The finest Swiss chocolates don’t need advertising. However, the box of chocolates a certain Meynell brought back to Britain with him is certainly worth a mention. Not because of their delicious taste but because of what was inside: instead of the usual crème and liquor, one would find diamonds and pearls worth a fortune.

click to read article in Utro (in Russian)

A newly-declassified top secret MI5 file on Francis Meynell reveals how in 1920 he smuggled gems looted from the Romanovs (worth £40,000 at the time) to England, hidden in hollowed-out chocolate creams. The pearls and diamonds were given to Meynell by Lenin’s Soviet regime to fund the revolutionary communist newspaper Daily Herald, of which Meynell was a director at the time.  The secret file describes Meynell as an ‘ardent Sinn Feiner and an extreme socialist… his greatest coup came just as the Soviet Union began funding communist parties around the world”.

Meynell’s own account of how the jewels were smuggled is also included in the file. According to his testimony, “I … bought a box of chocolate creams. Into the bottom of many of those I pushed a pearl or a diamond and re-covered them with their silver paper…”

And there is potentially even more excitement on the Romanov riches front: deep-sea apparatuses found remnants of Russian Civil War train wagons in the Lake Baikal, approximately at the same place where the wagons with Kolchak gold were presumed to be. The contents of the wagons are still unknown, so it is impossible to verify as of now whether they contain the gold or not: the depth of the lake and the large perimeter the debris are scattered across make research works extremely difficult.

Read more…

Marsel Russian Royals Admiral Kolchak, England, Jewellery, Russian Civil War, Soviet Union

click to read the article in Pravda (in Russian)

Swedish news agencies report that a collection of jewels have surfaced in the Swedish Foreign Ministry’s storage rooms. The jewels are worth over  2 million Euros and belonged to the Russian Imperial Family. A confidant of Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna handed the valuable items to the Swedish Embassy in St. Petersburg for safekeeping after the 1917 revolution. The Grand Duchess died in France, apparently without telling her family about the jewellery.

The collection includes over 100 gold and silver cigarette cases and cuff links as well as jewels made by Fabergé and the Bolin family (court jewellers of several consecutive Russian and Swedish Monarchs). The jewels were kept in Sweden for over 90 years and were found while storage items were being moved and examined. The Ministry then immediately contacted members of the Romanov Family and handed over the finding.

detailed picture of the Faberge cigarette case

A representative of the Sotheby’s commented: “We are absolutely thrilled to be offering for sale one of the most remarkable collections relating to the Romanovs to be offered at auction. Unknown for generations until their recent rediscovery, the objects truly evoke the grandeur and sublime taste of their original owners. We fully expect that the allure of this intimate and precious group, with its links to the historical events connected with one of the world’s most fabled dynasties, will hold the highest appeal for discerning collectors.” You can read more about he Romanov Jewels in this thread.

Marsel Russian Royals Auction, Fabergé, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, Jewellery, Sotheby’s, Sweden

A Saudi Princess who was not named has been robbed worth of $15.5million (11million euros) in cash and jewellery while she was not in the room. The Saudi Princess was on her summer vacation staying in one of the world’s elite destinations in Porto Cervo, Sardinia. Italian media reports say that the thieves used a master key to enter the room before ripping a safe from the wall. “The thieves used a master key. In 10 minutes at dinner time, without making any noise, they managed to remove the safe from a suite occupied by the Saudi princess,” Italy’s La Stampa newspaper reported.

dazzling Saudi Royals Italy, Jewellery, Legal Matters, Robbery

William Clarke has written a book (due to be published in England in September), where he tells the story of how some of the Romanov Jewels were saved. William Clarke is by no means a novice when it comes to researching the history of Russian Imperial Jewels. Former financial editor of the London Times, Clarke has already explored a similar theme in his book “The Lost Fortune of the Tsars”, published in 1996. His new book, “Hidden Treasures of the Romanovs: Saving the Royal Jewels”, tells the story of Albert Henry Stopford, who transferred jewels worth millions of pounds (in those times) from Russia to England in 1917.

click to view the full-sized cover from Amazon.com

In a gripping detective-style book, Clarke tells how Stopford risked his own life to help Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, who he considered a close personal friend. Stopford offered the Grand Duchess to remove the jewels she had hidden in Vladimir Palace (which was guarded by Bolsheviks). Armed with detailed plan of the palace, Stopford (57 at the time) managed to penetrate into the palace, find the jewels and money there, and hide them into his Gladstone bags. If he had been apprehended, his fate would have been sealed right there on the spot. Stopford then proceeded to transferring the jewels (still in his Gladstone bags) to England: he used the fact his baggage couldn’t be examined as he had diplomatic immunity. Stopford’s motivation was almost certainly a genuine desire to help, rather than gain (it is known that he had no profit from the later sale of the jewels). Clarke, however, makes an intriguing suggestion that Stopford might also be working for British Secret Service.

One of the tiaras saved by Stopford is the famous Vladimir Tiara, now in possession of Queen Elizabeth II.

