Tiaras and Trinkets on Tuesdays (The Crown Jewels of Hispania)

The Crown Jewels of Hispania

As all the monarchies and Royal Families of Europa were ravaged by the 96 Revolution so too the symbols of those nations were affected. Chief amongst the symbols of Royalty is of course the crown. The Kingdom of Hispania was amongst those who saw the missile strike, on the Castle of Roswind on the fateful night the revolution began, destroy several of their historic jewels. All the Kingdoms of the world sent their monarchs to the Empire of Scot-Britania for what was to be the greatest and most regal celebration ever. These monarchs posed beside regalia brought with them and these were destroyed beside them in the ensuing missile blast and fire. Hispania's monarchy survived however and still has Crown jewels to symbolise their proud nation steeped in history.

The Crown of Hispania

The Royal Crown of the Kingdom of Hispania is a new crown made to replace the medieval one destroyed during the revolution. It does however contain gems and gold components from a far older crown. That deteriorating crown used to create the new one, was formerly used to crown a relic in the Royal Cathedral of St Bartholomeas.

The current Queen of Hispania's grandmother seated in state for a portrait taken at the wedding of Queen Crystobel II of Scotney to Crown Prince Christian Victor of Britania. On the pedestal to our right is the medieval crown used until the revolution as the Royal Crown of Hispania. It was destroyed in the 96 revolution along with the Duke of Alba's Coronet at left, the sword and the sceptre. The tiara the Queen is wearing however was not involved in the missile strike and survives to this day and is discussed directly below. 

The King Carlos X Crown Diamonds Diadem.

This tiara could be seen as the signature tiara for Hispania and its queens, be they regents or consorts. It is also often used as a sort of Consort Crown when the King's wife requires one. The diamonds in the lower band are of exceptional size and as such may rate this tiara as one of the most valuable in the world. it is also often worn due to its classic simple design. The diamonds were a gift from the former Hispanian colony of  Peru on the celebration of their independence in 1919. The amicable relations between the nations made for this gift to be a poignant one and has afforded this tiara its historic status. 

Another South Americanian colonial set in the Crown Jewel Collection is the Rubies of the Sun Parure. This set was designed and manufactured in Mexicoes as a tribute to the Hispanian Monarchy when they were still in power over their colony. It is made of gold and rubies and alludes to the Sun Disc seen in Mexcusian ancient art. The parure is a rarity as it consists of not just the standard tiara, necklace and earrings but includes a Mantilla. The distinctive, Hispanian hair comb, called a Mantilla is worn at the back of the head and can be seen in the picture below. 

The 2012 State Portrait of Queen Maria of Hispania. In this photo we can see the Crown, The Carlos X Diadem and the Rubies of the Sun Mantilla. The queen also wears the Crown Earrings and the Cataljone Necklace. 

The Crown Necklace and Earrings is a set of jewellery made at King Carlos X's own expense to compliment the Carlos X Diadem. They are not seen as a parure inclussive of the Tiara but are sometimes mistaken as such. The necklace contains a large diamond reputed to have descended down from King Alfonso the Great. 

The Cataljone Necklace was entered into the Crown Collection by the current Queen Hispania's mother. She received the necklace as a betrothal gift from her husband who later died in the 96 Revolution and as such never became King. To immortalise his memory and their love she bequeathed the jewel to the Crown to be worn in perpetuity by the Queens of Hispania. 

The Shard of Dusk Diamond 

In the days of the Hispanian conquest of the South Americanians many legends emerged of fabulous cities of gold, gargantuan gem stones and mythical creatures. Very few were founded in fact but some did have measures of truth. diamonds are not readily found in the South Americanias but they do exist. This specimen is of a rare smokey colour and quite large. It was reputed to be a ceremonial offering brought anually to the Sun Temple in order for it to refract the light of the holy sun. When the Conquistadors arrived in their armour, blazingly reflecting the light, the indigenous people offered up the stone to them and it found its way to the Hispanian Court. It is today rarely worn as some controversy surrounds the call for its return to its native land. In the photo above, Princess Isabella wore it in 2009 to a movie premierre and made news headlines for it. 

