Today marks the 65th Anniversary of the Death of Edith, Marchioness of Londonderry, who passed away on this day in 1959! The influential aristocratic Society Hostess who was the first woman to be appointed to be a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Military Division, the Marchioness of Londonderry was often seen in the spectacular Londonderry Jewels, the highlight of which is the Londonderry Tiara!
Londonderry Tiara | Londonderry Diamond Stomacher | The Jewels of the Marchioness of Londonderry
In 1854, the 3rd Marchioness of Londonderry used existing family jewels, including a spectacular Diamond Belt she had worn to the Coronation of king William IV in 1831, to create a spectacular Diamond Tiara at Garrard. The Londonderry Tiara was part of a larger parure known as the ‘Down Diamonds’, which included a large Diamond Stomacher, a diamond riviere with a cross pendant, and diamond bow brooches.
The spectacular Diamond Tiara first appeared on Theresa, the 6th Marchioness of Londonderry, who wore it in various configurations for a series of portraits in 1889 and 1891. The Marchioness was one of the leading Tory hostess, referred to as a ‘highwaywoman in a tiara’ when she entertained at Wynyard Park in County Durham, Mount Stewart in Ireland, and at the palatial Londonderry House in London.
The Marchioness wore the Diamond Tiara when she dressed as Empress Maria Theresa of Austria for the iconic Devonshire House Ball in 1897, and was also worn for the Coronation of King Edward VII in 1902, when Lady Londonderry dropped the Tiara into the toilet and it had to be ‘rescued by a pair of forceps’.
The 7th Marchioness of Londonderry was also a spectacular society hostess, wearing the Diamond Tiara on numerous occasions when she entertained at Londonderry House in London during the 1920s and 30s.
The Marchioness of Londonderry documented and researched the Down Diamonds, the Golconda Stomacher, the Turquoise Parure, the Siberian Emeralds and the Russian Amethysts, and the Bonaparte-Murat Pearls as well as the Antrim Rubies, while patronising the finest jewellers in London and Paris.
Lady Londonderry wore her the Londonderry Tiara for her portrait by the legendary Philip de László in 1927, which was described:
The imposing ‘All Around Diamond’ Londonderry tiara, set with 1,141 brilliant cut diamonds weighing 482 ½ carats, had been designed for Frances Anne Vane, 3rd Marchioness of Londonderry (1800-1865), by the Crown jeweller Garrard in 1854. It was made from the Down diamonds which were part of the dowry of Mary Cowan, wife of Robert Stewart and mother of the 1st Marquess of Londonderry. Known in the family as the ‘Family Fender,’ it was later altered considerably for Theresa, Marchioness of Londonderry. The tiara and the diamond drop earrings are currently on loan by the family to the V&A for display in their jewellery galleries.
The Marchioness of Londonderry wore the Londonderry Tiara on numerous occasions at the State Opening of Parliament throughout the interwar years, most notably for the State Opening in 1927, when she was photographed wearing the Tiara with the Turquoise Parure and and Diamond Stomacher .
In 1937, the Marchioness of Londonderry wore the Londonderry Tiara with the Pearl Parure and Diamond Stomacher for the Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth at Westminster Abbey.
The following year, Lady Londonderry wore the Londonderry Tiara for a Gala at the Haus der Flieger in Berlin, to mark the conclusion of the meeting of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.
Following the war, the Marchioness of Londonderry wore the Londonderry Tiara for the State Opening of Parliament in the Chamber of the House of Lords in 1948, held for the first time with full Ceremonial after the Second World War just a few months before Lord Londonderry’s death.
The 8th Marchioness of Londonderry passed away in 1951, so Edith, the Dowager Marchioness of Londonderry continued to wear the Family Jewels, most notably for a Coming Out Ball at Londonderry House in 1952, a few months before many of the family jewels were worn by her daughter, Baroness Jessel, at the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, who was described by her nephew:
As “Baroness Jessel” (married to 2nd Baron, as her 1st husband), Helen was inside Westminster Abbey for The Queen’s Coronation in 1953 and wore the rubies as a necklace, with the main Londonderry diamond tiara in her hair (just as Edith her mother had done at George VI’s 1937 Coronation, and Theresa at the two coronations of George V and Edward VII).
Helen was the only Londonderry daughter who was entitled to attend the 1953 Coronation as a peeress, so wore as much of the jewellery currently on loan to the V&A (eg diamond stomacher) as her mother could pin on to her her. She also wore her mother’s Marchioness coronation ermine & red velvet robe modified for lower rank of a Baroness.
In 1959, the year she passed away, the Marchioness of Londonderry loaned the Londonderry Tiara and Londonderry Diamond Stomacher for the ‘Ageless Diamond’ Exhibit at Christie’s, along with Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara, The Cullinan Diamonds, the Queen’s South African Diamonds, the Northumberland Clover Coronet, the Sutherland Diamond Rivière and the Spencer Diamond Rivière.
Family Fortunes have changed and the current Marquess of Londonderry no longer has a family seat, but continues to posses the Family Jewels, which have been on permanent loan to the Victoria & Albert Museum in London for decades.
Londonderry Tiara | Londonderry Diamond Stomacher | The Jewels of the Marchioness of Londonderry
