in Coburg, his : inheritance was not very big except from a : lot of jewelry. : : I guess that these jewels were shared among : his two daughters and his grand children : (king simeon and his sister). This pearl and : diamond brooch must have been in the portion : given to princess Nadejda or princess : Eudoxia. Princess Nadejda married a : Wurtemberg prince (they had 5 children) and : princess Eudoxia never married. It is : reasonable to imagine that the brooch was : inherited by the Wurtemberg children of : princess Nadejda. : : This branch of the Wurtemberg family is : known to have quite a few interesting pieces : of jewelry, so one wonders if there might : not be some other french crown jewels in a : safe some where. :