Today marks the Anniversary of the Death of Madame, The Countess of Paris, who passed away on this day in 2003! The French-born Brazilian Princess who was the Consort of the Head of the House of Orléans for over sixty years and the mother of eleven illustriously married children, the Countess possessed some spectacular heirlooms, which included this Diamond Bracelet Bandeau!
When the future Count of Paris married Princess Isabelle of Orléans-Braganza in 1931, the bride received the Action Française Tiara and Coty Emerald Tiara from well wishers and organisations, but the groom gave her a versatile Art Deco Diamond Bracelet Bandeau and two Brooches.
The Diamond Bracelet Bandeau was made by Fillon using the diamonds from a fleur-de-lys tiara that belonged to his paternal grandmother, Princess Francoise of Orléans, Duchess of Chartres.
Princess Isabelle of Orléans-Braganza first wore her new Diamond Bracelet Bandeau on the day of her Wedding to Prince Henri d’Orléans, Count of Paris at the Cathedral of Palermo in 1931.
During the 1950s and 1960s, the Countess of Paris was often pictured wearing her Art Deco Diamond Bracelet on several occasions, usually paired with either her Action Française Tiara or the Orléans Sapphire Parure.
In 1960, the couple’s fifth daughter, Princess Claude of Orléans, wore the Diamond Bracelet Bandeau for the Wedding Ball of her sister, Princess Diane, to Duke Carl of Wurttemberg at Schloss Altshausen.
The Count and Countess of Paris’ eldest daughter, Princess Isabelle, wore the Diamond Bracelet Bandeau for a Gala Evening at a Theatre in London in 1962.
Several years later, Princess Anne, Duchess of Calabria wore the Diamond Bracelet Bandeau for the Wedding Ball of Infanta Pilar of Spain in Portugal in 1967.
The Countess of Paris continued to wear the Brooches on several occasions through the years, most notably in 1988, when they were paired with Empress Joséphine’s Diamond Tiara for the the Wedding Ball of her granddaughter, Duchess Mathilde of Württemberg, and Hereditary Count Erich of Waldburg zu Zeil and Trauchburg at Schloss Altshausen.
The Countess of Paris also loaned her Diamond Bracelet Bandeau to her granddaughter, Princess Clotilde of Orléans, for her Wedding to Edouard Crépy in 1993.
At some point in the later years of her life, the Countess of Paris wore her Diamond Bracelet Bandeau for a series of portraits, after having primarily worn the Orléans Sapphire Parure or the Action Française Tiara.
After the Countess of Paris’ death in 2003, the Bracelet was inherited by her son, Prince Michel of Orléans, Count of Évreux, while the Brooches were left to her daughter, Princess Diane, Duchess of Württemberg. They do not appear to have been publicly worn since.
