Today marks the 125th Anniversary of the Birth of the 10th Duchess of Marlborough, who was born on this day in 1900! The granddaughter of Earl Cadogan who married the 10th Duke of Marlborough, son of the legendary Consuelo Vanderbilt, the Duchess was often pictured wearing the magnificent Vanderbilt Boucheron Pearl Tiara!
Boucheron Pearl Tiara | Pearl Necklace
Bought by William Kissam Vanderbilt for his wife Alva in 1890, the Boucheron Pearl and Diamond Tiara was originally in the style of a coronet. The Tiara was retained by Alva after their divorce in 1895, and was given as a wedding present, along with two massive ropes of pearls, to their daughter, Consuelo, when she married the Duke of Marlborough that year.
According to Vincent Meylan, the Tiara was taken back to Boucheron in 1913, to transform it into a more open bandeau style, through the Duchess does not seem to have been photographed wearing the piece in either format. When the Duchess’ elder son, the Marquess of Blandford, married the Hon. Alexandra Mary Cadogan, a granddaughter of the 5th Earl Cadogan, in 1920, the Boucheron Pearl and Diamond Tiara was among the Wedding Gifts, along with a strand of the Vanderbilt Pearls.
The then Marchioness of Blandford was often pictured wearing the Boucheron Pearl and Diamond Tiara at society events and at the State Opening of Parliament.
The Tiara remained her principal jewel after becoming the Duchess of Marlborough in 1934, being worn to Coronation of King George VI in 1937 and for a series of portraits in Vogue, usually paired with her many massive emerald brooches.
The Duchess of Marlborough also wore the Boucheron Pearl Tiara to the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, where her daughter, Lady Rosemary, served as a maid of honour. After the Duchess’ death in 1961, the Tiara was not seen on her successor nor the first two wives of her elder son, the 11th Duke of Marlborough.
The Boucheron Pearl and Diamond Tiara only reappeared in the 1990s on the 11th Duke’s third wife, the Swedish Countess Rosita Douglas-Stjernorp, the sister of Princess Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria, who often wore the Tiara to Royal Events, including the Wedding Ball of Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein and her niece, Duchess Sophie in Bavaria, in 1993
The Duchess also wore the Boucheron Pearl Tiara to King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden’s 50th Birthday Banquet at the Royal Palace of Stockholm in 1996.
In 2004, the Boucheron Pearl Tiara was worn by the Duchess for a Ball at Blenheim Palace in aid of the Red Cross, a few years before her divorce from the Duke in 2008.
The Boucheron Pearl and Diamond Tiara remained unworn until 2018, Camilla Thorp wore the Tiara to marry the current Marquess of Blandford, Heir to the Dukedom, which gave us unprecedented look at the Tiara in the couple’s wedding video. There is no doubt we will continue to see this splendid Heirloom for years to come!
Boucheron Pearl Tiara | Pearl Necklace
Marlborough Tiara
Boucheron Tiara
Duchess of Marlborough’s Pearl Necklace
Devonshire Diamond Palmette Tiara
Duchess of Devonshire’s Tiaras
Devonshire Diamond Rivière
Devonshire Parure
Ruby Clasp
Craven Brooch
Insect Brooches
Devonshire Tiara
Devonshire Diamond Rivière
Ruby Clasp
Wellington Tiara
Diamond Earrings
Diamond Tassel Earrings
Bagration Spinel Tiara
Rosebery Tiara
Diamond Necklace
Westminster Myrtle Wreath Tiara
Diamond Fringe Tiara
Duchess of Buccleuch’s Tiaras
Northumberland Tiara
Duchess of Sutherland’s Tiara
Duchess of Bedford’s Tiaras
Marlborough Tiara
Portland Tiara
Duchess of Norfolk’s Sapphire Necklace
Rutland Tiara
Argyll Tiara
Manchester Tiara
Dufferin Tiara
Bath Tiara
Milford Haven Ruby Kokoshnik
Duchess of Devonshire’s Tiaras
Devonshire Parure
Ruby Clasp
Craven Brooch
Insect Brooches
