Royal Jewels

[LadyMaria]

The playland for the rich and famous…. Monaco!

Monaco has a bit of claim to fame in that an American actress, Grace Kelly, ended up marrying Prince Rainier of Monaco. After her marriage, she gave up films and became Princess Grace of Monaco. They had 3 children:

1. Princess Caroline
-First married to Philippe Junot, but the marriage was annulled
-Second marriage to Stefano Casiraghi produced three children Andrea, Charlotte, and Pierre. This marriage ended with the tragic death of Stefano in a speedboat accident
-Third marriage to Prince Ernst August of Hanover. They have one child, Princess Alexandra

2. Prince Albert- he’s not married (yet…he’s been dating South African swimmer Charlene Whittstock for a couple of years) but he has fathered two children out of wedlock, Jasmin and Alexandre by different women. Neither child is in line for the throne as they are illegitimate

3. Princess Stephanie
-First married her bodyguard Daniel Ducret. They had two children, Louis and Pauline both of whom were born before the marriage. Before the wedding Louis and Pauline were not in line for the throne as they were illegitimate, but their parents’ marriage restored them to the succession
-Third child Camille was born out of wedlock and Princess Stephanie has never said who the father is, but the leading candidate is Jean-Raymond Gottllieb, a ski instructor
-Second marriage was to Adans Lopez Peres, a circus trapeze artist. She filed for divorce after 10months
-They’re about a dozen other boyfriends along the way as well.

Princess Grace was killed in a car accident in 1982. Prince Rainier died in 2005 after a long illness, but Prince Albert had been acting as reagent for some time.

Like Japan, Monaco had an old law that said only males could inherit the throne. With Albert the only son with no legitimate heirs, there was a bit of a crisis with the line of succession. In 2002 Rainier changed the law so that females could inherit the throne, but males still take precedence. If Albert does not have any legitimate children (keep in mind he turned 50 this year) then Caroline will succeed him, and her oldest son Andrea could one day reign as Prince of Monaco.

 

[LadyMaria]

As far as tiaras go, the Monegasque royal families haven’t been much into them. Here is a picture of Rainier’s mother Princess Charlotte wearing a fringe tiara.

 

[LadyMaria]

I read once that Princess Grace thought tiaras were bad luck. She didn’t wear them often. Here she is in a small diamond and ruby tiara.

 

[LadyMaria]

The firm of Van Cleef and Arples made this tiara for Princess Grace. It can also be worn as a necklace.

 

[LadyMaria]

Here’s is Princess Caroline wearing a diamond and pearl tiara that belonged to her grandmother, Princess Charlotte. The necklace she is wearing can be attached to a frame and worn as a fringe tiara. Princess Grace never wore either of these jewels. Of the Monegasque jewels, this tiara is my favorite!

 

[LadyMaria]

Now that Princess Caroline is a Princess of Hanover, she tends to wear Hanoverian jewels over Monegasque jewels. Here she is in the Brunswick tiara. It was a wedding present to Princess Viktoria Luise, Duchess of Brunswick. She gave it to her son, Ernst Augst I, and this tiara disappeared from public for a long time. Princess Caroline’s husband is Ernst Augst II, and this tiara has now come out again.

 

[LadyMaria]

How’s this for obscure…the royal family of Morroco!

Morroco is a small country in northwestern Africa. It is very close to Gibraltar, where Spain/Portugal come closet to Africa.

The current monarch is King Mohammed VI. His wife is Princess Lalla Salma. The term “Lalla” is an honor title, sort of like Princess. What is highly unusual for Lalla Salma is that she is first wife of a monarch to:

1) not be an arranged marriage
2) to have her picture shown to the public before the wedding
3) actually have a big fancy royal wedding
4) to be publicly acknowledged before producing an male heir (seriously…Mohammed’s mother never had a picture released, nor was her marriage even made public before giving birth to a son)
5) to be called “Princess Consort”
6) to take on a public role and do charity work
7) to be a redhead
be the only wife of a monarch (previous monarchs had multiple wives)

In short King Mohammed and Princess Lalla Salma are smashing the defintion of the Morrocan royal family into thousands of little tiny bits. They have two children, Crown Prince Moulay Hassan and Princess Lalla Khadija

 

[LadyMaria]

Here is King Mohammed and Princess Lalla Salma at their wedding. This is the only time she’s been pictured (that I know of) wearing a tiara. It is a Greek key, meandering paterrn. The earrings follow the same pattern.

