Today marks the 70th Anniversary of the Death of Princess Elizabeth of Greece, Countess of Törring-Jettenbach, who passed away on this day in 1955! The Greek Princess who married the Head of a prominent Bavarian Noble Family received Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna’s magnificent Diamond Fringe Tiara, which remains a family heirloom!
When Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin married Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia, the third son of Tsar Alexander II of Russia, in 1874, she received numerous spectacular jewels including her Vladimir Tiara, Emerald Necklace, and a Diamond Rivière, as well as a traditional Diamond Fringe Tiara, which she first wore wrapped around a massive hexagonal emerald for a spectacular Costume Ball at the Vladimir Palace in St Petersburg in February 1875.
The Diamond Fringe Tiara was more traditionally worn by Grand Duchess Vladimir for a portrait in Russian Court Dress, along with a Diamond Bow Brooch.
When Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna married Prince Nicholas of Greece in 1902, she is said to have received ‘a diamond tiare russe of the type given to all grand-duchesses, which could also be worn as a necklace’, reportedly as a wedding gift from Tsar Nicholas II.
Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna, Princess Nicholas wore the Diamond Fringe Tiara for several Official Portraits in the years after her Wedding.
The Vladimir Fringe Tiara was also worn by Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna for several portraits in the 1910s, but after that, she was usually pictured wearing the Greek Ruby Parure for the next few decades.
The Vladimir Fringe Tiara was loaned to her eldest daughter, Princess Olga of Yugoslavia, for the Wedding of Prince Philipp of Hesse and Princess Mafalda of Savoy in 1925.
In 1934, Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna gave the Vladimir Fringe Tiara as a Wedding Gift to her middle daughter, Princess Elisabeth of Greece, when she married Count Carl Theodor of Törring-Jettenbach, who wore the Tiara on her Wedding Day.
Just a few months later, the Vladimir Fringe Tiara was loaned by the youngest daughter, Princess Marina, when she married Prince George, Duke of Kent, even though she received a Fringe Tiara from the City of London as a wedding gift.
Princess Elizabeth, Countess of Törring-Jettenbach wore the Vladimir Fringe Tiara for a Banquet during the Yugoslavian State Visit to Germany in 1939.
Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna seems to have worn the Vladimir Fringe Tiara in 1952, for a State Banquet in honour of the Turkish President at the Royal Palace of Athens, though she could have borrowed the Kent Fringe Tiara from her daughter, Princess Marina, who was visiting Athens at the time.
The following year, Princess Elizabeth, Countess of Törring-Jettenbach wore the Vladimir Fringe Tiara for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, when she also appeared behind the Palace Balcony.
After Princess Elizabeth’s death in 1955, the Vladimir Fringe Tiara was inherited by her daughter Countess Helene of Törring-Jettenbach, who wore it for her wedding to Archduke Ferdinand of Habsburg-Lorraine in 1956.
Archduchess Helen was photographed wearing the Vladimir Fringe Tiara on numerous occasions in the 1950s and 1960s.
In 1990, Archduchess Helene’s daughter, Archduchess Sophie of Habsburg, wore the Vladimir Fringe Tiara for her Wedding to Prince Mariano-Hugo von Windisch-Grätz in Salzburg.
More recently, the Vladimir Fringe Tiara was worn by Sara Maya al-Askari for her Wedding to Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg-Lorraine in Rome in 2005. The Tiara remains with Archduchess Helene, and as her grandchildren are of marriageable age, it won’t be long till we see the Vladimir Fringe Tiara worn again soon!
