Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
Happy Birthday to Lady Pamela Hicks, who turns 96 today! The younger daughter of Earl Mountbatten, first cousin of the Duke of Edinburgh and the late Queen’s bridesmaid and lady-in-waiting, who married a influential interior designer, Lady Pamela has had a fascinating life, and after featuring the Pearl and Diamond Tiara she reportedly still owns as well as the Mountbatten Tiara and the Mountbatten Art Deco Diamond Necklace, which she doesn’t, today we are taking a look at another lovely jewel: Countess Mountbatten’s Diamond Floral Necklace!
Mountbatten Tiara | Pearl and Diamond Tiara | Art Deco Diamond Necklace | Mountbatten Aquamarine Suite | Diamond Necklace | Diamond Floral Necklace | Diamond Bow Brooch
The Diamond Necklace from the 1880s was designed as a garland of ivy leaves, set with cushion-shaped and rose-cut diamonds, with screw fittings to allow it to be worn as a tiara. It probably originates from Amalia Mary Maud Cassel, the daughter of financier Sir Ernest Cassel, who was the mother of Edwina, Countess Mountbatten.
Countess Mountbatten frequently wore the Diamond Floral Necklace during the 1940s, notably during her tenure as the last Viceregal Consort of India.
Countess Mountbatten loaned the Diamond Floral Necklace to her younger daughter, Lady Pamela, for a Banquet around 1949, likely in Malta.
The Diamond Floral Necklace was also worn by Countess Mountbatten when the Mountbatten Family joined Princess Margaret for the Royal Film Premiere of ‘Captain Horatio Hornblower’ at the Warner Theatre in Leicester Square in London in 1951.
Lady Pamela also wore the Diamond Floral Necklace for a dance during Princess Elizabeth’s stay in Malta in 1951, scenes from which were featured in ‘My Years With The Queen‘.
Lady Pamela also posed for a portrait wearing the Diamond Floral Necklace around the same time, wearing the same gown.
Countess Mountbatten wore the Diamond Floral Necklace with her Pearl and Diamond Tiara at a Banquet for the King and Queen of Sweden, her sister-in-law, at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich in 1955.
Countess Mountbatten was photographed wearing the Diamond Floral Necklace on numerous occasions throughout the 1950s and 1960s, among them a Dinner at the Savoy Hotel in 1956.
After Countess Mountbatten’s death in 1960, the Diamond Floral Necklace was inherited by her elder daughter, the then Lady Brabourne, who seems to be wearing the necklace with the Mountbatten Star Tiara when she joined the Queen and Princess Margaret at the Royal Film Performance of ‘West Side Story’ in 1962.
In 2021, the Diamond Floral Necklace was among the plethora of jewels on Auction at ‘The Family Collection of the late Countess Mountbatten of Burma’ Sale at Sotheby’s where it sold for 44,100 GBP, much higher than the estimate of 4,000 – 6,000 GBP. The current owner is unknown.
More recently, the Diamond Floral Necklace went on display at ‘Power & Image: Royal & Aristocratic Tiaras’ at Sotheby’s in London in 2022.
Mountbatten Tiara | Pearl and Diamond Tiara | Art Deco Diamond Necklace | Mountbatten Aquamarine Suite | Diamond Necklace | Diamond Floral Necklace | Diamond Bow Brooch