Princess Michael of Kent celebrates her 80th Birthday next week! One of the most flamboyant members of the extended Royal Family, Princess Michael possesses a remarkable collection of heirloom royal jewels, which includes the spectacular Kent Diamond Fringe Tiara!

Kent Festoon Tiara | Kent City of London Fringe Tiara | Kent Diamond Circle Earrings | Vladimir Pearl Earrings | Daisy Brooches | Diamond Pendant | Emerald Brooch | Art Deco Pearl Necklace | Aquamarine Suite | Cartier Sapphire Clips | Cartier Flower Brooch

When Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin married Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia, the third son of Tsar Alexander II of Russia, in 1874, she received numerous spectacular jewels including her Vladimir Tiara, Emerald Necklace, and a Diamond Rivière, as well as a traditional Diamond Fringe Tiara. Grand Duchess Vladimir wore Diamond Fringe wrapped around a massive hexagonal emerald for a spectacular Costume Ball at the Vladimir Palace in St Petersburg in February 1875.

The Diamond Fringe Tiara was more traditionally worn by Grand Duchess Vladimir for a portrait in Russian Court Dress, along with a Diamond Bow Brooch.

When she fled St. Petersburg following the February Revolution in 1917, the Jewels of the Grand Duchess Vladimir remained in a hidden safe in her bedroom at the Vladimir Palace, until her son, Grand Duke Boris, and a friend, Bertie Stopford, snuck into the Vladimir Palace disguised as workmen, smuggling the Jewels out in a pair of Gladstone Bags, which were then smuggled out of Russia, deposited in a safety deposit box in London. The Grand Duchess Vladimir was the last Romanov to escape Russia, and passed away just a few months later, in September 1920.

Grand Duchess Vladimir left her jewels to her children in groups of stones, with Grand Duke Kyril receiving the Sapphires, Grand Duke Boris the Emeralds, Grand Duke Andrei the Rubies, while Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna, Princess Nicholas of Greece, the only daughter, inherited her mother’s diamonds and pearls, including the Vladimir Tiara.

Since Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna possessed her own Diamond Fringe Tiara, she seems to have sold off her mother’s Diamond Fringe Tiara, which was reportedly bought by the Raja of Pudukkottai for his Australian-born Rani, who wore a Diamond Fringe Tiara in the 1920s, and may have sold the Fringe Tiara after the Raja’s death in 1928.

When Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, the granddaughter of Grand Duchess Vladimir, married Prince George, the Duke of Kent in 1934, she received a Diamond Fringe Tiara as a Wedding Gift from the Lord Mayor and the City of London, which is believed to be the same one which once belonged to Grand Duchess Vladimir.

However, on her Wedding Day, Princess Marina wore her mother’s Diamond Fringe Tiara when she married Prince George, Duke of Kent.

The City of London Diamond Fringe Tiara became one of the primary jewels of the Duchess of Kent began soon after her wedding, usually paired with her Diamond Girandole Earrings and Diamond Bow Brooch, and notably worn for the Coronation of King George VI in 1937, the Wedding Gala of Crown Prince Paul of Greece and Princess Frederica of Hanover in 1938, and a Gala Performance at Covent Garden in 1939.

Princess Marina frequently wore the City of London Diamond Fringe Tiara over the years, with other appearances at a Gala Performance at Covent Garden in 1950, for the Opening of the Festival of Britain in 1951, on a Far East Tour in 1952, at the Coronation Ball at the Royal Albert Hall in 1953, and the Coronation Gala at Covent Garden in 1953.

The City of London Diamond Fringe Tiara was also worn by Princess Marina for the Wedding Gala of her nephew, Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia, and Princess Maria Pia of Savoy in 1955, the RAF 40th Anniversary Banquet in 1958, The German State Visit to Britain in 1958, the French State Visit to Britain in 1960, the Order of the British Empire Service in 1960, and the Greek State Visit in 1963, as well as a State Opening of Parliament.

In 1963, Princess Marina loaned the City of London Fringe Tiara to her only daughter, Princess Alexandra, when she married the Hon. Angus Ogilvy at Westminster Abbey.

After Princess Marina’s death in 1968, the City of London Fringe Tiara was left to her youngest son, Prince Michael. His bride, Baroness Marie Christine von Reibnitz, wore the Tiara at Ball held in Vienna after their Civil Wedding Ceremony, and for a series of portraits not long afterwards.

Over the decades, Princess Michael has worn the Diamond Fringe Tiara for numerous portraits and Banquets, among them the Danish State Visit to Britain in 2000, sometimes on a velvet kokoshnik topped with a Diamond Rivière.

While it has not been worn as frequently as the Festoon Tiara, one  of the more recent appearances of the City of London Fringe Tiara was in 2018, when Princess Michael attended the Queen’s Commonwealth Dinner at Buckingham Palace.

In 2019, Lady Gabriella Windsor, the only daughter of Prince and Princess Michael, wore the Kent City of London Fringe Tiara for her Wedding to Thomas Kingston at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. There is no doubt we will see this historic Royal heirloom for years to come!

Kent Festoon Tiara | Kent City of London Fringe Tiara | Kent Diamond Circle Earrings | Vladimir Pearl Earrings | Daisy Brooches | Diamond Pendant | Emerald Brooch | Art Deco Pearl Necklace | Aquamarine Suite | Cartier Sapphire Clips | Cartier Flower Brooch

Kent Festoon Tiara