The Crown Emerald Parure

Our final piece of the Crown Jewel puzzle is The Crown Emerald Parure consisting of a tiara, necklace, earrings and a bracelet.The Hispanian Emeralds belong to the Crown of Hispania and as such like all the other gems in the Crown Collection cannot be sold. They are all kept as a national treasure and only used by the Royal family. Old Crown emeralds were recut into a more modern square cut in the early 1900's and then set into this parure as part of the Hispanian Crown Jewels. The rules for this tiara is that only the wife or daughters of a Hispanian Monarch may wear them. As such it is often worn by Infanta Isabella or her mother the Dowager Princess Cataljone. We have yet to see Queen Maria or her daughter wear them.

Fascinating Fridays (Orders of Knighthood Part 1)

For this week's Fascinating Friday lecture on Royal technicalities we will start Part 1 of our discussion on the different Orders of Knighthood. If you have always wondered why Royalty often appear at very formal functions wearing coloured sashes you will now find out. We have discussed the origin and rank of the title, Knight, in a former Fascinating Friday post and have glanced over some of the Orders of Knighthood but now we will list them all and give some insight to the origin and functions of these Orders.

There are currently six active Orders of Knighthood and two Family Orders of Honour. They all rank in an order of precedence which ranks one above the other in prestige. Normally the date of the specific Order's founding gives it precedence over younger ones but also its exclusivity gives it higher prestige. Let us first start with the lowest and work our way up towards the highest.

Part 1 The Order of the Ublient

At the bottom we find the second oldest Order which seems to be a contradiction to the aforementioned principle of prestige based on age. It is afforded its low status due to its haphazard continuity and is strictly seen as the youngest order of Knighthood as it was finally established in its current uncontested form in 2012. The Wallachian Order of the Ublient has been one of the most controversial knighthoods in recent Europan history. It was originally established by the Grand Duke of Serbieski in 1340. It was meant to unify the feuding barons and knights within his realm by giving them the common purpose of fighting off foreign enemies rather than each other. It also served to honour them for services rendered to the common good of the medieval Grand Duchy. Ironically Serbieski later came under the rule of a foreign power as the invading Prince of Wallachia defeated his neighbour and placed his brother on the throne as Grand Duke. The Order of the Ublient eventually developed into a Wallachian honour and was seen by strict Serbieski nationalists as a symbol of Wallachian usurpation. Centuries later after the Great War, Serbieski found itself declared an independent Kingdom and resurrected the then defunct Serbieski branch of the Knighthood as a national honour. The Principality of Wallachia challenged their rights to it and for a while the two rival orders ran concurrently. The 96 revolution saw the end of Serbieski as a Kingdom and their branch of the Order of the Ublient. The Prince Karageorgevich did however pretend to the headship of the Order just as he claimed the throne of Serbieski. Wallachia like the other remaining monarchies just allowed the Order to fade into dormancy. In 2012 Serbieski was mediatized within the restored Kingdom of Syldavia and as such had no claim on the Headship of an Order of Knighthood. Wallchia then resumed the functions and display by "re-activating" their branch and it is today their country's highest order of merit.

Princess Xenia, as Head and High Commander of the Order of the Ublient is seen above at the Heads of the Royal Houses meeting in 2012. It was at this meeting where the headship of the Order of the Ublient was addressed and finally resolved. She is seen in this photo wearing the sash and badge and the Grand Duke of Serbieski, who is still seen as a member albeit not the Head of the Order also wears the insignia to the right of the picture.

A burgundy sash hung over the left shoulder pinned with a golden circular badge surmounted by a single clear stone is the official insignia of the Wallachian Order of the Ublient.

The Order currently has very diminshed ranks. Above we see the Baron Bagrazia, husband to the Princess of Wallachia. Other members include, the Duke of Swann, King Nikolas III of Syldavia and the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Serbieski. The Order never accepts more than 40 members in total. We might see the compliment of Knights rise as the functions and popularity of Royalty increase. 

