The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Jewel History: Married to a Viscount (1894)

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Virginia Coventry, Viscountess Deerhurst [1]
“Married to a Viscount”
(originally appeared in the Washington Post, 11 Mar 1894)
The marriage of Miss Virginia Bonynge [2], daughter of the California millionaire, Charles W. Bonynge [3], to Viscount Deerhurst [4], took place in the Church of All Saints, Kensington, at 2:30 PM today. The weather was perfect. Large crowds of men and women were attracted to the vicinity of the church to catch a glimpse of the bride and groom and study the magnificent costumes of the bridal party.
The church was well filled with guests, among whom were the Princess Christian [5], Princess Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, the Countess of Arran, the Countess of Cairns, the Earl and Countess of Cadogan, the Earl and Countess of Essex, the Earl and Countess of Craven, Lord and Lady Burton, Mrs. Bradley Martin, Gen. and Mrs. Byron, and many others.
The wedding gifts were numerous, costly, and magnificent. The gift of Prince Duleep Singh [6] was a diamond bracelet with enamel links, and that of Prince F. Duleep Singh a diamond pin and a pearl brooch. The Earl of Coventry gave a service of silver plate and a pearl necklace, and a pearl and diamond bracelet were presented by the Earl and Countess of Coventry. Mr. Bonynge, the father of the bride, gave his daughter a diamond tiara, a diamond bracelet, a silver tea and coffee service, and a check for a large sum of money. Besides the presents mentioned, the bride received many others, all of which were of great value and exquisite design.
NOTES, PHOTO CREDITS, AND LINKS
1. Image published in 1904 Lady’s Realm, a monthly women’s magazine; see the issue here.
2. Lady Deerhurst (1866-1948) was born Virginia Lee Daniel, the daughter of William Daniel and Rhoda Stephens. Her parents divorced, and her mother married Charles William Bonynge in 1869. She used her stepfather’s surname after the marriage. Prior to her marriage to Lord Deerhurst, Virginia was apparently briefly engaged to the Hon. Ronald Greville (whose eventual wife, Margaret, left a fortune’s worth of jewelry to the Queen Mother on her death).
3. Charles William Bonynge (1838-1913) was born in Ireland, but made his fortune during the gold mining boom in California. He was involved in a rivalry with John Mackay, the husband of one of Boucheron’s best customers.
4. George William Coventry, Viscount Deerhurst (1865-1927) was the eldest son of the 9th Earl of Coventry and Lady Blanche Craven. He died three years before his father, so his elder son, George, became the 10th earl.
5. Princess Helena, the fifth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert; according to a 1903 issue of the San Francisco Call, she was Lady Deerhurst’s close friend and sponsor in society.
6. Prince Victor Duleep Singh, son of the Maharaja of Lahore, was married to Lord Deerhurst’s sister, Lady Anne Coventry. “Prince F. Duleep Singh” is his younger brother, often called “Prince Freddy.”

The Imperial Order of the Crown of India

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Badge of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India [1]
If you look at portraits of British royal women from the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, you’ll often see them wearing an unfamiliar badge amid the royal family orders pinned to their left shoulders. These badges, which were worn suspended from light blue ribbons, belonged to an order of chivalry that was once widely bestowed but has since become all but extinct: the Imperial Order of the Crown of India.
Queen Victoria, ca. 1882 [2]
The order was begun to celebrate the elevation of Queen Victoria to her newest title, Empress of India, in 1876. From the start, this was an order of chivalry that was awarded exclusively to women — no men were ever admitted to its ranks (although four served as its sovereign). The badge of the order, which was set with diamonds, turquoises, and pearls, included three intertwined initials: VRI, which stood for Victoria Regina Imperatrix (in English, that’s Victoria Queen-Empress). You can see the initials in the illustration of the badge above; you can also see Queen Victoria wearing the insignia of the order (partially obscured under another ribbon on her left shoulder) in the portrait at left.
When Queen Victoria instituted the order on January 1, 1878, the rules of the order were established in the London Gazette [3]. The role of the sovereign of the order was assigned to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom (Victoria and her heirs, both male and female). She also ensured that the monarch could both invest and remove members of the order as he or she saw fit. Women who could be invested as companions of the order needed to belong to one of three categories. British princesses (who had reached the age of eighteen) were eligible. So were the wives and female relatives of Indian princes (and Indian princesses in their own right, too). The third group recognized the wives and female relatives of high-ranking British colonial officials — specifically, the spouses and relatives of the Viceroy (or the Governor-General), the Governor of Madras, the Governor of Bombay, and the Secretary of State of India. 
Thirty-six women were listed as companions of the order when it was originally established. The list of companions was also published in the London Gazette, and it included women who fit into all three of the designated categories. Ten British princesses were among the original members of the order, including all five of her daughters (plus Princess Louise’s mother-in-law, the Duchess of Argyll), two of her daughters-in-law (the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Edinburgh), and her Cambridge aunt and cousins (including the Duchess of Teck, mother of the future Queen Mary).
Nawab Shahjihan Begum
of Bhopal, ca. 1872 [4]

