Today marks the 30th Anniversary of the Death of Rose Kennedy, Countess of the Holy Roman Church, who passed away on this day in 104! The Boston Socialite married to the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom and mother of American President John F. Kennedy, Rose Kennedy wore several Tiaras, including this Diamond Tiara borrowed from the Countess of Bessborough!
Empress Joséphine’s Diamond Tiara | Diamond Tiara | Bessborough Tiara
Soon after her arrival in London as the wife of the American Ambassador, Mrs Kennedy needed a Tiara to to wear for a Court at Buckingham Palace during the London Season of 1938. Luckily, a Tiara was loaned by the Countess of Bessborough, as described by Rose Kennedy:
I as a matron would wear a tiara in my hair. I didn’t own one. It had simply never occurred to me before coming to England that I would ever need one. My new and sympathetic friend Lady Bessborough lent me hers, and it proved to be most flattering and magnificent. It fitted well and had many brilliant diamonds, including a gorgeous marquise diamond in the front. With a few temporary adjustments and arrangements, it was perfect. I was so grateful to her for the thought. I remember that my children— Bobby and Teddy as well as the girls — were extremely impressed.
I had already been to the hairdresser that afternoon and my hair was done in a way to receive Lady Bessborough’s tiara. I had an early supper on a tray in my bedroom. I was carefully inserted in my lovely embroidered gown by a covey of enchanted, murmuring maids. The man from Molyneux came over to check details and to pin and secure the white plumes of the Prince of Wales at the proper angle, as I had no idea as to how this should be done. A hairdresser was there to place the tiara on my carefully constructed coiffeur. The maids helped me draw extra-long white gloves almost all the way to my shoulders. My jewels were added.
The following year, Rose Kennedy wore another Diamond Tiara, this one also reportedly borrowed from the Countess of Bessborough, for a Gala Performance at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden during the French State Visit to Britain.
A few weeks later, Rose Kennedy wore that same Diamond Tiara as she presented her daughter, Eunice Kennedy, to the King and Queen at Buckingham Palace.
However, Mrs Kennedy wore yet another another Diamond Tiara, this one of unkown provenance, to host the King and Queen at the American Embassy in London, on the eve of their departure for their landmark Tour of Canada and the United States.
In the late 1960s, Rose Kennedy borrowed Empress Joséphine’s Diamond Tiara from Van Cleef & Arpels to wear at a Gala in Palm Beach.
Empress Joséphine’s Diamond Tiara | Diamond Tiara | Bessborough Tiara
