Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
Today marks the 25th Anniversary of the Death of the Queen Giovanna of Bulgaria, who passed away on this day in 2000! The Italian Princess who married the Bulgarian Tsar that was poisoned by Hitler, and spent much of her life in exile, Queen Giovanna possessed a magnificent Jewellery Collection which included the Bulgarian Diamond Ivy Wreath Tiara!
Bulgarian Fleur-de-Lys Tiara | Diamond Ivy Wreath Tiara | Queen Giovanna’s Pearl Tiara | Queen Marie-Amélie’s Diamond Parure | Queen Giovanna’s Bracelet Bandeau
When Princess Elena of Montenegro was marrying Crown Prince Victor Emmanuel of Italy in 1896, she received several spectacular jewels as wedding gifts. Among the jewels was this magnificent Stomacher/Devant de Corsage composed of pearls scattered across diamond ivy leaves, which Queen Elena wore for a portrait around the turn of the century.
In the 1950s, King Umberto II of Italy had his mother’s Devant de Corsage converted into a striking Tiara by his favourite jeweller Petochi, while it is believed that leftover Diamond Ivy elements were used to create the magnificent Diamond Ivy Wreath Tiara for his sister, Queen Giovanna of Bulgaria. Another possibility is that the Tiara is an old heirloom of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Kohary, which may have even originated from Queen Marie-Amélie of the French.
Queen Giovanna most notably wore the Diamond Ivy Wreath Tiara for a portrait with her son, Tsar Simeon II, in exile in Madrid in the 1950s, paired with the pieces of Queen Marie-Amélie’s Diamond Parure.
After Tsar Simeon’s marriage in 1962, the Diamond Parure came into the possession of Queen Margarita, often worn with the Necklaces and Earrings ofQueen Marie-Amélie’s Diamond Parure, for a plethora of events through the 1960s, most notably the Wedding Ball of King Constantine II of Greece and Princess Anne Marie of Denmark in 1964.
Queen Margarita also wore the Diamond Ivy Wreath Tiara for the Wedding Ball of Prince Karl of Hesse and Countess Yvonne Szapary von Muraszombath Széchysziget und Szapár in 1966, the Wedding Ball of the Margrave of Baden and Archduchess Valerie of Austria in 1966 or the Wedding Ball of Duchess Sophie of Württemberg in 1969.
In 1989, the Diamond Ivy Wreath Tiara was worn by Doña María del Rosario Nadal when she married the second son of Tsar Simeon and Queen Margarita, Kyril, Prince of Preslav.
In 2017, the Diamond Ivy Wreath Tiara along with Queen Marie-Amélie’s Diamond Parure, was on sale at the Bessel Art Fair, belonging to the Zebrak Gallery in London. It is unknown when the Royal Family decided to sell the Tiara, but they have faced years of legal battles in Bulgaria over restitution of their properties, which may have necessitated the sale of this historic jewel.
Bulgarian Fleur-de-Lys Tiara | Diamond Ivy Wreath Tiara | Queen Giovanna’s Pearl Tiara | Queen Marie-Amélie’s Diamond Parure | Queen Giovanna’s Bracelet Bandeau