Re: Movement of Queen Mary's Jewellery Archived Message
Posted by Arthur  on September 1, 2014, 5:38 am, in reply to "Re: Movement of Queen Mary's Jewellery"
Apparently, for whatever reason, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother retained with her, after her husband's death and her daughter's accession, several of the jewels considered as Crown heirlooms, which she had received from Queen Mary in 1936 and which she should normally have handed over to Queen Elizabeth II in 1952. The most famous examples are Queen Victoria's Oriental Diadem and Ruby Parure and Queen Victoria's Household Diamond Jubilee Brooch, but it is also the case with Queen Adelaide's Fringe Necklace (Hugh Roberts' The Queen's Diamonds explicitely confirms that it was retained by the Queen Mother until her death in 2002). The Queen (Elizabeth II) would have been entitled to claim these jewels back as soon as 1952, but she probably did not want to enter an argument with her mother (considering probably she had enough jewels for herself on her own).
Therefore, I am getting more and more suspicious about the very existence of a fringe necklace from Princess Victoria. As far as I know, we have never seen pictures or portraits of Princess Victoria with a fringe necklace (or a fringe tiara), this necklace is never mentioned in any of the autoritative documentation about the British royal jewels (Field's or Roberts' books, Royal Collection's website...), and we have the confirmation by Roberts that the fringe necklace worn by the Queen Mother is from Queen Adelaide, and not from Princess Victoria...
I agree with Merlin that, as Queen Mary bequeathed some jewels to her younger daughters-in-law, the Duchesses of Gloucester and of Kent, there would be no reason to treat Queen-Mother Elizabeth differently and to deny her any bequest (both Queens were known to be in good terms, and the fact that QEQM's husband was already dead when Queen Mary died in 1953 could not have been a reason, as it was the case for the Duchess of Kent too).
Regarding the jewels which could have been bequeathed by Queen Mary to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Leslie Field mentions a sapphire and diamond brooch "almost identical [to the Prince Albert Brooch], which had been bought in 1937 by Queen Mary from the London jeweller S. J. Phillips. It was one of a set of three that had been part of the French Crown Jewels. Queen Mary bequeathed it to Queen Elizabeth in 1953". Actually, I am puzzled by this assertion, as I can not identify which brooch this could be (all the sapphire brooches I have seen in the British Royal Family are different-looking from The French Crown Jewels sapphire brooches). The three brooches are, on the pictures below, linked to the top of the earrings and as the clasp of the necklace on our left:
There is also the example of another sapphire and diamond brooch, from Russian origin, thought to have been purchased in 1934 by Queen Mary from the daughters of the late Russian Empress Maria Feodorovna. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother wore this brooch regularly (though not frequently) throughout her life, so we can guess it was a bequest from Queen Mary. Queen Elizabeth II wore this brooch for the first (and until now only) time on 3rd April 2014 when she paid an official visit to Italian President Giorgio Napolitano and to Pope Francis in Rome.
 
And finally, there is the unclear situation of the Delhi Durbar diamond tiara. It was a private belonging of Queen Mary (made in 1911 with the diamonds from a Boucheron loop tiara made in 1902 with diamonds presented in 1901 to Queen Mary, then Duchess of York, by the directors of the De Beers Mine, Cape Town). Hugh Roberts mentions it was "loaned" to Queen(-Mother) Elizabeth for the South African Tour in 1947 (which implies it was still considered as Queen Mary's private property) and since then retained by the Queen-Mother until her death in 2002. Maybe Queen Mary bequeathed the tiara to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (though the latter already had the use of it).
Queen Mary probably bequeathed to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother some smaller jewels (bracelets, rings...), but I have not tried to hunt for that.
Best wishes,
Arthur
--Previous Message--
: Merlin,
: How do you judge which is the Queen Adelaide
: fringe and which belonged to Princess
: Victoria?
: Roberts in QD on page 32 says that QEQM was
: given the Queen Adelaide fringe in 1936 and
: shows a photo of her wearing it on page 33.
:
: --Previous Message--
:
: As we know nice pieces of jewellery were
: left to the Princess Royal, the Duchesses of
: Gloucester and Kent on Queen Mary's death in
: 1953 I find it hard to believe a token was
: not bequeathed to her successor as Queen.
: The Fringe necklace being so noticeably worn
: by QEQM from 1953 onwards makes it a good
: candidate.
: It is obviously a major piece, coming
: perhaps from Princess Victoria in 1935 and
: Queen Alexandra 10 years earlier.
:
:
:
: --Previous Message--
:
: Frankly, I do not see how people like us can
: know about the terms of Wills of royals,
: when their Wills are sealed.
:
: And royals can give away things at any time
: during their lives as well as making
: bequests, just like people like us do.
:
: it can be fun to speculate though.
:
:
: --Previous Message--
:
: The bulk of Queen Mary's jewellery
: collection was indeed bequeathed to HM the
: Queen. However each of her children and
: grandchildren received jewellery and other
: items. For example we know from the auction
: of Princess Margaret's belongings that a
: number of items originated with her
: Grandmother, Queen Mary.
: --Previous Message--
: I am intrigues by a comment Merlin made in
: the
: previous thread about the movement of Queen
: Mary's (QM) jewellery.
:
: He mentioned that Queen Elizabeth (QEQM) may
: have received some jewellery from QM on her
: death.
:
: I always hear how HM The Queen inherited
: jewellery from QM but I do not recall QEQM
: having received anything on QM death - the
: reference is usually that QEQM received
: jewels from QM when QEQM become Queen
: Consort in 1936.
:
: Does anyone have any insight or
: clarification on this?
:
: Cheers!
: Bryce
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