The article has been automatically translated into English by Google Translate from Russian and has not been edited.

Russian gold in Britain: what jewelry of the Romanovs lie in the caskets of the royal family

'06.01.2021'

Source: Russia Beyond

Imperial sapphires and pearls are now worn by the Duchess and Princess of Great Britain, as well as by Queen Elizabeth II herself, says Russia Beyond.

After the Revolution of 1917, most of the treasures of the imperial house of the Romanovs were taken out of the country in one way or another. It is almost impossible to estimate even the approximate amount of lost jewelry today.

Some foreigners and officials smuggled diamonds away (in 1918, the American writer John Reed was detained at the border with a large amount of jewelry by Nicholas II's sister Olga, and he hid the precious stones in the heels of his boots). And what the Bolsheviks got was mercilessly sold at numerous European auctions: the new government needed money, and the pieces of jewelry were dismantled and sold in parts, literally "by weight."

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In the 1920s, auction catalogs with royal jewelry began to circulate in Europe. Anyone could buy a pebble or a ring - of course, if he had money. In 1926, the Bolsheviks were selling emperors' crown diamonds. There were 773 items in the list of lots. Of these, 114 are kept in the Kremlin's Diamond Fund. The rest have been put up for auction many times. It is known that the English antiquary Norman Weiss then bought 9 kilograms of jewelry and stones, spending 50 pounds (only 000 million rubles at the exchange rate of that time). Weiss resold them to Christie's auction house. These jewels were split into 1,5 lots and put up for auction in March 124. The most valuable was the wedding crown of the last Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, decorated with 1927 diamonds.

The pearl tiara was sold for 310 pounds, the "Spike" with a 35-carat yellow diamond for 240 pounds. The real price of these jewelry, of course, was much higher.

Those Romanovs who were able to escape from Russia took out personal jewelry on themselves, and then sold them to other royal families. Many ended up in the UK.

Russian pearls of Princess Michael of Kent

The wife of the British Prince Michael of Kent (cousin of Elizabeth II and maternal great-grandson of the Russian Emperor Alexander II), nee Baroness Maria Christina von Reibniz, has pearl pendants that previously belonged to Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna.

The one who managed to take some of her luxurious jewelry abroad in pillowcases during the Revolution. The Grand Duchess bequeathed all her jewelry to her daughter Elena Vladimirovna, a Greek princess. The same woman had to sell part of her mother's treasures in order to improve her financial affairs. Now in the Vladimir tiara of Maria Pavlovna, Elizabeth II herself shines at receptions.

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But Elena passed the pearl pendant earrings to her daughter Marina Grecheskaya and Danish, and she bequeathed them to her son Michael of Kent. He, in turn, presented them to his wife, who walks them with pleasure.

These pearls can be worn both as earrings and as pendants for a necklace.

Sapphire brooch with pearls of Elizabeth II

In 1994, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain came to Russia on an official visit. For the meeting with President Boris Yeltsin, she chose a bright blue coat, adorned with a brooch with a huge cabochon-cut Ceylon sapphire, surrounded by dozens of diamonds with an elegant pearl pendant.

This brooch originally belonged to the Russian Empress Maria Feodorovna, wife of Alexander III, mother of Nicholas II, and sister of Queen Alexandra of Great Britain (which started the jewelry fashion for tiaras in the "Russian style"). During the Revolution, Maria Feodorovna was able to leave Russia through the Crimea on board a British battleship and move to Great Britain, and then to Denmark, where she lived until 1928.

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Historians believe that the Empress Dowager was able to hold her and some of the other decorations.

The brooch was a gift from her sister for a wedding and eventually returned back to the UK: the daughter of Maria Feodorovna sold the jewelry to Alexandra's daughter-in-law Maria Tekskaya in 1930, and it was inherited by her granddaughter Elizabeth II in 1953.

And one more sapphire brooch

Maria Feodorovna was very fond of jewelry, but especially sapphires. She had an impressive collection of jewelry that went under the hammer after her death. Maria Tekskaya, also a great connoisseur of Russian jewelry art, bought herself several pieces of jewelry, which are still "walk" by royalty.

In the collection of Elizabeth II there is another brooch with a sapphire, which previously belonged to Maria Feodorovna. In general, the empress had a whole sapphire parure made of a tiara, two brooches, a necklace and a corsage jewelry. Perhaps the whole parure was also sold out in parts, and the brooch went to the Queen of England. Elizabeth II often wears it, choosing a dress or coat to match.

Princess Anne Sapphire Pearl Choker

One of the favorite necklaces of the daughter of Elizabeth II, Princess Anne, is a choker with a huge sapphire of Maria Feodorovna. Maria Tekskaya bought it in 1931 for £ 6 (about £ 400 at the modern exchange rate).

This jewelry with a large sapphire and diamonds, four rows of pearls and a gold base still looks very modern today. By the way, Princess Anne sometimes gives her brother's wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, to vilify her favorite jewelry.

Brooch with Slavic numbers by Camilla Parker Bowles

The casket of the British royal family also contains jewelry donated by the Russian emperors. For example, a diamond brooch with Ceylon sapphires worn by Camilla, wife of Prince Charles. It is made in a very original heart shape with the letter "xi" inside - this is the Slavic number 60. This jewelry was presented to Queen Victoria in 1897 in honor of the 60th anniversary of her reign by her Hesse grandchildren, including the last Russian Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and her sister Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna.

The brooch may not be seen very clearly in the first frames of this video:

For many years, this brooch did not appear in public, but in 2007, the Duchess of Cornwall Camilla began to wear it and still does it.

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Diamond bracelet of Elizabeth II

In 1947, Elizabeth married Philip Mountbatten. As a wedding gift, his mother, Alice Battenberg (great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria and niece of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna) gave her son her diamond tiara, which Nicholas II and Alexandra presented to her in 1903 for their wedding. These were difficult post-war years, when even the royal families had to save on everything, and the tiara had to be dismantled.

The largest diamond was used to make an engagement ring, and the rest of the stones were set in a platinum bracelet, which Philip gave to Elizabeth. And she still wears it, periodically lending to Duchess Catherine, the wife of her grandson William.

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