Tiaras and Trinkets on Tuesday (Jewellery worn by Princess Suzanna of Wallachia)

Princess Suzanna, the Dowager Princess of Wallachia has had opportunity due to her rank to wear very impressive jewellery from both her family of birth and the dynasty she married into. Born a Princess of Swann allowed her a fabulous dowry of new jewellery and the Wallachian Royal Family has jewellery with great historical value. Let us look at the jewellery this famous figure has worn over the last few decades as wife of a head of state and daughter of one of the wealthiest families on earth. 

As wife of the former ruler of Wallachia and now mother of the current ruler, Princess Suzanna primarily wears official jewellery pieces attached to her title. In this State Portrait from the era preceding the 96 Revolution we see the Consort Crown of Wallachia resting on the pedestal behind Princess Suzanna. This was probably the last time this crown was officially used. It was made at the same time as its larger counterpart, the Crown of the Sovereign Prince. It is set with seven pear cut amethysts and seven square aquamarines set alternatively in solid gold. It is decorated with seven white pearls instead of black like in the other crown. In this photo the Dowager Princess wears the Crown Necklace and Earrings as well. This set was made especially for Princess Suzanna by the people of Wallachia upon her marriage to their Prince. The set was permanently added to the Crown Collection in thanks to the people in order that it remained a part of the national heritage in perpetuity.

The ancient medieval tiara that forms the final part of the Crown Jewel Collection. Called the Princess Bathoria Tiara can also be seen in this State Portrait. The tiara was permanently entered into the collection when Prince Vlad III's daughter was stripped of wealth and titles in circa 1550 after she was declared mad by the Seer Mithrandir. The Princess purportedly murdered several servants and children after her husband the Count Bathoria cheated on her with a servant girl. She was left isolated in her remote castle while her husband conducted his "affairs" elsewhere and eventually her husband's neglect drove her insane. Today many superstitions surround the story of the Princess Bathoria and her tiara. One in particular states that if the tiara was ever lost that the curse of madness would befall another Princess of the Draculesti line.

As a Princess in her own right Princess Suzanna has many private jewels at her disposal. The most famous and most often worn is her Dowry Parure. The tiara from this set of jewellery is featured in the photo above coupled with sapphires also in the Princess' private collection.

Princess Xenia's mother is the younger sister of the Duke of Swann's father. As a Princess by birth she left her country of origin with a dowry of Swanobian ancestral jewels. The Swann Dowry Diamond Parure as it has now become known is one of the most dazzling in the Wallachian collection. High quality pearls combine with exceptional diamonds in this traditional fringe design tiara and necklace. The set also includes earrings in the shape of a cross and a bracelet added at a later stage by Princess Xenia as a birthday gift to her mother.. 

In this photo we see Princess Suzanna wearing the tiara and earrings from the Dowry Parure and has allowed her daughter to wear her sapphires. Princess Suzanna often allows her daughter to wear any of the jewellery from her private collection. 

Princess Suzanna also received a diamond Demi Parure consisting of a collar necklace and matching earrings from the people of Swann to celebrate her marriage. This set has technically already been gifted to her daughter, Princess Xenia as a 21st birthday gift but both Royal ladies still wear it alternatively. 

This set of sapphires was acquired by Princess Suzanna in her own capacity in the early 80's. That era was one of the greatest in the history of Royalty. Ostentatious design was at the order of the day and jewellery firms boomed with extravagant orders of which this was one. The Princess spent some of her inheritance money and ordered the set brand new with the intent to display her prestige and that her daughter should inherit something directly from her. 

Many Royal jewellery collections include necklaces that can convert into a tiara. What makes this particular set unique is that both necklaces can me worn as tiaras making it possible for two ladies to wear virtually complete sapphire sets at once. Ironically however, no photo exists to date of of either Princess Suzanna or Princess Xenia wearing one of the necklaces as a tiara.

Princess Suzanna is seen here in 2013 wearing parts of her sapphire set. 

Another official and historic tiara from the Wallachian Crown Collection is the Angel Wing Aigrette. We see Princess Suzanna at right in the photo above wearig it. It has been in the family for close to 100 years and was obviously purchased in the days of the fashionable Aigrette. This 20's style tiara just remained in the Royal collection by chance, unaltered until today, where now it stands as a testament of a bygone era and its fashions. It is a difficult piece to wear, both practically due to its height and also proves awkward in appearance when not coupled with the right clothes or event. As such the piece is very rarely worn.  

A new tiara made to match the historic amethyst necklace and earrings in the Wallachian Royal Collection. This tiara was a 20th wedding anniversary gift from the Prince of Wallachia to his wife. Above we see the Princess wearing the new tiara coupled with the historic jewels. 

This close up archive photo allows us a detailed look at the discreet amethyst tiara. 

The Wallachian jewels have been featured before in the different contexts before on this blog. We hope this perspective featuring the unique aspects of the Dowager Princess'jewels have added to your appreciation of the collection as a whole.