Eight royal Indian women were also among the original membership of the order. Maharani Bamba, something of a real-life Cinderella, was the wife of the last Maharaja of Lahore. Nawab Shahjihan Begum was the ruler of Bhopal in her own right; her elderly grandmother, Nawab Kudsia Begum, was also made a companion. Maharani Vani Vilasa Sannidhana Kempananja Ammani Avaru was the wife of one Maharaja of Mysore and the mother (and regent) of another. Maharini Jamnabai Sahib Gaekwad, the widow of the Maharaja of Baroda, was also the adopted mother of a subsequent Baroda ruler. Sahebzadi Dialwar unisa Begum Saheba was the grandmother of the Nizam of Hyderabad. Vijaya Mohenu Mukta Boyi was the daughter of the last Raja of Tanjore, and some recognized her as her father’s successor. Maharani Swarnamoyee of Cossimbazar was renowned for her charity work.

Seventeen additional women, all related to the past and present colonial officials in India, were also recognized as original companions of the order. The Dowager Countess of Elgin, Lady Mayo, Lady Susan Bourke, Lady Jane Baring, Lady Lytton, Lady Lawrence, and Lady Strachey were all wives, widows, or daughters of Viceroys and Governors-General of India. Lady Mary Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, Lady Hobart, Lady Napier, and Lady Denison were all wives or daughters of Governors of Madras. Lady Frere and Lady Temple were wives of Governors of Bombay. Viscountess Halifax’s husband was in charge of the British East India Company. Lady Salisbury, Lady Ripon, and Lady Northcote were wives of Secretaries of State and (Under-Secretaries of State) of India.

Over the next seventy years, many more British princesses, Indian royals, and relatives of colonial officials were added to the order’s ranks. In 1947, when British colonial control of India ended, the order was essentially suspended; as you can imagine, there’s been no need to add new companions to an imperial order of chivalry based in a country that has since gained its independence.

Today, there is exactly one living person who was invested as a member of the order during its tenure: Queen Elizabeth II, who was made a companion on June 12, 1947. Her sister, Princess Margaret, was made a companion of the order on the same day, even though she was only sixteen. (You can see Margaret wearing the insignia of the order in this portrait; it is placed on her left shoulder, above her family orders.) Both of the princesses were appointed to the order during the celebrations of the official birthday of their father, King George VI [5]. India gained independence from Britain two months later, on August 15, 1947.

NOTES, PHOTO CREDITS, AND LINKS
1. Cropped version of an image available via Wikimedia Commons; source here.
2. Photograph available via Wikimedia Commons; source here.
3. The relevant pages from the London Gazette are available here.
4. Cropped version of photograph available via Wikimedia Commons; source here.
5. See the London Gazette announcement here.

Cartier: Style and History

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On display for the first time: a sapphire worn by Queen Marie of Romania at her coronation [1]
If you happen to find yourself in Paris between now and the middle of February, you simply must find time to visit a glittering collection of jewels that includes a number of important and familiar royal gems. The Grand Palais is currently hosting an exhibition on the work of Cartier, showcasing pieces from the nineteenth century alongside more contemporary creations.
Among the 600 jewels in the exhibition, Cartier: Le Style et L’Histoire features a number of highly recognizable royal pieces. One of the most impressive is the sapphire pictured above. In the early 1920s, King Ferdinand of Romania purchased it from Cartier for his wife, Queen Marie. She wore the sapphire, which weighs more than 478 carats, to her coronation in 1922. The family probably sold the sapphire around 1947, when Marie’s grandson, King Michael, was forced to abdicate. It has been auctioned several times in the decades since, and in 2003, Christie’s sold the gem for almost $1.5 million [2]. Joelle Diderich notes that this is the first time that the sapphire, which is often said to be one of the largest ever discovered, has ever been exhibited to the public [3].
The Williamson diamond brooch [4]

The pieces loaned to the exhibition by Queen Elizabeth II have been seen by the public on a much more regular basis. One is the phenomenal Williamson brooch (pictured at right), which features one of the most valuable pink diamonds in the world. The diamond, which weighs more than 23 carats, was given to the queen by John Williamson as a wedding present in 1947 [5]. Cartier designed the brooch to complement the stone five years later. Unfortunately, Suzy Menkes says that the exhibit does not display the piece to its greatest effect, because the “low lighting does not do this rose pink stone justice” [6]. The other piece loaned by Elizabeth to the exhibit is perhaps even more recognizable: it’s the Halo tiara that the Duke of York (later George VI) purchased for his wife from Cartier in 1936. We know it better today as the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding tiara [7]. The curators of this exhibition knew to capitalize on that famous connection; Kim Willsher explains, “To ensure its significance did not go unremarked, there was a framed photograph of Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, wearing the Halo diadem – ‘something borrowed’ from the Queen – at her wedding to Prince William in 2011” [8].