 

[LadyMaria]

Lalla Salma wearing an amazing pair of ruby, jade, and peridot earrings.

 

[LadyMaria]

Princess Lalla Salma incorporates jewels into more than just your basic earrings and necklace. Notice the belt she is wearing in this picture…it is covered in diamonds!

 

[LadyMaria]

Lalla Salma with ruby earrings

 

[LadyMaria]

Here is Princess Lalla Salma at the same event, but now you can see her entire outfit. Note how richly embroirdered the robes are, and some of this is done with jewels! The other women with her are her sisters-in-law.

 

[LadyMaria]

I once lived on a hall at college with a girl from Brunei. Brunei is a small country in on the island of Borneo in the Pacific Ocean. Part of Indonesia and Malaysia are also on Borneo. Now I know that when it comes to “spared no expense” on royal weddings, Brunei tops them all!


The Sultan of Brunei is Hassanal Bolkiah, and his first wife is Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha (Pengiran Anak is a honor title, like Princess). At one point he had two wives, but recently divorced the second one. They have 6 children.

The oldest is Crown Prince Billah married Sarah Salleh in 2004. She was 17, he was 30. Their wedding cost about $5,000,000. Yes, that is FIVE MILLION DOLLARS! After her marriage she is known as Pengiran Anak Sarah, Crown Princess of Brunei. They have one child, Prince Abdul Muntaqim.

Here is Crown Prince Billah and Crown Princess Sarah on their wedding day. He is wearing a gold crown, she is in her royal blue wedding gown, veil, and diamond tiara.

 

[LadyMaria]

Another shot of Crown Princess Sarah. Note her bouquet; It is made of gold and diamonds. Heck, even her shoes had diamonds!

 

[LadyMaria]

Another child of the Sultan is Princess Majeedah. She married Khairul Khalil in 2007. They have one son, Pengiran Anak Abdul Hafeez Here she is in her red wedding dress, veil, diamond necklace and tiara, and yes, another bouquet of gold and diamonds.

 

[jewelerman]

Wow...lady maria...you have really out done your self on the posts today!THANK YOU...the jewelry worn by princess masako is STUNNING!

 

[coatimundi_org]

How cool too see royals from different parts of the world! Thanks for posting Lady Maria! Princess Kiko is quite the beauty. Princess Masako's story is so sad.

 

[surfgirl]

Date: 6/26/2008 8:27:48 PM
Author: LadyMaria
Next we have the Danish Order of the Elephant. For the Order of the Elephant, the collar is made of gold and has alternating elephants and towers. The Badge for the order is a white enameled elephant. The sash is blue and is worn from the left shoulder to the right hip with the Badge (elephant) resting on the right.

Thank you SO much for posting all this info on the royal orders! It was me asking about them awhile back but your explanation and amazing close up photos is much appreciated, THANK YOU!

And thanks for explaining about the Danish Order of the Elephant...I''d noticed that in a bunch of Hello! Magazine photos earlier this month from the recent Danish royal wedding and wondered what the significance of the white elephant is...do you know?

Speaking of elephants...and Asian royalty...I posted a link a while back to some Thai Royal Family jewels...Do you know much about that family? They have amazing bling but it''s difficult to find close up photos...

Lastly, you mentioned the family orders..is the White Elephant a family order since they all seem to wear it? And the two orders on QE2 in the last photo, the ones that appear to be oval porcelain miniature portraits...are those considered family orders? I notice that a lot of royal families have this tiny portraits hanging from their sashes...

Thanks LadyMaria, for all the info!

 

[bebe]

LadyMaria, thank you so much for those posts. I never knew (or forgot) of a royal family in Morroco!!

 

[2Artists]

Thank you thank you thank you all I love this thread! It is so fabulous. History and the art of jewelry simply too wonderful when put together.

LadyA may your dear mother heal rapidly. Hugs. You are very missed.

LadyMaria that is a great story about Your "Princess of Puke Tiara". I told my husband about it and he thought that it showed great sense of humor too. Too cute. I love it.

Female Half 2Artists

 

[LadyMaria]

And thanks for explaining about the Danish Order of the Elephant...I''d noticed that in a bunch of Hello! Magazine photos earlier this month from the recent Danish royal wedding and wondered what the significance of the white elephant is...do you know?

[/quote]


From the official webiste of the Dansh Royal Family...

"The explanation for the elephant as the symbol of the Order is most likely that a warrior elephant was used as a symbol for the defenders of Christianity who were incensed at the sight of Christ’s blood. At the same time the elephant symbolised purity and chastity."

