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I suspect Queen Fabiola would never have left her jewels to Paola even if she was still consort. The two were cordial at best. Never good friends. Different temperaments and interests. Paola and Albert were a jet set couple who made a public mess of their marriage and children something Fabiola and the King were horrified by. The jewels were Fabiola's to give. What happened to the Spanish Gift Tiara remains a mystery but there's always remains the slightest possibility that Fabiola left it to Elisabeth. If Mathilde recevied it (with almost all of her other jewels) we would have seen it or at least elements of it. The piece is very versatile. The coronet setting is a bit outdated and grand but for a wedding or when she's reigning... . The ' lower' setting with the leaves put together is stunning imho. However if either Mathilde or Elisabeth had it I would have thought we'd seen at least one of the elements as a brooch or something. The fact that Philippe and Mathilde bought this very dainty (affordable) Edwardian tiara might give us the strongest clue yet that the Spanish tiara is not in the mainline anymore. I hope I am wrong! I can't support the theory that Fabiola might have left the Spanish Gift tiara to her family. They have absolutely no use for it and I would think Fabiola would have thought it inappropriate to give such a lavish gift to family members who live relatively modest lives. Previous Message
Queen Fabiola lived into the reign of King Philippe so she left some of her jewels to the Queen-consort and not the Queen-mother. Previous Message
Was there known to be animosity between Queen Fabiola and The Princess of Liège?
Because The Wulfer’s necklace tiara and Tunisian bracelet and earrings were passed to Queen Mathilde, skipping Queen Paola. Unless Queen Fabiola left them to the royal House, to be worn by future Queens of The Belgians? Previous Message
Queen Elisabeth Widow since 3 months did not buy a jewel for Queen Astrid giving birth to Prince Albert in June 1934.
She gave her own Deco tiara and the Royal who will wear it after Queen Paola will wear the oldest jewel of our Royal Family. Thanks to all. Previous Message
Let is hope
But not agreeing with you closest relatives seems to be a part of royal life. Just consider what has happend through the centuries - not only in Belgium.
I hope, as you mention, that it will stop with Queen Paola and they will build up a larger collection of jewels Previous Message
When Queen Paola will share her jewels among she wanted will be the end of the Saga of the lost Belgian Royal jewels
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