INSIDE Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain Jewelry Chest

Queen Victoria, Eugenie of Spain, who often went by her fourth name, Enna, was born on October 24th, 1887 in Balmoral Castle, Scotland. She was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and married King Alfonso XIII of Spain in 1906. Throughout her time as Queen Consort of Spain, Queen Enna was known for her exquisite taste in jewellery, which she used to enhance her royal image and make a statement at various events and occasions, but did know that most of her prominent jewels are her wedding gifts. Some come from her husband, some from her family, and most amazing emeralds come from her godmother, Empress Eugenie. Well, if you already like the intricate story of the royal with amazing jewellery gifts, then this video is for you. In the following 10 minutes, you will see her most beloved tiaras, the diamond rivier necklace that reached the size of a large sautoir, and the aquamarines that she placed into her pearl tiara. Ready? Then, let's start our diamond journey. Fleur de Lis tiara One of the most iconic pieces of jewellery associated with Queen Victoria Eugenie was her stunning diamond tiara, which featured a series of large diamonds set in a classic royal design. The main elements of the tiara, the fleur de lis, were a very symbolic choice, as they are the heraldic symbol of the House of Bourbon, the Spanish reigning dynasty. The tiara was often worn by the Queen at formal events and state banquets, where it would catch the light and sparkle as she moved. The tiara was a symbol of her status and elegance, and it became one of her signature pieces of jewellery. But more of all, the tiara topped the Queen's head on her wedding day, paired with several other wedding gifts received from her new husband. Thus, we may see her wedding portrait in a beautiful light dress adorned with pearl necklaces, diamond rivier, a bracelet and diamond earrings. The Queen's love for pearls only added to her regal and sophisticated image, and her collection of pearl jewellery was truly dazzling. As fashion changed, Anne Serena was commissioned once again to create a new structure for the fleur de lis tiara, so it could be worn in a more open setting, as a diadem and bandeau. Queen Victoria Eugenie kept wearing her fleur de lis tiara until her final years. Indeed, it was her most worn, beloved headpiece. While we all love gazing at the splendour of royal tiaras, let's have a moment of the time the young Princess Victoria Eugenie was getting married, and her jewellery style before taking on the Queen's regalia. Diamond Rivier Necklace During several of the activities held during the wedding celebrations, Queen Victoria wore the diamond necklace. The piece, created as a wedding gift by Anne Serena, the court jewellers in Madrid, consists of 30 large collet-set diamonds of remarkable quality. For her first official photos as Queen of Spain, she also wore it with the diamond fleur de lis tiara and a few other bridal presents. King Alfonso quickly adopted a tradition of purchasing a pair of diamond collets for his wife each Christmas. The original 30-stone Rivier Necklace was intended to be longer with those additional stones. As time went by, the short necklace became a large one, which Queen paired with some of her favourite jewels, namely the Aquamarine Parure, the Cartier Tiara and the Emerald Parure. Aquamarine Parure The story of this amazing royal set starts with the day when the Queen received an original dropped pearls tiara from her husband. As Queen Ina loved aquamarines and already had a grand necklace and earrings, she had reset the pearls with Brazilian aquamarines in the 1920s, which she started to wear with her Art Deco aquamarines. Since then, she had a complete set consisting of a tiara, an Art Deco sautoir with a large aquamarine pendant, a pair of earrings, a brooch set with a large faceted aquamarine and a massive briolette pendant, a bracelet and a ring. In 1935, Queen Victoria Eugénie gave her Aquamarine Parure as a wedding gift to her daughter, Infanta Beatriz, who also used the tiara simply without stones. Queen Victoria Eugénie also had a penchant for emerald jewellery, which she often wore to contrast with her elegant gowns and formal attire. Emeralds were a favourite of the Queen and she owned several pieces, including necklaces, earrings, tiara and a brooch. Yet, she came to discover the emeralds as a gift from the long treasured box. Let's unwind the story. Emerald Necklace Born Princess Victoria, Eugénie of Battenberg, she had Empress Eugénie of France as a godmother, who went into exile in England with her husband after the Franco-Prussian War. When the Empress passed away in 1920, she bequeathed a box containing a fan to her goddaughter in her will. Only some time later, Ena found nine rectangular-cut emeralds, totalling 196 carats beneath the fan after a more comprehensive examination. These emeralds are believed to be the stones that formally adorned Empress Eugénie's tiara. Ena had the emeralds put in a necklace after bringing them to Sainz, a jewellery company in Spain. In addition, Ena wore the necklace as a bandeau, adorned with extra diamond rows on either side. She had the necklace altered multiple times by Sainz and Cartier, another favoured jeweller throughout her husband's rule. She also remodelled one of her wedding gifts into the Cartier pearl tiara, ensuring the pearls could be interchanged with her emeralds. However, Ena was destined to live in exile, just like her godmother. After leaving Spain in 1931, she settled in her home country of Britain before moving to Switzerland. She sold Eugénie's emeralds at an auction in Bern 30 years later. Harry Winston bought some stones and used them to make an emerald perue for Farah Pahlavi, wife of the last shah of Iran. Eugénie's turquoise tiara was a gift from the king to go with the turquoise suite given as a wedding gift by her uncle, King Edward VII, and Queen Alexandra. Closed like a crown, the tiara features a scroll base with spherical medallions suspended from it, laurel wreaths on either side, and tiny starry accents on top. According to multiple historical reports, the queen made the tiara debut in the last months of 1906, matching it with the turquoise perue that consisted of a necklace, earrings and a brooch. Victoria kept wearing her turquoise perue a lot in the years that followed. When praising these gems that accentuated Queen Anna's renowned blue eyes, her royal fans spared no words. On some occasions, she also matched the tiara with her beloved diamond riviere necklace, which was already reaching the size of a sautoir. Sometime later, Queen Victoria Eugénie decided to refashion most of the elements of the turquoise perue. The tiara was opened so that it could be worn as a bandeau. The necklace became a long diamond chain-link sautoir with turquoise medallions. The earrings were elongated, and the brooch was totally reset. This pendant brooch doesn't seem to have any obvious ties to Empress Eugénie, in contrast to other emerald jewels in Ina's collection. Five years before Eugénie left her emeralds to Ina, in 1915, the jewel was already created. The magnificent piece is set with sugar loaf and oval-shaped cabochon emeralds, old, rose, and Calibre cut diamonds in platinum. Both elements are connected through a diamond-set bar. It is evident Queen Victoria Eugénie was wearing the jewel as a pendant on her favourite pearl necklace. In addition to her impressive collection of jewellery, Queen Victoria Eugénie was also known for her philanthropic efforts and charitable work. She used her position as Queen Consort to support various causes and organisations, and she often appeared at charity events and fundraisers, wearing her most exquisite jewellery, to draw attention to the cause. As we have reached the end of the video, we wonder if you have ever heard about Queen Ina. Which jewellery piece from our story above did you like, and why? Do you have any favourite royal queen or princess you want us to outline in a future video? Let us know in the comments below. Don't forget to subscribe, and thank you for watching.