 

[LadyMaria]

Date: 6/30/2008 10:18:47 PM
Author: surfgirl




Lastly, you mentioned the family orders..is the White Elephant a family order since they all seem to wear it? And the two orders on QE2 in the last photo, the ones that appear to be oval porcelain miniature portraits...are those considered family orders? I notice that a lot of royal families have this tiny portraits hanging from their sashes...


Thanks LadyMaria, for all the info!

The Order of the Elephant is a chivalry order, not a family order. Queen Margarethe can bestow it on anyone she wishes, so family does usually get it. However, many foreign heads of state are also awarded the Order of the Elephant, so it is not exculsively a family thing. And, being a member of the family does not mean you automatically get it. The new Princess Marie has not been granted the Order of the Elephant yet. Rarely someone who has done something great for Denmark will also be awarded the Order of the Elephant, but this hasn''t happened for some time.

Yes, on the picture of QE2, the two portraits on ribbons are the family orders. One is of her grandfather George V and the other is her father, George VI. Only women get these family orders, and they are bestowed at the whim of the Queen.

 

[LadyMaria]

Continuing the tour of Rocks from ROCKS (Really Obscure Countires and KingdomS) we have the Kabaka Mutebi II of Uganda and Sylvia Luswata. Kabaka is the title for King. One thing that was special about this wedding is that Kabaka Mutebi lifted a traidational ban for his wedding, namely that no one except the royal couple is allowed to have sex on the night of the Kabaka’s wedding. According to tradiation, anyone beside the Kabaka who has sex on the night of the Kabaka’s wedding will be attacked by a sheep and become impotent.

Seriously. I’m not kidding.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/431503.stm

Here is the entire wedding party.

 

[LadyMaria]

Here’s a closer picture of the Kabaka and his bride. She has a pretty impressive tiara on!

 

[LadyMaria]

Also in Africa we have the kingdom of Lesotho, a tiny country that is landlocked and surrounded by South Africa. Prince Harry has founded a children’s charity in Lesotho. In 2000, King Letsie III married South African commoner Karabo Motsoeneng. An event of note at the wedding was that the president of South Africa at the time, Thabo Mbeki, was fined one cow for not attending the wedding. Mbeiki’s mother was born in Lesotho, so he was honor bound to go. His High Commissioner had to make arrangements for the fine to be paid.

 

[LadyMaria]

I think Karabo’s wedding jewelry cost a bit more than a cow. The tiara…well, I’m not sure I’d even call it a tiara. It’s more like a crown. It reminds me of the cone shaped things Disney princess would wear on their heads with layers of chiffon flowing from it. Check out this necklace as well. I think it’s worth at least two cows.

 

[surfgirl]

In East and Southern Africa, a bride price is always paid before a proper white wedding can take place...it's called lobala, and typically it is paid in cattle. The number of cattle is dependent on the man's wealth, family wealth, bride's family's social status, beauty, education, etc. I'd like to know how many head of cattle the bride price was for the Uganda and Lesotho weddings...must have been a lot!

ETA: On the previous page, the 8th photo from the bottom, I believe is Princess Lalla visiting Thailand because I think the other two people in the photo are Thai officials or Thai royalty. Can you dig anything up on them?

 

[LadyMaria]

Cool info surfgirl! So lobala is sort of like a dowry?

The only other name mentioned in the orginal caption on the picture of Lalla Salma was Lalla Hasna, who is one of King Mohammad''s sisters. He has two other sisters, Lalla Meryrem and Lalla Asma. Given that they are all in the same style of robes, I am assuming the other two women are the other two sisters. I could be wrong though...it won''t be the first time!

I don''t have much on Thai jewelry. Here is a picture of a Thai style tiara.

 

[LadyMaria]

Here is a shot of Queen Sirikrit of Thailand with Empress Michiko of Japan. Notice how Queen Sirikrit''s tiara goes from ear to ear, almost like a headband. This is a different way of wearing a tiara compared to wearing on simply on the crown (no pun intended

) of the head.

I''ll see what else I can dig up. My apologies in advance surfgirl if I end up getting a bunch of pictures you''ve already seen!

 

[LadyMaria]

Remember when I mentioned that Crown Prince Pavlos and Crown Princess Marie Chantal of Greece were expecting baby #5 in July?

It''s a boy! Born Sunday, June 29. 8 pounds 8 ounces. Mother and baby are doing fine according to the Greek Royal family website. No name has been announced yet.

I think she ought to get a new tiara to mark the occasion, don''t you?