Today marks the 75th Anniversary of the Death of Princess Victoria, Marchioness of Milford Haven, who passed away on this day in 1950! Queen Victoria’s Hessian granddaughter who was the sister of the last Empress of Russia, mother of Queen Louise of Sweden and Earl Mountbatten and the grandmother of the Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Victoria wore some spectacular Royal Jewels!
Mountbatten Pearl Star Tiara
Origin: Wedding Gift from her grandmother, Queen Victoria, in 1884
Notable Appearances: The Coronation of King George V in 1911
Fate: Remained in Russia at the outbreak of the First World War and lost during the Russian Revolution. A replacement Tiara given by Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, was given as a Wedding Gift to her daughter-in-law, Countess Mountbatten and remains a family heirloom
Queen Victoria’s Emerald Tiara
Origin: Designed by Prince Albert for Queen Victoria in 1845
Notable Appearances: Loaned by Queen Victoria to her granddaughter, Princess Victoria, for a Costume Ball in 1880s
Fate: Inherited by Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, and now in the possession of the Duke of Fife, on display at Kensington Palace.
Hesse Emerald Brooch
Origin: Originally belonged to Princess Elisabeth of Prussia, Princess Charles of Hesse and by Rhine from 1830.
Notable Appearances: Portrait in 1880s
Fate: Given as a Wedding Gift to her daughter, Queen Louise of Sweden, in 1923, who gave it to her niece, Princess Sophie of Greece, in 1946, after her jewels were stolen by American Soldiers following the Second World War. Sold to Princess Gloria von Thurn and Taxis in the 1980s and auctioned in 1992
Hesse Sapphire Necklace
Origin: A Wedding Gift to Princess Alice from her brother, the future King Edward VII, in 1862, believed to have been given as a Wedding Gift to her eldest daughter, Princess Victoria, in 1884.
Notable Appearances: Wedding to Prince Louis of Battenberg in 1884, a Portrait and the Wedding of her aunt, Princess Beatrice, and her brother-in-law, Prince Henry of Battenberg, in 1885
Fate: Unknown, but possibly the same Necklace/Tiara sold by the 7th Baron Ashburton at the Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels Sale in Geneva in 2018
Hesse Emerald Cross
Origin: Originally belonged to Princess Elisabeth of Prussia, Princess Charles of Hesse and by Rhine from 1830
Notable Appearances: Portrait in 1880s
Fate: Given as a Wedding Gift to her daughter, Queen Louise of Sweden, in 1923, who gave it to her niece, Princess Sophie of Greece, in 1946, after her jewels were stolen by American Soldiers following the Second World War. Current location is unknown
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