Belgian Royal Jewels of the Past


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duke of poliganc said:
if i recall the son of one of the founders of cartier the firm that made the tiara and later bought it back was princess lilian's brother in law i think that's way she didn't offer it for the king first , as for the necklace if i remember i think it was made of the diamonds from the nine provinces tiara and the brooch originally belonged to empress carlota of mexico nee princess of belgium and was worn by both queen elizabeth and astrid .
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Yes, her brother in law was a member of the Cartier family. Her sister Lydia married Jean-Jacues Cartier. JJ as he seems to have been called was the great grandson of the founder of Cartier technically. But it was his father Jacques, and his uncles Louis and Piere who turned it into the huge business it became. JJ and two cousins who had control of the company, sold it in 1964 after the death of his last uncle Piere.

If the tiara was sold prior to 1964, it is highly likely why Lilian didn't offer to sell it back to the king.
 
This tiara is indeed stunning! And so pity who is not in the Royal Family.
 
I wonder what ever happened to the jewels of Princess Stephanie of Belgium after she died in 1945?
 
Ah what a pity ,she died in Hungary but I didn't know her jewels never made it home!
 
How difficult to be a Royal Princess at that time and how easy now. She was happy with her second hsband and lost all her Austrian Royal privileges.
She never saw and desherited her daughter Elisabeth. But had 4 grandchildren Windisch Graetz .Her granddaughter Princess Stephanie married twice and had each time a Son. They are descendents from Leopold II.
King Philippe is a descendent from the Count of Flanders.
 
Princess Louise (eldest daughter of King Léopold II) died in poverty, as she lost all privileges since her affaire with her Croatian lover Géza von Mattacic.

Princess Stéphanie (second daughter of King Léopold II) died in poverty, since in 1944 the SS confisquated Schloss Karlburg and one year later the Soviet Army conquered the same castle over the SS and the Princess and her second husband had to flee and leave all behind.

Princess Clémentine died as a very rich lady but it was not the Von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha fortune which made her rich, but that of her husband, Victor Bonaparte, Prince Napoléon.
 
Princess Stephanie's daughter, Archduchess Elisabeth married Prince Otto Weriand of Windisch-Gratz in 1902. Did Stephanie give Elisabeth any Belgian jewels?

Did Queen Marie Henriette receive the Small Diamond Tiara from her Austrian relatives?
 
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No . Elisabeth received jewels from her Grand Father Emperor François Joseph of Austria. But all sold !
Princess Stephanie of the Belgians died not die in poverty.
 
The Belgian Pearl & Diamond Tiara once owned by Queen Marie Henriette and then her daughter,Princess Clémentine not sure who has it now like so many of the Belgian jewels dispersed to the 4 winds!

Tiara Mania: August 2014
 
maria-olivia said:
No . Elisabeth received jewels from her Grand Father Emperor François Joseph of Austria. But all sold !
Princess Stephanie of the Belgians died not die in poverty.
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In his book Koninklijke Juwelen, Christophe Vachaudez wrote on page 68 that Princess Stéphanie was repeatedly in financial problems and therefore sold her valuables, bit by bit. The few jewels which remained and the rest of her valuables were completely looted by the Soviet Army when they invaded her husband's castle in 1945 (see the castle in present state). After this the Princess was completely depending on the hospitality of the Abbey of Pannonhalma.
 
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The Pink gold and silver flower brooch is really lovely,the rest not so much.
 
That is the right question !! we will never know its answer.
Princess Lilian wore it once for a austrian Royal Event and then nevermore.
How did King Baudouin allow its sale at the Auction.
 
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Were there good relations between the queen mother and Princess Lillian?
 
I believe she was happy with Lilian as she was worried about her son King Leopold III becoming depressed, all alone at Laeken. Lilian was able to cheer him up. I am not sure if she was happy with the marriage itself though, as she still believed in equal marriages. But Leopold could do little wrong in her view.
 
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maria-olivia said:
How did King Baudouin allow its sale at the Auction.
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Yes I can't believe he did not try and buy it back as it belonged to his grandmother.Another Belgian RF jewel blunder!
 
He was not informed.
The tiara was noticed anonymous.
But Vincent Meylan was informed and wrote the Seller was Princess de Rethy et she was so angry.
King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola were not found of jewels.
The King never gave jewels for Princess Paola and Princess Astrid's Weddings .
 
What a pity King Leopold did not just simply pass them onto his son and keep them in the family.
 
It was Lilian who sold them just after King Leopold III passed away !
 
The late Princess de Réthy’s Köchert Emerald Brooch

https://royalwatcherblog.com/2021/11/28/princess-de-rethys-kochert-emerald-brooch/

The late Princess de Réthy’s Cartier Flower Tiara
https://royalwatcherblog.com/2022/06/07/princess-de-rethys-cartier-flower-tiara/

The Schlumberger diamond and pearl brooch was later worn by the late Queen Fabiola but not sure what has happened to it after the queen's death.
https://royal-magazin.de/belgium/Princess-Liliane-Belgium.htm

The Van Cleef & Arpels Flower Clip - Brooch and earclips with diamonds and rubies of The late Princess de Réthy
https://royal-magazin.de/belgium/belgian-lilian-ruby.htm

The Emerald brooch of the Countess of Flanders -presumed lost!
https://royal-magazin.de/belgium/belgium-marie-flandern-large-emerald-brooch-royal.htm
 
Such a beautiful collection they had. What a great pity that in the transfer between Leopold and Baudouin nobody thought about preserving these items for the crown. I suppose Pss Lilian's sister being married to a member of the Cartier family may have made it relatively easy for them to dispose of these items discreetly.

I remember that some Belgian posters were still speculating a decade ago that some of Lilian's items were still in the vault but that the royal ladies refused to wear them due to its conection to Lilian. But by now it is even more unlikely that there is anything left.
 
And Princess Lillian sold off so much of her collection in the late 80's ,which was such a shame.

I'd imagine other than Queen Fabiola's jewels the vault was empty.
 
The Belgians used to have beautiful collections of jewels, but instead of placing them in family trusts, they gave them away like candy. The good thing was that the jewels belonged to them personally but unfortunately no one had serious foresight to create a trust for the jewels.
 
SirGyamfi1 said:
The Belgians used to have beautiful collections of jewels, but instead of placing them in family trusts, they gave them away like candy. The good thing was that the jewels belonged to them personally but unfortunately no one had serious foresight to create a trust for the jewels.
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And missed opportunities to buy some back but splashed out on Yachts instead.

Queen Astrid's Emeralds went to her daughter the late Grand Duchess Joséphine Charlotte but have not been seen since death in 2005!

https://royalwatcherblog.com/2020/0...n Astrid also owned a,since her death in 2005.

Queen Astrid's diamonds-presumed lost!
https://www.thecourtjeweller.com/2022/09/queen-astrids-glittering-royal-wedding-diamonds.html
 
An Ard Ri said:
And missed opportunities to buy some back but splashed out on Yachts instead.

Queen Astrid's Emeralds went to her daughter the late Grand Duchess Joséphine Charlotte but have not been seen since death in 2005!
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I believe that Pss Marie Astrid wore her grandmothers emeralds. During the wedding ball of Stephanie and Guillaume she wore JC's emerald necklace/tiara, which supposedly is made out of some emeralds of Queen Astrid.

I suppose it was also a pity -for the Belgian collection- that Pss Ingeborg left most of her collection to the Norwegians, a little to the Danes and next to nothing to her Belgian grand children.
 
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