What's Up Wednesday (Sorgenfrei Castle)

The Crown Prince Imperial announced his formal moving from the United States of Americania today in a special press conference in Muren. His Imperial Highness feels its time to "live amongst Europans and to be in the same atmosphere". The Prince, originally thought dead by the world after the 96 Revolution, grew up in secret in the Switzer Confederation, then moved to live with his mother in Americania after the reality of them surviving the revolution was announced in 2009

After more than two years of marital bliss, the Crown Prince Imperial couple want to start a family and thought the natural surroundings and slower pace of rural Muren would be ideal. Princess Odeliah has extended family who live and work on the Sorgenfrei dairy farm close to the town. The Crown Prince Imperial surprised his wife with the news of having bought a permanent residence in Muren on a private visit to her family last week.

The extremely picturesque Muren Mountains with the former Fort of Muren vaguely visible in the centre on the distant ridge.

The couple have maintained a pseudo-nomadic lifestyle since their move to Americania. They have moved between their apartments in the Big Aplle, the family farm in Muren and residences in Swann and Hanoveria. Most recently, they were officially welcomed back in the former Kingdom, now Republic of Scotney. However they are still officially exiled from Britania. These two countries combined formed what would have been the Crown Prince Imperial's Empire if the 96 Revolution did not topple the monarchy. 

Fort Muren was built during the gradual build up of tensions in Europa before the Great War. It was essentially built using the "framework"of a much older medieval castle that used to dominate the valley. The building served as an army barracks after the war and as peace settled more and more it was abandoned. Prince Chritian-Victor bought the property in 2010 without his wife's knowledge and began restorations and alterations, turning it into a palatial home and regional museum displaying the region's history.

 In this photo the Prince and Princess view the spectacular scenery outside the small town of Muren with their new home being pointed out by the Prince.

The former Fort of Muren will now be called Sorgenfrei Castle. It was abandoned several decades ago but has been bought and restored by special agreement with the Muren Municipality to serve as a Royal residence, historic landmark and museum . Prince Christian-Victor hopes to not just create a home but also to give back to society by managing a museum which will be open to the public whenever the couple are not in residence.

The distinctive lines of the former fort makes for a dream location for the young couple's new home. We can expect a small intimate Roof Wetting Party for family and friends at Sorgenfrei Castle in the next few weeks. We congratulate the Prince and Princess and wish them all the best as the settle in Muren.

Tiaras and Trinkets on Tuesday (The Ruskian Collection)

We are posting almost a day earlier than planned because I couldn't wait any more. Prepare to be dazzled.

The former Imperial Court of Ruskiana was probably the most spectacular the world has ever witnessed. The display of wealth through architecture, art and jewellery was on a level beyond imagination. Even to this day, what is left of the former Imperial Jewel Collection still stupefies even though it is a mere drop in the proverbial bucket. Let us take a look at what remains in ownership of the current pretender. Remember, her inheritance is also only that which remains on her side branch of the family tree as the main line were all assassinated and most of the main jewels stolen or destroyed.

There are many categories of head ornaments and in the class of Tiaras specifically there are also sub-categories. Whenever you discuss Ruskian Royal  jewellery you are required to understand the term Kokoshnik. The Kokoshnik class of tiara has its origin in the folk history of the Ruskian peasants. The ladies of old used to wear a headress or hat for obviously practical reasons of covering the head in order to protect from sun and dirt. The shape of this headdress became very distinct and as time went by was ornately embellished especially when the tradition of wearing it extended to weddings. The women would stitch intricate lace work and beads to the stiffened fabric base of the peasant "hat". This traditional headdress was adopted as the official court headdress in the Ruskian Imperial Court and the stitching of certain decorative elements then became huge diamonds and expensive pearls. Eventually the traditional fabric base was completely abandoned and tiaras made in gold and platinum were manufactured as a whole from metal but still mimicked the very specific shape of the traditional Kokoshnik. .

