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Queen Mary. WWII & jewels
Posted by Beth on September 10, 2020, 8:08 am
I found the quote below in a review of Osbert Sitwell's book, Queen Mary and others.
The quote refers to the time Queen Mary spent at Badminton during WWII.
Unfortunately, I haven't read Sitwell's book. If anyone has, I would love to hear if he gave other snippets about Queen Mary's jewels.
But back to the issue of tiaras. (I think this is a shorthand reference used by Sitwell about her jewels in general).
What tiaras might Queen Mary have taken with her to Badminton?
I think that prior to going to Badminton HM was either at Balmoral or Snadringham, so she would have had tiaras, elaborate necklaces, bracelets etc as well as innumerable brooches and ropes of pearls as, during that era, the royal ladies dressed formally with tiaras for most dinners.
Firstly I think you need to look at the fact that Queen Mary would have been very aware of the cost of losing a war or the social disruption it could cause for those on the throne. With her purchases of jewels in the 1920's she would also have known of the importance of jewellery "in keeping you afloat" in exile (permanent or otherwise) and also of the fate of Queen Marie of Romania's jewels or as I believe Empress Zita's who I believe went into exile with virtually nothing. The number of Romanov's who didn't keep their jewels close in the revolution and lost them would also have been very front and centre. I would suspect she knew of Goebbels sticky fingers as well.
There is also though the interesting question in the accuracy of a suitcase full of tiara's. With the amount of tiara's Queen Mary had, which would require a trunk to travel with, combined with the ease of flight it would have been impractical, and would not of have gone with something custom made for a WWII get away she probably she would have used an existing travelling jewellery suitcase. This would probably have had various compartments for either the existing boxes or for tiara's, necklaces etc to have been put into to avoid them damaging each other in transit. I doubt this would, as mentioned, have housed the entire collection without being too big for swift and convenient movement.
So I would suspect that jewellery would also have been split into the other suitcases and items like the Cullinan brooch good to go into a pocket. A tiara whist on top of the head isn't necessarily top of the value for jewellery items.
I think other aspects to consider are what would have been the getaway route? The RF would mostly likely have headed north (assuming invasion was from the south, east or both) and I doubt QM would have willingly agreed to leave the UK on immediate invasion unless tasked to do so with the instruction to accompany the princesses, so I suspect a fall back prior to any evacuation would be Balmoral. In fact during the cold war it was from Balmoral aboard the Britannia that the RF would leave the UK in result of a nuclear war. So there may have been a jewellery repository in Balmoral in case jewellery was lost or had to be sacrificed due to the many circumstances that could arise from a wartime evacuation.
I've also always thought that the RF may have sent jewellery away to perhaps Australia, NZ (again always the fall back country due to it's remoteness) when the likely hood of war was building up or even the USA in order to cover for any financial contingencies in result of exile.
When it came to clothes QM could have sold a medium size brooch and not had to think about her wardrobe for a few years so I'd imagine jewels trumped even the wardrobe dignity.
So to conclude I think QM had jewellery that was good to go and there's an overall very believable factuality and accuracy to the article. So in answer I'd say she probably had very nearly the majority of her jewellery on her.
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I found the quote below in a review of Osbert Sitwell's book, Queen Mary and others .
The quote refers to the time Queen Mary spent at Badminton during WWII.
Unfortunately, I haven't read Sitwell's book. If anyone has, I would love to hear if he gave other snippets about Queen Mary's jewels.
But back to the issue of tiaras. (I think this is a shorthand reference used by Sitwell about her jewels in general).
What tiaras might Queen Mary have taken with her to Badminton?
I think that prior to going to Badminton HM was either at Balmoral or Snadringham, so she would have had tiaras, elaborate necklaces, bracelets etc as well as innumerable brooches and ropes of pearls as, during that era, the royal ladies dressed formally with tiaras for most dinners.
I agree with most of what you say MarcA. Apart from the need to "keep up appearances" and what Queen Mary considered normal, the concept of having jewels as insurance was probably a factor.
I don't think that many in the royal family would have considered locking away all their jewels for the duration of the war. For Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother to be seen without their usual day time jewels might have given rise to the suspicion that advisers to the royal family thought the country would be invaded, and affected morale.
I suspect that sending jewels to Australia or New Zealand night have been seen as too high a risk because of the distance. But, who knows?
I agree with Marc about a trunk versus a suitcase. I had a laugh when I read the reference to suitcases in the review. I have no doubt that what belonged to Queen Mary were what we would call trunks. And large ones at that!
The mystery of which tiaras Queen Mary had at Badminton!
Apart from the Delhi Durbar tiara, I think the most likely contenders may have been --
1.The Girls of Great Britain tiara in the lower version, plus the base to the tiara which Queen Mary had begun to wear separately.
2. The Kent bandeau either with or without the upright emeralds.
3. The wing tiara with the large sapphire in the front.
4. The diamond bandeau with the County of Lincolnshire brooch in the centre.
5. The bandeau with the upright pearls. Princess Margaret later wore this tiara without the pearl surmounts.
6. Possibly another narrow bandeau. I don't think we have ever decided if this is the base to the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara or another base/bandeau.
Do we know of any other tiaras Queen Mary had in her possession during the war years?
I don’t have the book available, but if I recall correctly there is a reference to queen Mary’s jewels and the storage during WW2 in Pope-Hennessy. They had been stored at Windsor during the war, and she noted it was “interesting” so see them after the war. So she probably didn’t bring the bulk of her collection with her to Badminton if this is correct.