Read more…

Marsel Historical Royals, Russian Royals Book Review, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, Jewellery, Vladimir Palace

  The summer opening of Buckingham Palace this year includes a exhibition of royal gifts from the Commonwealth countries. Included are a number of brooches and a necklace that have been gifts during the royal tours of the Commonwealth countries in the last 60 years.

One of the first gifts the Queen received on a Commonwealth tour was the Flame Lily Brooch from Rhodesia. During a 1947 tour with her parents and Princess Margaret to southern Africa, Princess Elizabeth turned 21. As a present from the children of Southern Rhodesia, she was presented with a diamond brooch in the shape of the country’s emblem the flame lily. image She notably wore the brooch when she stepped off the plane from Kenya in February 1952 as the new Queen following her fathers death and now wears it on a few occasions. image

In 1951, Princess Elizabeth with the Duke of Edinburgh toured around Canada. image On the tour she wore a diamond brooch in the shape of a maple leaf. image The brooch belonged to her mother. During a Candian tour in 1939 Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother) was presented with the brooch. (image the Queen Mother wearing her Maple Leaf brooch in 1940 with Princess Elizabeth) The Queen Mother continued to wear the brooch until her death. image The Queen now wears the piece to events relating to Canada such as the vigil for Canadian servicesmen at Canada House to mark the 90th anniversary of World War One in November 2008. image Read more…

PrincessofEurope British Royals British Commonwealth, Elizabeth II, Jewellery

Click the image to view the photo at the Mail Online

 The BBC reports that the question of the legality of sealing of royal wills, which has been raised several times over recent years, is being considered by a panel of judges.  The privilege is unique to the royals — normally British wills are a matter of public record.

The practice of sealing the wills was brought to public attention by Robert Brown (pictured at right), a man who claims that he is the secret love-child of HRH The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon and Group Captain Peter Townsend.  He has been attempting for several years to have the wills of both Princess Margaret and HM The Queen Mother unsealed because he believes they may contain evidence that he is the late princess’s son.

Royal wills have been sealed since the early twentieth century, and it was indeed first done to conceal a family secret.  In 1911, HM Queen Mary asked the courts to seal the will of her brother, Prince Francis of Teck, to keep confidential the fact that he had left the Cambridge emeralds (pictured at left) to Lady Kilmorey, his mistress.  She later quietly purchased the emeralds back for several times their value so that she could wear her family’s jewels to her coronation, and they have since been incorporated in many pieces of royal jewelry.

Click the image to view the photo at The Royal Collection

All royal wills since then have been sealed, a privilege that historian Hugo Vickers tells the BBC has been afforded to “all sorts of obscure people.”  The only exception to the rule has been the will of Diana, Princess of Wales, which was revealed after her death in 1997.

Vickers believes that “while the covenant was introduced to cover-up impropriety, it [is] wrong to assume the wills of more recent royals might reveal similarly lurid details,” adding, “The Royal Family have so little privacy as it is, I don’t think we should be able to see the details.”

But if the panel decides that it is unlawful to allow royals to have their wills sealed, there may still be a way for the royals to keep their last wishes private in the future.  Vickers explains that “the Royal Family might opt, like a number of famous people, to leave a letter for their executors, which does not have to be published.”

If the royal wills are unsealed, most believe that they will provide no evidence that Mr. Brown is the secret child of a princess.   Even so, we will have to wait for the panel’s verdict, scheduled for late 2010, to see if we do become privy to any real secrets lurking in royal estate papers.

To read more from the BBC on the topic, visit this page.  For more on the British royal family, please visit this forum.

Ella Kay British Royals Jewellery, Legal Matters, Princess Margaret, Queen Mary, Robert Brown

 The Cambridge Lovers Knot Tiara was made by Garrard in November 1913 for Queen Mary. The design was to copy that of a tiara which had been owned by Mary’s grandmother, Princess Augusta of Hesse who was married to the Duke of Cambridge. Augusta of Hesse’s tiara had been made to a neo-classical design in early nineteenth century and was a popular design of the period with at least five known tiaras still in existence of a similar pattern. image She gave the tiara to her daughter, Augusta, when she married the Grand Duke of Mecklenberg-Strelitz in 1843. image

Queen Mary made the new tiara from diamonds and pearls she had in her private collection many of which she received as a wedding present. Mary had the tiara made with a base row of diamonds with nineteen diamond bow and knot ribbon design where pearl drops hang. image The tiara in its original form also had a row of upright pearls. image (1926) In 1935, Queen Mary choose to have the upright pearls removed from the tiara and she continued to wear it without them for the remainder of her life. image Today, the tiara remains without the upright pearls.

