Yesterday marked the 60th Anniversary of the Death of Princess Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood, who passed away in 1965! The only daughter of King George V and Queen Mary who married into the prominent Aristocratic Family, Princess Mary had an enormous jewellery collection, which included Queen Victoria’s Sapphire Coronet!
Harewood Scroll Tiara | Queen Victoria’s Sapphire Coronet | Harewood Fringe Tiara | Emerald Necklace | Russian Sapphire Devant de Corsage | Diamond Chain
In 1842, Prince Albert commissioned a Sapphire and Diamond Coronet from Joseph Kitching, designed by the Prince himself, for Queen Victoria. The coronet featured ‘kite- and cushion-shaped sapphires and diamonds’ and was part of a larger Sapphire and Diamond Parure including a Necklace, Brooch and Bracelet.
Queen Victoria was overjoyed with her new Sapphire and Diamond Coronet, and wore it that same year for an iconic portrait by Franz Xavier Winterhalter.
The Sapphire and Diamond Coronet was worn by Queen Victoria for several engravings and drawings, as well as the 1866 State Opening of Parliament, her first State Opening since Prince Albert’s death in 1866.
Queen Victoria also wore the Tiara for an 1874 portrait by Henry Richard Graves. After her death it passed to her eldest son, King Edward VII, and then his son, King George V, but remained publicly unworn.
When Princess Mary married Viscount Lascelles, the future 6th Earl of Harewood, in 1922, the King’s only daughter received several spectacular Wedding Gifts, which included Queen Victoria’s Sapphire Coronet and the Parure as a gift from King George V, included among the wedding gifts put on public display at St. James’ Palace, along with Harewood Scroll Tiara, a Fringe Tiara, and a Russian Sapphire Devant de Corsage.
A newlywed Princess Mary wore Queen Victoria’s Sapphire Coronet with the Sapphire Necklace for a series of portraits in the 1920s, as well as for portraits taken in the 1930s.
Princess Mary notably wore Queen Victoria’s Sapphire Coronet with the Sapphire Necklace and pieces from her Russian Sapphire Devant de Corsage on numerous occasions, including a Concert at the Royal Albert Hall in 1934, and during Princess Elizabeth in Yorkshire in 1949.
Queen Victoria’s Sapphire Necklace was often paired with the Sapphire version of the Harewood Scroll Tiara and the Russian Sapphire Devant de Corsage, most notably for the Coronation of her brother, King George VI, in 1937 and the Coronation of her niece, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1953.
In 1953, Queen Victoria’s Sapphire Coronet and the Necklace went on display alongside Princess Mary’s Diamond Chain for a jewellery exhibition held at the Dorchester Hotel in London for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
Princess Mary continued to wear Queen Victoria’s Sapphire Coronet on rare occasions through the 1950s, though it was rarely photographed, yet remained in the family after much of her other jewels, like the Harewood Scroll Tiara, her Fringe Tiara, Emerald Necklace, and Russian Sapphire Devant de Corsage were sold before and after Princess Mary’s death in 1965.
In 1977, the then Countess of Harewood wore Queen Victoria’s Sapphire Coronet for a Reception at the Civic Hall in Leeds during the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Tour of Yorkshire.
Queen Victoria’s Sapphire Coronet was also worn by Andrea Kershaw when she married the Hon. Mark Lascelles, forth son of the Earl and Countess, in 1992.
Patricia, Countess of Harewood also wore the Sapphire Coronet on a later date, back on her head in the original style of Queen Victoria, seen in a portrait on a table at Harewood House.
In 1997, Wartski’s wrote to the Earl of Harewood, inquiring about any pieces of royal provenance for an exhibition. The Countess responded by telephone, saying they had a piece but “so small you probably will not want it.” However, Wartski’s was delighted and Queen Victoria’s Sapphire Coronet was exhibited multiple times for the next few years. However, at some point the Harewoods sold the Coronet, possibly due to inheritance taxes after the 7th Earl’s death in 2011.
In 2016, the anonymous owner of the coronet decided to sell the piece to an anonymous foreign buyer, but the British government imposed a temporary ban to stop the coronet leaving the country, allowing time for money to be raised to buy the piece. Then in 2017, it was announced that Queen Victoria’s Sapphire Coronet has been acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum, bought by hedge fund tycoon William Bollinger, and is now on display to the public at the William and Judith Bollinger Jewellery Gallery, along with the Sapphire Bracelet which has been acquired more recently.
Harewood Scroll Tiara | Queen Victoria’s Sapphire Coronet | Harewood Fringe Tiara | Emerald Necklace | Russian Sapphire Devant de Corsage | Diamond Chain
