Today marks the 130th Anniversary of the Birth of Mona, the last Countess Beauchamp, who was born on this day in 1895! The Countess wore this magnificent heirloom Pearl and Diamond Tiara before it was sold to the former Sultanah of Pahang!
Beauchamp Tiara | Empress Eugénie’s Diamond Bow Brooch
Featuring three pear-shaped, hanging pearls in an ornate Belle Epoque Frame, this large Tiara is likely a 19th century Heirloom of the Lygon Family, and was among the Beauchamp Family Heirlooms gifted to Lady Lettice Grosvenor when she married the controversial 7th Earl Beauchamp in 1902. Their family inspired the Marchmain Family in Brideshead Revisited.
Their daughter-in-law, the fabulous Mona, Countess Beauchamp wore the Pearl and Diamond Tiara with Empress Eugénie’s Diamond Bow Brooch at a Gala Performance at Covent Garden during the French State Visit in 1939.
While not pictured, Countess Beauchamp was also described wearing the Beauchamp Tiara at the Battle of Balaclava Centenary Ball in 1954, and the Anglo-Danish Society Dinner in London in 1955.
Earl and Countess Beauchamp, the latter wearing a magnificent pearl and diamond tiara
The Earldom became extinct upon the Earl’s death, but the Countess continued to reside at the Family Seat of Madresfield, giving a rare interview to Selina Hastings.
Her husband died in 1980 and Mona continued at Madresfield alone. Very occasionally the large and lovely garden was opened to the public to raise money for the village church. The house never. ‘All the time all sorts of people write and ask to see the house, and my answer is always the same.’ ‘What is your answer?’ ‘No.’ Once a year at Christmas the local vicar takes a service in the family chapel, where Lady Beauchamp went most days, just for a few minutes, to say her prayers. When in London during the week, where she was driven in a powder-blue Rolls Royce, she would sometimes look into the church at the bottom of Sloane Street to communicate with her creator.
In the old days the Lygon town house was a many-storeyed mansion in Belgrave Square. This is now the Ghanaian High Commission, although its spacious stable block in Halkin Place has been retained and converted into a six-bedroom ‘pied-à-terre’. ‘The original house was much too big, so I asked the Grosvenor Estate if I could convert it into flats. They said I could not, because they did not wish undesirables living there.’ A deep inhalation on the little cigar. ‘So I sold it to the Ghanaian Government.’ Another sweet smile.
While Madresfield went to a niece, the Tiara was soon sold off at Auction not long after the death of the Countess Beauchamp in 1989. Empress Eugénie’s Diamond Bow Brooch was also sold off around this time and is now among the French Crown Jewels on display in the Galerie d’Apollon of the Musée du Louvre.
The Tiara was acquired by Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang for his new wife, Sultanah Kalsom, who was prevented from wearing the Pahang State Tiara.
Sultanah Kalsom wore the Beauchamp Pearl and Diamond Tiara for countless events over the next 28 years, for Birthday Parties, Galas, and Weddings, usually perched low on her forehead.
However, the Tiara has not been worn since the Sultan’s death in 2019, and the now Cik Puan Besar Kalsom usually wears her smaller Diamond Tiara.
Beauchamp Tiara | Empress Eugénie’s Diamond Bow Brooch
Empress Eugénie’s Diamond Bow Brooch
Devonshire Diamond Palmette Tiara
Devonshire Tiara
Devonshire Diamond Rivière
Ruby Clasp
Wellington Tiara
Diamond Floral Tiara
Diamond Earrings
Diamond Tassel Earrings
Von Preussen Tiara
Strawberry Leaf Coronet
Diamond Tiara
Foliate Tiara
Buccleuch Diamond Belt Tiara
Buccleuch Emerald Tiara
Buccleuch Mayflower Tiara
Buccleuch Turquoise Tiara
Buccleuch Pearl and Diamond Tiara
Bagration Spinel Tiara
Rosebery Tiara
Diamond Necklace
Westminster Myrtle Wreath Tiara
Diamond Fringe Tiara
Duchess of Buccleuch’s Tiaras
Rutland Tiara
Northumberland Tiara
Duchess of Sutherland’s Tiara
Duchess of Bedford’s Tiaras
Marlborough Tiara
Portland Tiara
Duchess of Norfolk’s Sapphire Necklace
Rutland Tiara
Argyll Tiara
Manchester Tiara
Dufferin Tiara
Bath Tiara
Milford Haven Ruby Kokoshnik
Londonderry Tiara
Londonderry Amethyst Parure
Londonderry Pearl Parure
Londonderry Turquoise Parure
Londonderry Diamond Stomacher
Londonderry Emerald Parure
The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara
Vladimir Tiara
Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara
Belgian Sapphire Tiara
Burmese Ruby Tiara
Brazilian Aquamarine Tiara
Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara
Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara
Queen Victoria’s Oriental Circlet Tiara
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