Happy Birthday to Princess Irene of The Netherlands, who turns 85 today! The second daughter of Queen Juliana who caused much scandal when she converted to Catholicism and gave up her place in the line of succession to marry the Duke of Parma, so to mark her Birthday, we are featuring the magnificent Bourbon-Parma Tiara!
Bourbon-Parma Tiara | Ruby Peacock Tiara | Ruby Earrings | Queen Emma’s Diamond Tiara | Aquamarine Tiara | Emerald Tiara | Antique Pearl Tiara | Ears of Wheat Tiara | Dutch Diamond Trellis Necklace | Queen Juliana’s Art Deco Diamond Brooch
The spectacular Diamond Tiara, which was probably made in Vienna by Köchert, was composed with some diamonds that originated from the Duchess of Angoulême, daughter of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie-Antoinette.
The Diamonds ended up with Robert, Duke of Parma, a grand-nephew of the Duchess of Angoulême, and were notably worn by his second wife, née Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal, for Official Portraits and on a couple of occasions including the Wedding of his daughter, Princess Beatrice of Bourbon-Parma, and Count Pietro Lucchesi-Palli in 1906.
While many of the family heirlooms had been given to Archduchess Maria Anna, the daughter-in-law of the Duke of Parma, the Bourbon-Parma Tiara remained with Dowager Duchess Maria Antonia, who notably wore it for the Wedding of her daughter, Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma to Archduke Charles of Austria in 1911, who later became the last Emperor and Empress of Austria.
Following the First World War, Infanta Maria Antonia wore the Bourbon-Parma Tiara for the Wedding of her niece, Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg, to her son, Prince Felix, in 1919.
Two years later, Infanta Maria Antonia wore the Bourbon-Parma Tiara at the Wedding Ball of another son, Prince René of Bourbon-Parma, and Princess Margaret of Denmark, in Copenhagen in 1921. Infanta Maria Antonia, Duchess of Parma passed away in 1959, and unlike the other Family Heirlooms which were inherited by Infanta Alicia, Duchess of Calabria, the Tiara passed through the Ducal Line and was inherited by her grandson, Prince Carlos Hugo.
Princess Irene first wore the Bourbon-Parma Tiara at her wedding to Prince Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma in Rome in 1964, which was followed by a visit to the Pope at the Vatican later the same day. The wedding caused a lot of controversy, due to the couple’s Catholic religion and ties to fascist Spain, and her family was not present at the wedding, and thus she wore a Bourbon-Parma Tiara rather than one of the Dutch Tiaras.
Princess Irene wore the Bourbon-Parma Tiara, sometimes with a ruby in the center, for numerous Portraits and Gala Events, including a Gala Performance at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris in 1964.
One of the more notable appearances of the Bourbon-Parma Tiara also came in 1964, when Princess Irene and Prince Carlos Hugo attended a Press Gala for Dutch Journalism in Bonn.
Princess Irene also wore the Bourbon-Parma Tiara for Royal Events in The Netherlands, including a Dinner in Delft and the Wedding Ball of Princess Beatrix in 1966.
One of the last occasions Princess Irene was seen wearing the Bourbon-Parma Tiara was during the Dutch State Banquet at the Palace of Versailles in 1972.
When the Duke and Duchess of Parma divorced in 1981, the Tiara remained with the Bourbon-Parma Family and in 1996, the family entrusted the tiara to an attorney in Paris, where it was ‘lost’ (most likely stolen) and the attorney’s office had to pay €3,022,500 to the Bourbon-Parma family as compensation. The other Bourbon-Parma Tiara has been recently reacquired by the Family. The Tiara has never been recovered, and nowadays Princess Irene and her Bourbon-Parma Children mostly borrow Tiaras from the Dutch Royal Vaults.
Bourbon-Parma Tiara | Ruby Peacock Tiara | Ruby Earrings | Queen Emma’s Diamond Tiara | Aquamarine Tiara | Emerald Tiara | Antique Pearl Tiara | Ears of Wheat Tiara | Dutch Diamond Trellis Necklace | Queen Juliana’s Art Deco Diamond Brooch
