Today marks the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Princess Ortrud, Princess of Hanover, who was born on this day in 1925! The Consort of the Head of the illustrious House of Hannover, Princess Ortrud most notably wore the Hanoverian Diamond Necklace Tiara!
In 1913, Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia received this substantial diamond swag necklace as a wedding gift from her groom, Prince Ernst August of Hanover, the Duke of Brunswick, one of a series of wedding gifts which included the Brunswick Tiara from the people of Brunswick, the Prussian Diamond Tiara from her parents, the Kaiser and Empress Augusta, and an Emerald Laurel Wreath Tiara, another gift from her parents.
Princess Victoria Louise wore the Diamond Necklace with the Brunswick Tiara for her Official Portraits as the Duchess of Brunswick.
Later, after the Duchy was abolished following the First World War, Princess Victoria Louise wore the Diamond Necklace with the Brunswick Tiara at the Wedding of Prince Christian of Schaumburg-Lippe and Princess Feodora of Denmark in 1937.
In 1951, Princess Victoria Louise gave the Diamond Necklace, mounted on a Tiara frame, to Princess Ortrud of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg when she married her eldest son, Prince Ernest August of Hanover. Princess Ortrud wore the Diamond Necklace Tiara for the Wedding Ball at Schloss Marienburg and the Wedding in Hanover the following day.
Princess Ortrud wore the Diamond Necklace Tiara for the Wedding Gala of Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia and Princess Maria Pia of Italy in Portugal in 1955 and a spectacular Gala during King Paul and Queen Frederica of Greece’s State Visit to Germany, with the Hanoverian Topaz Parure.
Princess Ortrud continued to wear her Diamond Necklace Tiara with the Hanoverian Topaz Parure for Royal Events into the 1960s, including the Wedding Ball of Prince Juan Carlos of Spain and the Prince’s niece, Princess Sophia of Greece, in 1962 and also the Wedding Ball of his nephew, King Constantine of Greece, and Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark in 1964.
The Prince of Hanover had a falling out with his mother, Princess Victoria Louise, who still retained the Brunswick Tiara and other historic jewels, (which even became the subject of a court case) and thus Princess Ortrud had relatively few jewels as the Consort to the Head of the illustrious House of Hannover. Since she passed away just a few months before her mother-in-law, she never got access to the entire collection, with the Diamond Necklace Tiara remaining her most spectacular Heirloom. The Tiara has not been publicly worn by her daughters or daughters-in-law since Princess Ortrud’s death in 1980, but with two new Princesses of Hannover, who have already worn the grander Hanoverian Floral Tiara, lets hope the Necklace Tiara makes a reappearance soon!
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