From the TRF avatar collection

From the TRF avatar collection

Queen Mary left the tiara to her granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth, in her will in 1953. The Queen wore the tiara on a few occasions during the Fifties. image However in 1981, she gave the tiara as a wedding present to her daughter-in-law the Princess of Wales. image Diana, choose not to wear the tiara on her wedding day and its first wearing as to the Opening of Parliament in November 1981. Diana found the tiara heavy and it gave her headaches so she only wore it a few times to the most official of functions image (Australia 1983) or state visits. The Princess also wore the tiara in a number of photo shoots image (1987) and image (Vogue 1991) Following Diana’s death the tiara was returned to the royal vaults.

PrincessofEurope British Royals Cambridge Lovers Knot Tiara, Jewellery, Tiaras

From the TRF avatar collection

 Few royal friendships have spawned controversy and even a movie a century later, but Queen Victoria’s attachment to her ghillie, John Brown, was exceptional. There were even rumors in their time that the depressed widow had married her wild Scotsman, earning her the nickname Mrs. Brown. In 1997 Dame Judi Dench and Billie Connolly reenacted the relationship in the movie Mrs. Brown.

The Queen mourned when Brown, who had advanced from ghillie to personal attendant, died in 1883. Her grief endured and when she died she asked to be buried with a lock of his hair, his ring, and his photograph. All to the disapproval of the moral rectitude of the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII. After Brown’s death Victoria ordered the creation of memorials and statues, most of which were destroyed by King Edward. You have to wonder at the spite with which the king acted; what caused his enormous and public resentment?

Click for the photo at collectinguk.com

Perhaps it is a result of the king’s venom that few memorial objects remain. Among them is a stickpin that will be auctioned in Edinburgh on August 18. It is expected to reach as much as £700.

The originals were ordered by the Queen from an Aberdeen jeweler. The gold pin shows Brown’s silhouette on one side and Victoria’s monogram on the other. The Queen gave them to her highland retainers and cottagers, to be worn along with a mourning scarf on the anniversary of Brown’s death. Few stickpins remain, perhaps because, with the death of the Queen and Edward VII’s disdain, it was no longer advantageous for them to be worn in the royal presence.

iowabelle British Royals Jewellery, John Brown, Queen Victoria

Click the image to see the article at The Daily Telegraph

It was a crime worthy of a 007 spy or a Pink Panther villain. On Friday, April 15 1983, the LA Mayer Museum for Islamic Art in Jerusalem, Israel, closed early for the Sabbath. It was scheduled to open the next day. The guards on duty locked the building and settled in for a long night. The next morning they discovered that a gallery containing a collection of antique watches had been ransacked. About half of the 192 watches, rare pieces, were missing. Among the missing: a pocket watch believed to be the most important ever made, the Breguet No 160, called the “Queen.”

The theft shocked collectors in the field of horology and embarrassed Interpol and the Mossad. This particular watch is called the “Mona Lisa of watches” and is worth more than $30 million dollars. The total value of the burglary was estimated at several hundred million dollars and made this the biggest haul for criminals specializing in watches. Although most of the watches have been recovered now, the crime remained unsolved for 25 years and it is not known where the watches went. And the museum did not inform law enforcement when some of the pieces were recovered.

It was obvious that the thieves plucked out the finest watches. But according to Dr. George Daniels, the author of the museum’s original watch catalog, only an expert would recognize the value of No 160. ‘Anyone interested in horology would know at once what it was: Breguet’s most complicated and lavishly constructed watch. Breguet called it “a monument to 18th-century horological skills”. The average person would not put so much value on it.’ Read more…

iowabelle French Royals, Historical Royals Jewellery, Marie Antoinette

This year marks what would have been Princess Grace of Monaco’s 80th birthday. Princess Grace, born Grace Patricia Kelly, an American Academy Award winning actress, married His Serene Highness Prince Rainier of Monaco and is the mother of Monaco’s current Sovereign, Prince Albert II.  Although she died in 1982, she remains a popular figure in both American and European culture and it shows in the current headlines.

Click to see Photo at Newscom

In keeping with last year’s popular, traveling exhibit of her chattels, Hello Magazine reports that Cartier is hosting an exhibit of some of her jewels.  Cartier, one of the more popular royal jewel makers, designed many pieces for the Princess, including one of the few tiaras she used.  That tiara will be included in the display as part of the exhibit “Memories Of Cartier Creations” in Tokyo’s National Museum through May 31.

A second exhibit for “”to one of the most stylish women of all time” is to be held at the Monaco Casino from April 24 until May 2.  The exhibit, a painting by artist Peter Engels, will be auctioned off by Sotheby’s to benefit the Lions Club of Monaco.  The portrait of the Princess as a younger woman in her Hollywood days is reportedly the largest painted portrait of the Princess and is done “with a pallet knife in sepia colourite.”

Engles told one news organization that “Princess Grace was a captivating woman. She died tragically in the prime of her life. And just like John F. Kennedy, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Ernest Hemingway, Elvis Presley and John Lennon, she remains an icon who even now, 25 years after her death, continues to leave an impression. Even on art, so it seems.”

Sg1Fan Historical Royals, Monaco Royals Auction, Exhibition, Grace Kelly, Jewellery, Prince Albert II, Princess Grace, Sotheby’s