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Duke of Montrose Brooch Posted by The Royal Watcher on November 21, 2019, 12:35 pm Loving all of your posts Beth! Sotheby's is auctioning a natural pearl and diamond pendant/brooch from the late 19th century, 'PROPERTY OF THE DUKE OF MONTROSE'! I wonder if there is any photographic evidence of this piece, or if it was ever mentioned in media reports!

Re: Duke of Montrose Brooch Posted by Beth on November 23, 2019, 7:18 am, in reply to "Duke of Montrose Brooch" What an interesting brooch/pendant! Thanks for drawing our attention to it The Royal Watcher. I had only a couple of items about the Montrose jewels. In the short time I had available yesterday, I found a few more. But what I have so far is very limited. Unfortunately, I have a very busy weekend, and will not be able to do more searching until mid-week. So far nothing I have seen, either in photos or descriptions, resembles the brooch being auctioned. I have looked only at 3 Duchesses who might have owned the brooch -- but there are more. And I hasten to add, my research on the 3 Duchesses is by no means complete. Photos of any of the Duchesses wearing grand jewels seem to be scarce!! The 3 Duchesses I looked at are in chronological order Violet, Mary and Isabel. I will post what I have in 3 separate posts with appropriate headings.

Violet, Duchess of Montrose Posted by Beth on November 23, 2019, 7:32 am, in reply to "Re: Duke of Montrose Brooch" When Lady Violet Graham married the Duke of Montrose on 24 July 1876 the press had very little information about the gifts she received. At the time the press did not routinely provide detailed lists of bridal gifts. Alas! Wedding gifts to Violet, as published. Photos of Violet At the 1911 Coronation. Detail from 1911 Coronation photo I believe that Violet was a canopy bearer for Queen Alexandra, but the details of the jewels of the four Duchesses are very indistinct in the painting which shows them.

Mary, Duchess of Montrose Posted by Beth on November 23, 2019, 8:01 am, in reply to "Violet, Duchess of Montrose" Lady Mary Hamilton was a great heiress, at one stage billed by the press as being the wealthiest heiress in the UK. The only child of the 12th Duke of Hamilton, she inherited a considerable fortune (apart from lands etc entailed with the title) When she married the then Marquis of Graham (later 6th Duke of Montrose) on 14 June 1906 the press carried extensive lists of some of her wedding gifts. For example Daily Telegraph 5 June 1906 Jewels worn by bride Unfortunately, there seem to be very few photos of Mary, Duchess of Montrose wearing grand jewels, and I formed the impression that she was unlikely to have done so unless necessary, as her passions in life seem to have been breeding dogs and engaging in outdoor sports. A formal portrait. Mary, Duchess of Montrose is likely to have inherited jewels from her mother the Duchess of Hamilton when the latter died, despite the fact that she had remarried after the death of her first husband. Mary may also have been given gifts, not reported in the press, by her numerous relatives as well as her husband.

Isobel, Marchioness of Graham. A major edit Posted by Beth on November 23, 2019, 8:24 am, in reply to "Mary, Duchess of Montrose" Edit: I realised that I was very much mistaken to have described this lady as Duchess of Montrose,and have edited the subject heading and first line of the original post to reflect that. The Marquis and Marchioness of Graham divorced in 1950 before he became Duke. 2nd edit: I had identified the ladies incorrectly!! See Mauriz's post at https://mb.boardhost.com/historyroyaljewels/msg/1574845752.html. In the first photo I posted, the Marchioness of Graham is the smaller lady seen on the right of the photo as we look at it. Original Post. So far I have only a few photos of Isobel Sellar, Marchioness of Graham. The photos below are of her as Marchioness of Graham. At the State Opening of Parliament in November 1937 Edit: The lady whose tiara I have featured below was Lady Mary Boscawen. At a Coronation ball 1937

Mary, Duchess of Montrose. Wedding gift from Edward VII and Queen Alexandra Posted by Beth on November 23, 2019, 8:43 am, in reply to "Isobel, Duchess of Montrose" Lady Mary Hamilton received a lavish wedding gift from Edward VII and Queen Alexandra; a much more expensive and impressive gift than was given to many aristocratic brides. According to numerous press reports, the jewel was designed by Queen Alexandra. Below is a sketch of the necklace (collar) published in the Queen magazine. The above is the only sketch I have found of the gifts received by Lady Mary. In the list of wedding gifts I posted above, one gift, a large ruby and diamond pendant was from the Count and Countess Festetics. The Countess was born Lady Mary Hamilton and was the sister of Mary, Duchess of Montrose's father. Countess Festetics' first marriage was to the Hereditary Prince of Monaco. Subsequently, that marriage was dissolved and she married a Hungarian magnate, Count Festetics. The Duchess of Devonshire who is mentioned in the lists of gifts was the so called "Double Duchess". She was the bride's grandmother. (I think).

