Sapphire tiara worn by Queen Victoria in 1866Archived Message
Posted by Beth on September 1, 2016, 2:27 am
One of the reasons advanced to highlight the significance for the UK of Queen Victoria's sapphire tiara is that the Queen wore it when she opened parliament in 1866 for the first time following the death of Prince Albert.
When I saw this description of her jewels in the Times 7 February 1866
I thought the Queen had worn her tiara under her veil enclosing a chignon as she had done when painted by Winterhalter in 1842.
Royal Collection RCIN 401413
That this was not the case is proved by sketches in the Illustrated London News 10 February 1866
and the Penny Illustrated Paper 17 February 1866
As a result, I now wonder if the following images date from that time, although I am aware that the fur trimming the Queen's dress in the images is ermine, not miniver, and that the Royal Collection has other dates for the images.
This one is dated 1871
This is dated 1868
What ever the dating of these images, I suspect that the Queen's jewels were probably the same as those depicted below.
I suspect that the Queen deliberately chose a small tiara as she was intent on portraying herself as a widow still stricken by grief. She refused to use the State coach (the one used by QEII for her coronation), to wear her parliamentary robe (which she had draped over the throne) or read the Queen's speech, and throughout the ceremony kept her eyes lowered. Undoubtedly Queen Victoria found the weight of the Crown a burden as later she had her small diamond crown made. Some authors have considered that the Queen agreed to open parliament and attend Courts and Drawing Rooms only to gain a dowry and civil list grant for Princess Helena who married in July 1866. What ever the Queen's reason for selecting the sapphire tiara, her insistence on appearing grief stricken did not stop her wearing her large diamond necklace and earrings or the Koh-i-noor
on September 1, 2016, 2:27 am
