Happy Birthday to Marianne, the Dowager Fürst zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, who turns 105 today! The accomplished Princess from the illustrious Princely Family who is a renowned photographer, Princess Marianne has had a long and varied life, possessing some striking Jewels, from which we are featuring the Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn Diamond Flower Tiara!
But first, lets learn about Princess Marianne! Born Baroness Marianne von Mayr-Melnhof, she was the eldest daughter of Baron Friedrich Mayr von Melnhof and Countess Maria-Anna von Meran, a member of a a morganatic branch of the Imperial Habsburg-Lorraine. Growing up at Glanegg Castle near Salzburg, she studied at the Blocherer Art School in Munich and in 1942, she married Ludwig Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, facing many hardships in the years during and after the Second World War.
The couple had five children, including the present Fürst zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn before the Prince’s death in 1964, after being ‘run over by a drunk truck driver in Sayn near Koblenz on the sidewalk in front of her house’.
The Princess then took over the management of the family estates, which include Schloss Sayn and a Hunting Lodge in Fuschl am See near Salzburg, inherited from Princess Marianne’s father, until her son came of age. Princess Marianne began a career as a professional photographer and took over 300,000 of photos Royals, Nobels, Celebrities and Socialites, being termed ‘Mamarazza’ by Princess Caroline of Monaco and Hanover; “Manni, you are a real Mamarazza” because in contrast to paparazzi, she never used indiscreet or degrading photos: “I always photographed my friends as friends.” From the 1970s to 2009, during and around the annual Salzburg Festival, Princess Marianne gave several “rural lunches” for 100 guests each in her Hunting Lodge at Fuschl am See near Salzburg, to which she has welcomed thousands of celebrities, including many artists performing at the festival, as well as scores of Diplomats, Politicians, and Royals, most notably King Juan Carlos of Spain. We wish the Princess a very Happy Birthday and Many Happy Returns!
Consisting of three small diamond flowers set on a simple diamond base, this versatile Tiara was likely made from existing Family Heirlooms which had survived the Second World War. The Diamond Flowers were worn as a necklace by Princess Marianne at the Wedding of Princess Benedikte of Denmark and Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg in 1968.
A few years later, in 1973, Princess Marianne wore the Diamond Flower Tiara with a Diamond Bracelet borrowed from her friend, the Countess of Romanones, for a Ball held on the eve of the Wedding of their children, Princess Theresia and the Count of Quintanilla. Interestingly enough, the Emerald Tiara worn by the Countess now belongs to Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, the former wife of the Princess Marianne’s grandson.
The Flower Tiara was worn by Countess Gabriela of Schönborn-Wiesentheid when she married Prince Alexander zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, the elder son of Princess Marianne, in 1969. Princess Gabriela was also pictured wearing the Tiara at a Ball in 1970.
After Princess Marianne wore the Tiara for the Wedding Ball, the following day, her daughter, Princess Theresia zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, wore the Diamond Flower Tiara, with the Countess of Romanones’ Diamond Bracelet, to marry Luis de Figueroa y Griffith, 11th Count of Quintanilla.
More recently, the Diamond Flower Tiara was worn by Princess Marianne’s granddaughter, and daughter of Prince Alexander and Princess Gabriela, Princess Sofia of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, for her Wedding to Archia Akhavan-Kharazian in Austria in 2020.
More recently, the Hereditary Princess zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn wore the Diamond Flower Tiara for the Wedding of Prince Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Carina Axelsson in 2022, and there is no doubt it will be worn for years to come!