One of the only official pieces that belonged to an actual Empress Consort is the very famous and spectacular Tzar Nikolas I Pink Diamond Kokoshnik. It could be seen as the premier and symbolically the most Ruskian of all the jewellery that survived the Ruskian Revolution. The Diamond was the central feature of the Imperial Crown Jewels. Legend has it that the Perlistani Sultan had a genie create the unnaturally large coloured diamond in order to flatter and tempt the Tzar into an armistice. The Tzar however gained it through drawing the Sultan into a sword match that cost him the stone and a finger. The diamond was set in the Tzar's Crown but following a decade of bad luck had it removed claiming that the Sultan had cursed it with its pink colour in order that a man could never wear it and be blessed as a man. Since then it was set in its current place in this tiara which was then seen as one of the many tiaras only worn by Empress Consorts. 

The Tiara was thought lost after the Ruskian Revolution but in reality was sent by Tzar Ivan X, the last reigning Emperor of Ruskia for repairs to the Court Jeweller weeks before the Revolution exploded in full force. The jeweller escaped with it to Franconia and kept it there in secret. He left it in his will to the nearest legal claimant to the throne of Ruskia and after his death in 1998 it was delivered to the Grand Duke of Hanoveria by his lawyers who in turn passed it on to his niece Xenia Alexandrovna.

This very basic kokoshnik style tiara with matching choker would have formed the staple of any low ranking Ruskian Grand Duchess' jewellery collection. The tiara and necklace has no documented origin as these were lost to its turbulent history. However Grand Duchess Xenia's grandmother told the story of how it was a betrothal gift from Grand Duke Sergei, the youngest brother of Tzar Alexander II to his fiance the Countess Iliana Kirilovich Rostoff. The marriage was morganatic and after their deaths their entire estate reverted to the Tzar. This lesser tiara was forgotten  and was probably passed unnoticed down the family tree. It eventually surfaced in Xenia's grandmother's Americanian safety deposit box which was opened for the first time years after the 96 revolution and it is now often worn by the current pretender to the throne. The exceptionally large diamonds in the earrings are of truly Imperial scale and were a documented coming of age gift to Grand Duchess Xenia's great grandmother Princess Theodora of Syldavia from her grandfather.  She became a Ruskian Grand Duchess upon her marriage to the Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich who became known asTzar Alexander III. 

In a rare appearance of the iconic Emerald Cross of Ruskiana, was worn by Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna to the Swann 15th Anniversary Celebration in March this year along with its matching earrings. She also wears an antique Kokoshnik Tiara.

Originally the Cross formed part of the Ruskian Crown Jewel Collection having been given to the Tzar in 1794 by the then Metropolitan of Moskovi as a blessing over Easter. Later the pectoral cross was put on a strand of pearls with the intent that it would be worn more regularly by the wives of the Tzars. After the Great War the cross left Ruskiana along with the fleeing Imperial Family but was lost in the chaos. It reappeared in 1961 at auction and at that stage the Ruskian Socialist Government was repentant for the gross murder of members of the Imperial family. As a token of their remorse they bought the cross, ordered the addition of the earrings and gifted it to the Hanoverian Royal Family in trust of their Ruskian Imperial cousins. Today the set is in the private collection of Grand Duchess Xenia and Grand Duchess Alexandra who rarely wear it due to its cumbersome large size.  

The famous Tsar Alexander Sapphire Parure previously featured in detail in its own post. Tzar Alexander III of Ruskiana is the long deceased  great-great grandfather of Grand Duchess Xenia the current pretender to the Ruskian throne. His was a title and court also in pretense as his older brother was the last real Tzar of Ruskiana. Tzar Ivan X and his family were killed by rebels during the aftermath of the Great War. Alexander III succeeded him but was never crowned. He in turn was killed while fleeing the country a few months later with his young family. His son and heir and the rest were saved by Tzar Alexander giving his life in order to create a diversion for the pursuing rebels. Many pieces of family jewels also survived this escape one of which was the Parure of Sapphires that Alexander ordered for his wife in the heyday of the Ruskian Imperial Court. The full parure employed the then very modern stone cut called "baguette cut" for the sapphires. These rectangular sapphires were accented by very large round cut diamonds. 

