Princess Michael of Kent celebrates her 80th Birthday this week! One of the most flamboyant members of the extended Royal Family, Princess Michael possesses a remarkable collection of heirloom Royal Jewels, which includes Princess Marina’s Diamond Circle Earrings!
Kent Festoon Tiara | Kent City of London Fringe Tiara | Diamond Circle Earrings | Vladimir Pearl Earrings | Daisy Brooches | Diamond Pendant | Emerald Brooch | Art Deco Pearl Necklace | Aquamarine Suite | Cartier Sapphire Clips | Cartier Flower Brooch
Each composed of a large single diamond hanging within a detachable diamond ring, the provenance of the earrings is unknown, as Princess Marina was widowed and in reduced circumstances at the time they appeared in the early 1950s, though its possible that the diamonds were among the jewels inherited from Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll.
The Diamond Earrings, without the frame, first appeared on Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent in the early 1950s, in a series of portraits by Dorothy Wilding, when they were paired with the Kent Festoon Tiara.
Princess Marina also wore the Diamond Circle Earrings with her City of London Diamond Fringe Tiara for the Coronation Gala at Covent Garden in 1953.
The Diamond Circle Earrings were paired with her Pearl Bandeau Tiara for the Wedding Ball of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria and her niece, Countess Helen zu Toerring-Jettenbach, in Munich in 1956 and the Independence of Ghana in 1957.
In 1960, Princess Marina paired the Diamond Circle Earrings with the Vladimir Emerald Brooch for the Theatre at Windsor before they were worn with the Diamond Fringe Tiara for the Order of the British Empire Service in 1960.
After Princess Marina’s death in 1968, the Diamond Circle Earrings were left to her youngest son, Prince Michael. His bride, Baroness Marie Christine von Reibnitz, first wore the Earrings with the Diamond Fringe Tiara at Ball held in Vienna after their Civil Wedding Ceremony.
In the 1980s, Princess Michael began to replace the central diamonds with sapphires to pair with Princess Marina’s Art Deco Cartier Sapphire and Diamond Clips, with numerous appearances over the years, like at the Greek Royal Family’s Ball at Claridge’s Hotel in 1986 and the Wedding of her only son, Lord Frederick Windsor in 2009.
Princess Michael has also frequently worn the Diamond version of the Circle Earrings over the years, like for the Malaysian State Visit to Britain in 1993, the Wedding of Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones at Windsor Castle in 1999, Queen Margrethe’s Banquet at the Natural History Museum in London in 2000, and the Wedding Ball of Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco in 2011.
The Diamond Circle Earrings have also been worn with the Necklace created from Princess Marina’s Cartier Flower Brooch, being worn without the frame for a Portrait and most recently for the Queen’s 92nd Birthday Concert in 2018. Let’s hope we see these heirlooms worn for years to come!
Kent Festoon Tiara | Kent City of London Fringe Tiara | 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
Kent City of London Fringe Tiara
Diamond Circle Earrings
Vladimir Pearl Earrings
Daisy Brooches
Diamond Pendant
Emerald Brooch
Art Deco Pearl Necklace
Aquamarine Suite
Cartier Sapphire Clips
Cartier Flower Brooch
