Diana, Princess of Wales Jewellery 2: Ending 2022

[branchg]

Perhaps she didn't ask! I'm sure that HM would not have refused had Diana asked to see what was available from the items that were not in use.

She didn't need more than the two she had. At the time of her marriage, she had exclusive use of the Spencer tiara, which her grandfather had actually left to her brother, Charles, after his death in 1975. Since Charles was unmarried at the time, she continued to use it until he asked for it to be returned.

The Lover's Knot Tiara was rather heavy. Although Diana said she loved it, it gave her major headaches and she preferred not to wear a tiara at all, which she didn't unless absolutely necessary.

 

[rubies]

I guess I'm very fortunate because I don't think a big ol tiara would give me any headaches....and if it did there is plenty of headache medicine and red wine to ease the pain.

 

[Elly C]

In the Diana Evening Wear thread, Maryamj has posted a link to the following picture, & I wondered if anyone has any details about the earrings. I don't recognise them & they seem quite unusual - almost like two separate earrings.
Getty Images - Unsupported browser detected

 

[jcbcode99]

Alexandra's pendant was a wedding gift from Queen Victoria when she married Edward, Prince of Wales. She later passed it on to Mary after she became Princess of Wales. The Queen Mother selected this item from the vaults as a wedding gift for Diana.

As Princess of Wales, Mary had another one made that was convertible into a brooch. That's the one Camilla has been wearing.

That's the impression I was under as well, except that I thought Alexandra had one made for Mary as a gift to celebrate her elevation from Duchess of York to PoW after she and Edward ascended the throne. My source is multiple photographs and books as well as Field herself--is there another source I can include? Thanks!

She didn't need more than the two she had. At the time of her marriage, she had exclusive use of the Spencer tiara, which her grandfather had actually left to her brother, Charles, after his death in 1975. Since Charles was unmarried at the time, she continued to use it until he asked for it to be returned.

The Lover's Knot Tiara was rather heavy. Although Diana said she loved it, it gave her major headaches and she preferred not to wear a tiara at all, which she didn't unless absolutely necessary.

I was under the impression that the tiara, as well as all other family jewels, was a Spencer Family heirloom and that it passed with the title, meaning it would have passed in 1975 to Diana's father and then to her brother. Is there a source? Thanks!

 

[Boris]

In the Diana Evening Wear thread, Maryamj has posted a link to the following picture, & I wondered if anyone has any details about the earrings. I don't recognise them & they seem quite unusual - almost like two separate earrings.
Getty Images - Unsupported browser detected

The top part of the earrings is from the contemporary diamond and ruby suite with the large matching tassel necklace, which Princess Diana wore only once in public.
Originally, the earrings had dangling ruby tassels as pendants, but Diana sometimes replaced them by a drop pearl, as seen in this picture.
She wore both versions frequently during the 1990s.

 

[Elly C]

Thank you so much for your informative reply. I'd never realised that Diana had adapted the earrings from the suite in this way. I have always admired the way she would experiment with existing pieces, sometimes with quite stunning results.

 

[auntie]

Gosh, I didn't realize she only had the use of 2 tiaras all that time she was Princess of Wales. I wonder why the Queen never allowed her to use any others.

Come to think of it, most of the jewels the DOCornwall wears incl her engagement ring is inherited from the Queen's mom, and she was very much alive and kicking when Diana was married to Charles, she was quite possesive about her jewels, so I doubt she would have loaned to Diana anything. Even though Diana "only" had 2 tiaras, she had a fabulous collection of Saphires, diamonds, emeralds and pearls, more than any other crown princess today.

 

[rubies]

Diana really did have an elegant collection. I always loved the pieces that were 'gifts' from the Queen. The emerald cab necklace, the diamond bracelet watch and of course the magnificent pearl tiara. She also seemed to recieve some major impressive gifts. I don't know if any of the other CP have recieved gifts like this because it seems to be kept hush hush.

 

[iowabelle]

Need help, Spencer tiaras

I'm going to do a blog entry about the new Diana exhibit. Earl Spencer has brought over a tiara which people "aren't in the know" claim Diana wore.

I was looking and allegedly there are 3 Spencer tiaras. The most famous is the floral one Diana wore at the wedding and on other occasions.

There is another one, supposedly formerly owned by Marie Antoinette and made in part of tortoiseshell.

Then there is this one, the one that is on exhibit is a curious two-tier creation. The upper tier is plumes, similar to the Prince of Wales plumes; the lower tier is a Greek key pattern I think. Here's a photo at www.sptimes.com/2004/09/24/tbtphotos/diana_tiara199.jpg. Did Diana EVER wear this tiara? My instinctive answer is NO.

 

[ayvee]

Diane never wore this Greek key pattern tiara.
The exhibit, which I saw when it was in Ohio, includes a section about the Spencer family/lineage and this tiara is part of that section. It also includes photos of Diana's ancestors.
More info here: http://www.dianaexhibition.com/exhibition/tiara.htm
And pictures of the exhibite when it was in Fort Lauderdale, FL: http://www.ictv1.com/art/museums/moafl/princessdiana/

 

[marmi]

I'd lend my support to Ayvee and say 'no' as well

 

[Katrianna]

No, Diana never wore the honeysuckle and Greek key tiara, in fact, I haven't ever seen any pictures of any past member of the Spencer family wearing it.