 The tiara passed to Nicholas II who had become Tzar d'jour in exile. He left it to his son, who was murdered in the Bloody Revolution of 1996 while living in exile in the Empire of Scot Britania. As the father of Xenia he left the tiara and the remaining jewels to her and her sister who escaped with their lives to South Americania. The necklace passed to Tzar Nicholas II's younger sister Grand Duchess Anna, who left it to her daughter who married the last King of Serbieski. they left it to their son who let his wife wear it on her wedding day as "something blue". We know the couple today as the mediatized Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Serbieski in the restored Kingdom of Syldavia. The earrings passed to the youngest daughter of Alexander III, Grand Duchess Tatiana. From here it ended up in the Crown Jewel Collection of Britannia in a rather scandalous turn of events. Those jewels are in trust for the Crown Prince Imperial and his descendants and as such may never be sold.

This is not where the story ends however. In the early days of 2012, the Prince Karageorgevich received the confirmation of the restoration of the Kingdom of Syldavia and his assumption of the title of Grand Duke of Serbieski. To raise much needed cash he sold the necklace. The private sale took place in April and the buyer was none other than Grand Duchess Xenia of Ruskiana. The necklace has returned to its tiara albeit not to its homeland as yet. There is little to no hope that the earrings will ever return unfortunately.

As per Hanoverian tradition, a daughter of the House of Hanoveria is honoured upon her 18th birthday with the addition of a set of jewellery to the Hanoverian collection. This is not made in particular for her but rather leaves room for her choice to be made to take a dowry of jewellery upon her marriage. This bandeau style tiara with earrings and two modest necklaces combined to form the set of jewellery that Princess Maria of Hanoveria chose when she married Grand Duchess Xenia's father. Today it is referred to as the Hanoverian Nuptial Diamond Parure.

The Hanoverian Nuptial Diamond Parure in its original configuration seen above, is strictly speaking not designed as a set but was individual pieces selected in a group in order to fulfill the Hanoverian dowry tradition. It is known that some minor alterations have been made to it since this archive photo was taken.

The Grand Duchess Tatiana Yellow Diamond Parure is another "small" set of Imperial jewelry that was almost lost to history if not for Grand Duchess Xenia's contemporary wearing of it. It originally belonged to Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevich who died as a young spinster after failing to cope with life following her survival of the Great War and subsequent Ruskian Revolution. The set was sold after her death and disappeared until it surface in a 2006 auction and was purchased by Grand Duchess Xenia for a complete bargain. She added vintage 1980's earrings to complete the set as a makeshift parure. This set is very small, even on the scale of any exiled Royal standards. It is however not cheap as all the stones are top quality yellow diamonds albeit it that they are of an older cut and as such have reduced contemporary value.

 This set of aquamarine jewellery consisting of a necklace and earrings. Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna inherited them from her mother who brought them form Hanoveria with her into her marriage as private property. They originally were a 21st birthday present from all her Royal relatives. 

That concludes our feature of what remains of the Ruskian Imperial Jewels. 

What's Up Wednesday (Stolen Emeralds Press Release)

Its been three weeks since the armed robbery in the Swann capital that took the lives of three security guards and led to the disappearance of the historic Scot-Syldavian Emeralds. However an anonymous tip-off led to a police raid on a warehouse in the docks district of Swann's largest port city, Cygnus Landing. The Police Swat Team managed to capture 8 criminals involved on two sides of an illegal drug transaction and the sale of what was revealed to be the remainder of the historic jewels. The national treasure has been all but destroyed but at the very least some pieces were recovered and the perpetrators captured.

The Duke of Swann gave an official press conference in the gardens of Duke's Court Palace yesterday immediately after the news was made public. He stated that he was pleased that the offenders were in custody and will now be held accountable in a court of law for their misdeeds and of course the murder of innocents. The Duke also led on that the investigation as to the purpose of the money raised by these crimes will be on going. He stated that after last years terrorist attack in the capital, anti Royalist factions must be identified and rooted out. It seems that this particular theft was meant to be a symbolic act showing disdain for Swann but also its amicable diplomatic entente with the new Kingdom of Syldavia.

