Today marks the 90th Anniversary of the Death of Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom, who died on this day in 1935! The daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, and the sister of King George V and Queen Maud of Norway, who never married and remained the lifelong companion of her mother, Princess Victoria herself acquired this Cartier Diamond Tiara!
While her sisters received Tiaras as Wedding Gifts, Princess Victoria, who never married, acquired this Cartier Diamond Tiara around the time of the Coronation of her parents, King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, in 1902. Never directly pictured, the Tiara could be this delicate diamond floral spray, often nestled in her massive hairdo, which she was most frequently pictured wearing.
The first appearance of the Tiara was even earlier than the Coronation Festivities, being worn at the State Opening of Parliament in 1902.
However, for the Coronation Ceremony itself, Princess Victoria wore the Pearl and Diamond Tiara of her sister, Princess Maud.
In 1905, Princess Victoria was pictured in the Cartier Diamond Tiara at the Wedding of her cousin, Princess Margaret of Connaught, and Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden at Windsor Castle.
While Princess Victoria accompanied her parents for many State Occasions, there were few pictures taken in those days and thus we do not have many picture of her wearing the Tiara. A few months later, Princess Victoria wore a Diamond Tiara at a Gala Performance held from the Greek Royal Family in the Waterloo Chamber of Windsor Castle.
The Cartier Diamond Tiara was also worn by Princess Victoria at the Coronation of her brother-in-law King Haakon VII, and sister, Queen Maud, of Norway, in Trondheim in 1906.
It appears Princess Victoria also wore the Cartier Diamond Tiara at a Gala Performance during the British State Visit to Norway in 1908.
Princess Victoria also seems to have worn the Cartier Diamond Tiara for a Ball hosted by the Duchess of Wellington at Apsley House in London doing the Season of 1908.
Princess Victoria was not pictured at Gala Events after King Edward VII’s death in 1910, and after Queen Alexandra’s death, she also inherited her Wedding Tiara, which was ‘disposed of’ and that might also be the fate of her Cartier Tiara.
After her death, Princess Victoria’s country house, Coppins, was inherited by her nephew, the Duke of Kent, while the rest of her estate was divided between her nephew, King Olav V of Norway, and niece, Princess Maud, Countess of Southesk. Queen Sonja of Norway wears a few floral brooches which could be elements of Princess Victoria’s Tiara, but ultimately the fate of the Cartier Tiara remains a mystery.
Princess Victoria’s Cartier Tiara
Queen Alexandra’s Wedding Parure
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