Diamond tiara once owned by Queen Elisabeth of Belgium [9]

But Kate’s wedding tiara isn’t the only diadem in the exhibition that has connections to royalty. Doulton reports that “one of the first cases displays a revolving carousel of diamond tiaras that shower out sparkles of light and revolve just slowly enough to take in their delicate grace,” marveling that it makes the viewer feel like her or she is “standing pressed against the wall at a ball during the height of the Belle Époque” [10]. One of these sparklers is the diamond and platinum bandeau (pictured above) acquired from Cartier by Queen Elisabeth of the Belgians in 1912. The tiara was worn by Elisabeth at several major royal occasions, including the weddings of her son and grandson. It was eventually sold back to Cartier by Princess Lilian, Elisabeth’s daughter-in-law, in 1987 [11].

The Essex tiara [12]

And there are plenty of other tiaras with royal connections, too. The Essex tiara (pictured above), made for a countess and later worn by the wife of a prime minister (that’d be Lady Churchill) and a crown princess (Margarita of Romania), is on display [13]. So are two tiaras from the collection of Marie Bonaparte, including her olive wreath tiara [14].

The Windsor flamingo
brooch [16]

As you might expect, there are a number of objects included in the exhibition that were worn by Princess Grace of Monaco. The Grimaldis have loaned Grace’s engagement ring, an impressive diamond and platinum necklace, several animal brooches, and the three brooches that make up the Bains de Mer tiara [15]. And another pair of famous royal Cartier customers, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, are represented by several jewels. The duke’s grandfather, Edward VII, famously dubbed Cartier “the jeweler of kings,” and although David abandoned his throne, he continued to patronize the jeweler as if he were still a sovereign. Among the duchess’s jewels on display are her famous flamingo brooch (pictured at right) and one of her diamond panthers, this one perched on an enormous cabochon sapphire. Jewels from other American collectors like Gloria Swanson, Elizabeth Taylor, and Barbara Hutton sparkle throughout as well.

The Patiala bib necklace [17]

But it’s a jewel that belonged to a male customer, not a woman, that perhaps steals the entire show. Cartier has loaned a restored version of the famous Patiala necklace (pictured at left) to the exhibition. Ordered from Cartier in 1928 by Bhupinder Singh, the Maharaja of Patiala, this bib necklace originally featured the yellow De Beers diamond in its pendant element. That diamond alone weighed more than 234 carats; the restored version of the necklace features a replica stone in its place (along with other replacement stones throughout). Doulton marvels that the “jaw-dropping” necklace, which features diamonds “the size of conkers,” is able to be “seen from across the vast room” [18]. The necklace was discovered in pieces in 1998, identified as Cartier, and restored.

The exhibition is being held at the Grand Palais, located on the Avenue de Champs-Élysées, until February 16, though it is closed on Tuesdays. Much more is available at the exhibition’s website. But if you, like me, can’t make it to Paris to see these remarkable gems before the show closes in a few weeks, there’s another alternative available. An iPad app, which features gorgeous, high-definition photos of many of the famous royal gems in the exhibition, is available for $3.99. Its text is in English, and it’s quite a bit cheaper than a round-trip ticket to France!

A note: special thanks to reader Nancy, who was lucky enough to visit the exhibition, for sending me the gorgeous photographs in this post and giving me permission to use them on the blog. Thank you so much!

NOTES, PHOTO CREDITS, AND LINKS
1. Photograph taken by blog reader Nancy. Used with the kind permission of the photographer. Do not reproduce without the photographer’s consent.

2. See New York Magazine’s blog, The Cut, here.
3. See Women’s Wear Daily‘s review of the Cartier exhibition here.
4. Photograph taken by blog reader Nancy. Used with the kind permission of the photographer. Do not reproduce without the photographer’s consent.
5. In The Queen’s Diamonds, Hugh Roberts states, “Dr Williamson presented the diamond (uncut and weighing 54.5 metric carats) to Princess Elizabeth” (pg. 294). See also Field, pg. 102, and the Royal Collection website.
6. See the New York Times review of the Cartier exhibition here.
7. See more on the Halo tiara in this post at A Tiara a Day.
8. See the Guardian review of the Cartier exhibition here.
9. Photograph taken by blog reader Nancy. Used with the kind permission of the photographer. Do not reproduce without the photographer’s consent.
10. See the Telegraph review of the Cartier exhibition here.
11. See more on the Cartier bandeau in this post at A Tiara a Day.
12. Photograph taken by blog reader Nancy. Used with the kind permission of the photographer. Do not reproduce without the photographer’s consent.
13. See more on the Essex tiara in this post at A Tiara a Day.
14. See more on the olive wreath tiara in this post at A Tiara a Day.
15. See more on the Bains de Mer tiara in this post at A Tiara a Day.
16.  Photograph taken by blog reader Nancy. Used with the kind permission of the photographer. Do not reproduce without the photographer’s consent.
17.  Photograph taken by blog reader Nancy. Used with the kind permission of the photographer. Do not reproduce without the photographer’s consent.
18. See the Telegraph review of the Cartier exhibition here.