 

[Boris]

There are old photographs of Spencer ladies wearing this tiara in several versions and settings - it has been remodeled a lot, which might account for the rather mismatched look of top and bottom part.
As for Princess Diana, it would be safest to say that she has never worn it in public nor was she ever photographed wearing it. It's imaginable that she might have worn it on a private occasion, but I doubt this as well.
The inclusion of the tiara in this particular exhibition has been somewhat ill-advised from the start.

 

[Patra]

What a disappointment- who wants to see a spencer tiara that Diana never wore? Not me, for sure. I agree with above posters that she did not wear this one either. I do not like the design at all- however if someone would give it to me as a gift, I would humbly accept. (then go to work redesigning it) : )

 

[iowabelle]

That's what I was thinking, Patra. The Greek key tiara is not attractive IMO. The palmettes aren't so bad and I think they would look lovely if they were detached from the rest of it.

I think I'd take the Greek key portion and have the diamonds set in some other fashion.

Maybe someone here will go see if the wedding tiara is at the exhibition. I would really like to see that piece, although it's not as grand as some other royal or aristocratic tiaras we've seen. But as we all know, bigger isn't necessarily better (when it comes to tiaras anyway )!

 

[Tilia C.]

If the wedding tiara would be in the exhibition, they would have used that one to advertise. I just can't help feeling that the current earl is trying to make some money out of the rest of the family treasures by using his sisters name. And if he wants us to believe that Diana ever wore the greek key honeysuckle assortment, he'd better publish a photo of it.

 

[jcbcode99]

Charlotte, the 5th Countess Spencer (1835-1903) wearing a different version of the tiara:

tiaraspencer2.jpg (image)

Some additional jewelry of the Spencer family:
Ancestors of A Princess: The Spencer Jewels pt2

Ancestors of A Princess: Jewels of the Spencers pt1

 

[Katrianna]

Thanks for the pictures jcbcode99, the Spencers own some very unique and beautiful pieces.

 

[MelinaB.]

I was surprised to find out how many beautiful and precious jewels the Spencers own!The above tiara(that Charlotte,the 5th Countess is wearing) is very impressive.

 

[branchg]

The tiara being displayed is actually two seperate tiaras modified into one piece, which is why it looks so odd. Either way, Diana never wore any of them, so Earl Spencer is once again using her image to make money.

 

[maryamj]

A look at some of princess diana's jewels
http://princessdianabookboutique.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/ut00070701.jpg?w=371&h=480
http://princessdianabookboutique.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/rivierenecklace_spencer.jpg?w=450&h=449
http://princessdianabookboutique.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/nellierjowmb4.jpg?w=450&h=774
http://princessdianabookboutique.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/scan00131.jpg?w=450&h=629

 

[MelinaB.]

Diana owned true masterpieces,just look at the first set or at the emerald necklace.Absolutely stunning

 

[Boris]

A look at some of princess diana's jewels
http://princessdianabookboutique.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/ut00070701.jpg?w=371&h=480
http://princessdianabookboutique.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/rivierenecklace_spencer.jpg?w=450&h=449
http://princessdianabookboutique.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/nellierjowmb4.jpg?w=450&h=774
[URL]http://princessdianabookboutique.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/scan00131.jpg?w=450&h=629[/URL]

The diamond & pearl set in the first pic was never owned by Princess Diana, who wore it only once, shortly before her death, at a premiere of the ballet 'Swan Lake'. It was on loan from a jeweler who claimed after her death that she had intended to buy it.

Likewise, the necklace in pic #2 was never Princess Diana's, but is Spencer familiy property. She wore it once in public, in the early 80s, with only the central drop pearl pendant attached.

 

[salma]

Spencer tiara
http://i36.tinypic.com/315fo1f.jpg

Moderator note: This is a cut and paste photmontage created many years ago by GillW.
As far as we know Diana was never photographed wearing this tiara in public.
.

 

[Boris]

Salma, that picture of Princess Diana wearing the other Spencer tiara is not authentic.
It's a photomontage showing what it might have looked like if she had worn it.

 

[Patra]

The 11-strand Pearl choaker reminds me of the necklace that Princes Madeline of Sweden wears alot. I loved that on Diana, and enjoye when P Madeline wears the royal swedish one too.

 

[GillW]

Salma, that picture of Princess Diana wearing the other Spencer tiara is not authentic.
It's a photomontage showing what it might have looked like if she had worn it.

Quite right - I own up to creating that particular image with two photocopies and a pair of scissors about ten years ago! Amazing how these things come back to haunt you! I hope everyone takes note that on the occasion shown Diana did not wear any head ornament at all. The tiara was taken from the picture of the tiara being worn in "Ancestral Jewels" by another Spencer lady.

I'm sorry my experiment has confused and distracted people, but it seems once something is "out there" on the net, there's no way of getting it back or stopping it spreading!

 

[ayvee]

Princess Diana wore this tiara:
http://i36.tinypic.com/5owaae.jpg

please read post #215. This is not a real photo but photoshopped so people could see what the tiara would look like on Diana.

 

[GillW]

please read post #216. This is not a real photo but photoshopped so people could see what the tiara would look like on Diana.

...AND post #217 where I tell you how I mocked it up!!

 

[Warren]

Once the cat is out of the bag... (or the squirrel is in the wheel ...)
It seems to be near-impossible to stop internet misinformation, even when in this case subsequent posts clearly explain the picture is a mock-up.
I've put a rider in red and bold type under the link in question in the hope the picture won't be further misrepresented.