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    Re: Hesse-Darmstadt cabochon emerald parure Archived Message

    Posted by Arthur on July 23, 2014, 1:18 pm, in reply to "Re: Hesse-Darmstadt jewels"

    The cabochon emerald parure worn by Princess Cecilie was worn by Grand-Duchess Eleonore, her step-mother-in-law:



    It is also pictured in Geoffrey Munn's Tiaras, A History of Splendour (page 264), on a photographic portrait of Princess Cecile by Cecil Beaton. The tiara is described as "an impressive circlet of cabochon-cut stones set in clusters of rose diamonds and arranged in the medieval taste". But Munn does not provide information about the origin or the whereabouts of the tiara, or of the rest of the parure.


    --Previous Message--
    : I'm sure that Cristina didn't mean the theft
    : after WWII, but the plane crash in 1937.
    : Most members of the Hessen and by Rhein were
    : on the same plane in order to attend the
    : wedding of Prince Ludwig & Hon. Margaret
    : Campbell Geddes. The plane crashed near the
    : dutch coast, killing everbody on board.
    :
    : There is the story of a tiara being
    : recovered from the wreck, being intact in
    : it's strongbox. But I have heard this story
    : being connected to two tiaras: the turquoise
    : and moonstone tiara and the strawberry leaf
    : tiara which had been a present from Queen
    : Victoria to her daughter Princess Alice.
    :
    : My theory is that both tiaras were on board.
    : The turquoise and moonstone tiara was
    : intended as a present to the bride who wore
    : it later during her life. It is now with her
    : English relatives.
    :
    : The strawberry leaf tiara was probably
    : intended to be worn by the mother of the
    : groom during the wedding. It is now with the
    : Hesse-Darmstadt relatives, as the Hesse and
    : by Rhyn family died out after Prince
    : Ludwig's death in 1968.
    :
    : Afaik, it is not known what happened to the
    : cabouchon emerald tiara worn by Princess
    : Cecile in this fascinating picture. I don't
    : think that it has been seen since.
    :
    :
    : By the way, has anybody ever seen Princess
    : Margaret, nee Hon. Margaret Campbell Geddes,
    : wear a tiara? I have only read the she wore
    : the turquoise-moonstone tiara, but have
    : never seen a picture.
    :
    :


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