Re: Mary, Duchess of Montrose. Wedding gift from Edward VII and Queen Alexandra Posted by Dave on November 23, 2019, 11:41 am, in reply to "Mary, Duchess of Montrose. Wedding gift from Edward VII and Queen Alexandra" What a beautiful backwater story Beth, you have once again given this kind of period drama a good run. I cant stop saying but I am sure someone is going to pen a book or a thesis on this kind of material in time to come and at very easy access, for you have the quality of clear and concise explanation of the jewels and families thereof. Keep up and on. Regards, Dave. Previous Message Lady Mary Hamilton received a lavish wedding gift from Edward VII and Queen Alexandra; a much more expensive and impressive gift than was given to many aristocratic brides. According to numerous press reports, the jewel was designed by Queen Alexandra. Below is a sketch of the necklace (collar) published in the Queen magazine. The above is the only sketch I have found of the gifts received by Lady Mary. In the list of wedding gifts I posted above, one gift, a large ruby and diamond pendant was from the Count and Countess Festetics. The Countess was born Lady Mary Hamilton and was the sister of Mary, Duchess of Montrose's father. Countess Festetics' first marriage was to the Hereditary Prince of Monaco. Subsequently, that marriage was dissolved and she married a Hungarian magnate, Count Festetics. The Duchess of Devonshire who is mentioned in the lists of gifts was the so called "Double Duchess". She was the bride's grandmother. (I think).

Re: Mary, Duchess of Montrose. Lady Jean Fforde Tiara Posted by The Royal Watcher on November 24, 2019, 10:24 am, in reply to "Mary, Duchess of Montrose. Wedding gift from Edward VII and Queen Alexandra" You've done a wonderful job Beth, I've learned so much from your research! Thank you so much! I've found a picture of Lady Jean Fforde, daughter of the 6th Duke and Duchess, who inherited the Hamilton Estate from her mother, wearing a Tiara at her wedding in 1947!

Re: Mary, Duchess of Montrose. Lady Jean Fforde Tiara Posted by Beth on November 24, 2019, 10:37 am, in reply to "Re: Mary, Duchess of Montrose. Lady Jean Fforde Tiara" Thanks The Royal Watcher! Topfoto has a photo with better definition, showing the details of the tiara. The wedding was, according to Topfoto on 9 October 1947.

Re: Mary, Duchess of Montrose. Lady Jean Fforde Tiara Posted by Beth on November 25, 2019, 8:00 am, in reply to "Re: Mary, Duchess of Montrose. Lady Jean Fforde Tiara" The Topfoto website stated that Lady Jean wore a diamond and pearl tiara. This was also stated by the Scotsman in its coverage of the wedding. Another photo of the bride with her husband and her parents.

Sale of Jewels. Caroline, Duchess of Montrose, 1895 Posted by Beth on November 25, 2019, 8:08 am, in reply to "Re: Mary, Duchess of Montrose. Lady Jean Fforde Tiara" In her will Caroline, Duchess of Montrose directed that certain of her personally owned jewels were to be sold. Will of Caroline, Duchess of Montrose. Accordingly a sale was held through Christie's. Another report.

Re: Sale of Jewels. Mary, Duchess of Montrose. Tiara sold in 1947 Posted by Beth on November 25, 2019, 8:18 am, in reply to "Sale of Jewels. Caroline, Duchess of Montrose, 1895" In May 1947 Mary, Duchess of Montrose sold one of her tiaras. There are so few images of her with tiaras that I am not sure what this one looked like. The tiara sold for 1,700 pounds.

Edited post above on Isobel Posted by Beth on November 27, 2019, 9:00 am, in reply to "Re: Sale of Jewels. Mary, Duchess of Montrose. Tiara sold in 1947" I realised that I had made a major mistake regarding Isobel Sellar whom I had described as Isoble Duchess of Montrose. I have edited the post above to rectify my boo-boo.

Re: Thank You Beth Posted by The Royal Watcher on November 27, 2019, 2:58 pm, in reply to "Re: Sale of Jewels. Mary, Duchess of Montrose. Tiara sold in 1947" Thanks for all your research Beth! It's fascinating! I just wish we had more images of all of these magnificent jewels!

Re: Isobel, Marchioness of Graham vs Lady Mary Boscawen Posted by mauriz on November 27, 2019, 7:09 pm, in reply to "Isobel, Marchioness of Graham. A major edit" I think there's another mistake, probably on the newspaper's part: The last photo in your post, taken at a coronation ball in 1937, shows that Isobel Sellar was a dark-haired lady with a rather petite frame, as does the short video of her wedding to the Marquess of Graham in 1930. In the photo of the State Opening of Parliament in November 1937 the taller lady on the left with the diamond bandeau must be Lady Boscawen, while the Marchioness of Graham is standing on the right wearing a delicate tiara with diamond arches and spikes.

Lady Mary Boscawen Posted by mauriz on November 27, 2019, 7:26 pm, in reply to "Re: Isobel, Marchioness of Graham vs Lady Mary Boscawen" Lady Mary Boscawen was born Lady Mary Helen Alma Graham, the elder daughter of James Graham, 6th Duke of Montrose. She was the Marchioness of Graham's sister-in-law. She married Major John Perceval Townshend Boscawen, a descendant of the 3rd Viscount Falmouth, in 1931.

Re: Isobel, Marchioness of Graham vs Lady Mary Boscawen Posted by Beth on November 28, 2019, 5:45 am, in reply to "Re: Isobel, Marchioness of Graham vs Lady Mary Boscawen" Thank heavens that you spotted this Mauriz! With hindsight, it seems glaringly obvious! All the siblings in that generation of the Graham family were tall and all have similar facial features, so I should have spotted the inconsistency, but!! I wish we could see some details of the tiara worn by Isobel Sellar for her wedding day.

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