I've purchased the book a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. It has lovely drawings of the lesser known jewellery of Queen Marie-mostly brooches, necklaces, pendants and bracelets. There is not very much new information in the book but anyway it was enjoyable to read. There are some extracts from letters between Queen Marie and her mother where you can find out about the small gelosies between the sisters regarding some particular jewels and the very sad situation of the grandduchess after the Russian revolution.
When the Royal family had to leave Romania after 1947, a lot of smaller jewelry was left in the palaces and the authorities took hold of them. Some bracelets, pendants and a tiara can still be seen in the national museum but most of it was purchased by party members and disappeared.
It is really sad that this one time magnificent collection has dispersed and disappeared almost totally...
1
Responses « Back to index | View thread »