Re: News of bequest was in public arena in early January 1943 Archived Message
Posted by LauraM on November 22, 2015, 8:14 pm, in reply to "News of bequest was in public arena in early January 1943"
Yes, once probate was granted the will entered the public domain. Such a prominent social personalty as Mrs Greville would attract publicity even after her death. According to Evans, London was abuzz with gossip about Mrs Greville's estate. "She had used her enormous wealth all her life to divide and rule, and in arranging her affairs she continued the habit. She had dropped hints to the favoured few during her lifetime; she had used Polesden Lacy as a bargaining chip to become close to the Royal Family, and then changed her mind, and she had announced her intention to leave her pearls to the Queen." Mrs Greville had an incredibly number of pearl necklaces, in addition to the three-row necklace she gave to the Queen in 1936. She would have her necklace of 210 pearls restrung every year with the exception of the first world war years along with her three necklaces. She had a "jewel-off" with Mrs Arthur James at a ball. Mrs James was wearing four strands of pearls, while Mrs Greville appeared to be wearing only three. "Undaunted, she adjusted her cleavage, and produced a second set of pearls, a further three rows, making a total of six." "Mrs Greville was a serious collector of magnificent jewellery,and favoured jewels that had belonged to prominent women in history. Provenance mattered greatly to her, and she acquired Marie Antoinette's diamond necklace, the Empress Josephine's emeralds and diamonds, and a diamond ring that once belonged to Catherine the Great. She also commissioned new pieces from the greatest jewelers of the day."
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