Sadly the Victoria Revealed exhibition at Kensington Palace had closed by the time that I arrived in the UK, so I wasn’t able to see it. I have seen two different Victoria exhibitions at KP, but it would have been nice to see it as well. However, there was a small portion of it still open to the public, and I would argue it was probably the best part: the tiaras. Victoria often comes across as a stern and foreboding, forever in her plain widow’s weeds. However, the tiaras in Victoria Revealed show a glamorous and glittering side of the Victorian royal family. Including Queen Victoria’s tiara designed by Prince Albert, as well as two belonging to her family members, this is for the royal magpies!
The third Monday in May is Victoria Day here in Canada. Originally meant to celebrate Queen Victoria’s birthday, it now serves as our celebration for the monarch’s birthday. (Alas, no Trooping of the Colour for us!) With Victoria Day weekend upon us, I thought that this was the perfect time to share these Victorian tiaras.
Victoria Revealed: The Tiaras
As a mini-exhibition, this was well staged. I loved that you were able to see the back of the tiaras and pieces in this set-up, as you normally aren’t able. Because the back of the tiara is usually covered by the wearer’s hair, you normally don’t get to see it all. However, I didn’t realise that there could be so much variation in the shape and length of the piece. (Princess Louise’s Diamond Necklace Tiara is nowhere near as rounded as the other two, and seems to have more of a “gap” at the back.) Including pictures of the items being worn was also quite handy- it was wonderful to see them on the original wearers. It could have been interesting to see them worn by the current holders, but I understand that they may want privacy. Overall, this was a lovely surprise to find at Kensington Palace when I thought the whole exhibition was closed!
Princess Louise’s Diamond Necklace Tiara
Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife, born on 20 February 1867, married the first Duke of Fife on 27 July 1889. Daughter of the future Edward VII and Alexandra, Louise was a bit of an anomaly. When Queen Victoria realised that Louise would not have any male children, she created a second Dukedom of Fife that included a special remainder: in the event of no male heirs, the Dukedom would pass to the daughters of the first Duke and then to their male heirs. (It really helps to have a Queen for a grandmother, doesn’t it?)
If anyone knows of a video where I can see a necklace being mounted as a tiara, and vice versa, I will be forever in your debt! And why do I bring this up? Because this piece can be a diamond necklace or tiara, depending on what suits you at the time. According to the exhibition, Princess Louise’s tiara “was a wedding gift to Queen Victoria’s granddaughter… from her parents, Bertie and Alexandra, Prince and Princess of Wales. The design was inspired by tradition Russian costume. Family ties between British and Russian royals meant the style became popular in Europe in the 19th century.” This kokoshnik style tiara is one of my favourites- it is a classic, and you will see it across many tiara collections. I’ve always wondered if the kokoshnik style tiaras are comfortable to wear in their necklace form; would all of those diamonds not stab your collarbone? I mean, I would certainly put up with it to wear it in any form but it does make me wonder. I’m particularly grateful that the current Duke of Fife was willing to loan this piece, as it is gorgeous in person.
The Fife Diamond Tiara
This second tiara also belonged to Princess Louise, Duchess of Fife. (Did she just have most amazing jewellery collection ever? Or was this the bulk of it? In either case, I would argue it isn’t too shabby of a collection.) “Princess Louise, Queen Victoria’s granddaughter, was given this tiara on wedding day by her husband, the Duke of Fife. Designed by the popular Parisian jeweller Oscar Massin, the pear shaped diamonds are ‘swing-set’ allowing them to move and catch the light when the tiara is worn”. (Exhibition notes) My only regret with this tiara- as well as with the Grand Duchess Vladimir tiara in the Russia, Royalty, and the Romanovs exhibition- is that you can’t see the movement of the jewels. I understand that there is no way to make that happen in an exhibition, but I would love to see them in person being worn!
I also enjoy that this tiara was used to pay off the current Duke’s inheritance taxes. Now, I can’t say that using a tiara would be my first means of paying taxes, but I’ve never thought of it as a payment tool. I suppose that when you have more than one tiara in your family collection, it is less worrying to use one to pay for the rest of the inheritance taxes.
Queen Victoria’s Emerald Tiara; Necklace, Earrings, and Brooch Set
As someone with a May birthday (and therefore an emerald birthstone), this speaks to me on many levels. So many emeralds in one gorgeous set, I don’t know how Victoria didn’t wear this every day of her life. The exhibition splits this into two groupings. The necklace, earrings and brooch are one (from 1843)- “Prince Albert designed this matching set of jewels, called a parure, for Victoria. The Queen wore the set to a banquet at Trinity College Cambridge to celebrate her husband’s appointment as chancellor. Victoria noted other occasions on which she wore this set including to Prince Alfred’s christening, when she paired them with the lace from her wedding dress.” (Exhibition notes) It would be fascinating to go through Queen Victoria’s journals simply to track the jewellery that she wore- I would be interested to know what stood out to her, and if there were any patterns.
Ahhh, Queen Victoria’s emerald tiara. This tiara dates to 1845, and was also designed by Prince Albert. He worked with Joseph Kitching, the Queen’s Jeweller, to specifically design a tiara that would match the rest of the set. I think that it matches perfectly, and if I hadn’t read otherwise, I would have guessed that they were all created at the same time. The shape, size, and clarity of the emeralds used in this tiara is amazing- I honestly spent close to 5 minutes looking at this tiara alone. Sadly we don’t see this worn (or it may be worn privately, by someone in the Fife family), but it would be breathtaking to see in a well-lit room. Although I think that Victoria and Albert had a problematic relationship on many levels, their taste in jewellery was exquisite!
Did you see Victoria Revealed: The Tiaras? Which of these are your favourite?
Cheers,
The Historian
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I found a video showing the necklace to tiara, you had inspired me to try to find a video too! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1QACuKUoV0
Thank you so much for sharing this- it has made my day!!
These tiaras and the accompanying jewellery are beautiful! Can you imagine owning a piece like that?!!
On one hand, I think that I might be absolutely terrified to go anywhere for fear that I would lose it. On the other hand, I would literally be wearing history!
Look at all the sparkle! I’d love to see an exhibition like this. The closest I’ve gotten is the jewellery quarter in New York!
My goal is to make it back to the V&A to see their jewellery gallery- it was sadly closed when I was there!! I understand for security reasons why more museums don’t include jewellery, but it is just so gorgeous.