Three of the eight criminals arrested yesterday are Syldavian citizens which is leading the police to suspect that the crime involved money being raised for a separatist Syldavian plot. The Emerald parure is made from Syldavian emeralds which can also be seen as a symbolic message of disdain, being subtly stated. The photo above shows the original parure before it was stolen.

All that is left of the former splendid set of emerald jewellery is the earrings, undamaged and two diamonds and a single emerald. The jewels have seemingly been entirely dismantled and might remain missing forever after being sold on the black market.  The original thieves have not yet been apprehended but those in the illegal sale have been arrested. The testimony of the black market traders have revealed insidious criminal organisations involving drugs and arms deals crossing borders into Syldavia and Serbieski reaching as far a field as Arcwhite and Americania.

The missing jewels presumed sold on the black market could have fetched up to 2.5million United Dollars. The money will inevitably be used to forward the political agenda of the suspected Syldavian separatist terrorists. The recovered jewels have been returned to their owner the Duke of Swann who will undoubtedly  restore them to a wearable state.

On a more positive note, the wedding invitations for the Countess Dysart and the Duke of Argyle's big day have finally gone out.

We look forward to the happy event.

See an invited guest couple receive their invitation by following this link.
http://all4barbie.blogspot.com/2013/03/barbie-en-el-gotha-europeo.html

Memory Monday (Fairy Princess Charity Ball 2010)

In the spring of 2010 Princess Augusta hosted a charity fundraiser in the form of a themed Ball. The event, that took place in the Big Apple, was called "The Fairy Princess Ball" and raised money for orphans in a famine stricken region in rural Africania.

The Princess gathered some of her friends and relatives from her generation in Royal circles, dressed according to the theme and hosted the party for some of the world's wealthiest. The Blanche Noir Hotel donated their facilities for free and the Mayor, a friend of the Princess, attended to boost media publicity. The best dressed "Royal " for the evening got to go with the charity directors directly to Africania to assist in the charity work for a week. 

The Dowager Princess of Cataljone, mother of the Queen of Hispania won the prize for best dressed. 

The Ball was a raging success and the Dowager Princess Cataljone was the eventual recipient of the prize. After years of self imposed exile she was quoted to be "..very happy to get dirty for a good cause.." In response to winning she bequeathed the tiara she wore, made for her at her own request from diamonds given her by the Kingdom of Ophiri, to the charity to be sold upon her death and the funds to help the plight of orphans in Africania. 

From left, the Royal guests, all from the Princess Augusta's generation, included; the Dowager Countess Cartwright, Empress Crystobel of the United Empire, Princess Augusta, the Dowager Princess of Cataljone and the Dowager Baroness D'Rothchild. What is interesting to note is that all five these ladies were Princesses in their own right by birth.

Who do you think should have won?

Wonderful Weekends (Countess Dysart's Birthday/Engagement Present)

The Countess Dysart celebrated her birthday this week. She was surprised by her fiance who flew her to the Principality of Swann last night in order to present her with her birthday present early this morning. The Duke of Argyle purchased a young Hanoverian stallion for his fiance's stud from the Duke of Swann. His Royal Highness gave the horse at half its value to the couple as an engagement present. 

The Countess, a passionate equestrian and stud owner beamed at receiving the young stallion who is named Launcher's Dart. The Duke of Swann's stud is rated as one of the top in the world and the Duke of Argyle has taken his impending marriage to the equestrian Countess as a prompting to show support of his future wife. 

The friendly gesture from the side of the Duke of Swann came after a year of  friendly and business relations between himself and the Countess who hosted the grand Birthday Ball for the Duke of Swann and his cousin the Crown Prince Imperial at her family's Glen Coe Castle. We wish Her Ladyship a happy birthday and all the best in her plans for the young stallion. We also look forward to her marriage to the Duke of Argyle set for later in 2013.