But it is very likely that she also brought with her some of her collection to Badminton. But wouldn’t Windsor probably be deemed a safer place for storage? Wasn’t the crowd jewels also hidden at Windsor?
Windsor is not only very close to London and in the south where an invasion was most likely to have come from but whilst not the actual castle was bombed during WWII.
I am also pretty sure that the Crown Jewels were stored in another country house (and not a royal residence).
Again I would very strongly suspect the majority of her jewels were with QM but there would have been cache's for insurance purposes scattered around designated safe houses for use as the royal family retreated north.
One of answers to the question of which tiara's QM may have had with her would depend on what she left as her personal property compared to what she had handed over to QE as queen regnant.
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Great discussion😊
I don’t have the book available, but if I recall correctly there is a reference to queen Mary’s jewels and the storage during WW2 in Pope-Hennessy. They had been stored at Windsor during the war, and she noted it was “interesting” so see them after the war. So she probably didn’t bring the bulk of her collection with her to Badminton if this is correct.
But it is very likely that she also brought with her some of her collection to Badminton. But wouldn’t Windsor probably be deemed a safer place for storage? Wasn’t the crowd jewels also hidden at Windsor?
What an interesting direction this discussion is taking.
The Royal Watcher, why don't you open a separate thread about the Dutch and Luxembourg situation?
Re the British crown jewels during WWII. I think that it was in the 2018 TV program about the Coronation ( where QEII wearing the Cullinan brooch discussed the crown) where the information was given that the crown jewels had been hidden at Windsor during the war. I recollect HM indicating she thought it was not wise that only her father and one other knew where they were hidden.
Eiriksn is correct -- Pope Hennessy (page 611) quoted Queen Mary (from a diary entry dated 20 June 1945) saying it was "interesting" to see her jewels again. Pope Hennessy stated that they had been taken to the Sally Port at Windsor in 1940.
One of the items which Queen Mary probably didn't have with her at Badminton was her crown, which was her personal property. I suspect that some other, grand items --such as the Delhi Durbar jewels, may also have been stored at Windsor or elsewhere.
Marc, I think that the jewels Queen Mary was seen wearing after 1936 were all her own property, the heirloom jewels belonging to the crown having been handed to QEQM. We should do a separate thread on those to try to work it all out. Some of them (the jewels Queen Victoria left to the crown) were never worn by Queen Mary -- as far as I know.
Marc, I think that the jewels Queen Mary was seen wearing after 1936 were all her own property, the heirloom jewels belonging to the crown having been handed to QEQM. We should do a separate thread on those to try to work it all out. Some of them (the jewels Queen Victoria left to the crown) were never worn by Queen Mary -- as far as I know.
Think she has never worn or at last be photogfraphed wearing the oriental Circlet, the crown ruby necklace and queen Victoria's golden jubliee necklace but that was also the case for Queen Alexandra.
This might sound really stupid but I always thought that Sally Port was some area around Windsor. However it turns out its some underground ancient utility space under Windsor Castle and it was where the Crown Jewels were kept inside a biscuit tin.
Those who havent seen the documentary might find this article interesting.
Fascinating discussion! I also think that Queen Mary would have had most of her jewels with her, not just for insurance, but also for safety (from the bombs in London) and for daily use (there are a few stories of her sitting in the air raid shelter at Badminton with a tiara on)!
This also brings me back to the jewels of other Royal Families that were actually exiled during the War. The Balkan Royals (Albanian and Yugoslavian before/during and the Romanians and Bulgarians after the War) managed to take most of their jewels with them.
Some of the Norwegian royal jewels were at Windsor and CP Martha was given the Emerald Parure to sell (I wonder if she had her personal jewels, the Vasa Tiara, Diamond Bandeau and Turquoise Necklace etc.., with her or if they were buried with other treasures by a court official).
What really intrigues me is what happened to the massive collections of the Luxembourg and Dutch Royals during the war? Were they hidden or were they smuggled out into exile?
Also, I'd like to know about the fate of the Greek Royal Jewels during the war, as I have a feeling that some jewels were sold to make ends meet (Queen Frederica was not pictured wearing her diamond wedding necklace and a grand ruby necklace after the war).
The war was certainly a tough time for royals, especially as they knew their jewels were really their only security for a life in exile, but they also had to keep some heirlooms intact for an eventual return. Also, while probably most royal families probably did not dine in White Tie and Tiaras every night (like Queen Mary), I wonder how any still tried to maintain standards and still wore their jewels for some occasions (I'm sure there must have been a few) during the war.
Hello. I remember this reading this article about the evacuation of Queen Wilhelmina during the war. It mentions of diamonds also being loaded to the ship that carried the Queen - perhaps the Dutch Royal Jewels were also included in those?
Thanks Al13, I enjoyed this history lesson very much.
Regards,
Dave.
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Hello. I remember this reading this article about the evacuation of Queen Wilhelmina during the war. It mentions of diamonds also being loaded to the ship that carried the Queen - perhaps the Dutch Royal Jewels were also included in those?
It seem to remember reading that Juliana arrived in UK with her 2 tiny daughters and little more than the clothes she stood up in but 2 large cardboard boxes of gems...her mother arrived the following day with nothing but her tin hat!
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Hello. I remember this reading this article about the evacuation of Queen Wilhelmina during the war. It mentions of diamonds also being loaded to the ship that carried the Queen - perhaps the Dutch Royal Jewels were also included in those?
I have a vague memory of reading somewhere that they were stored in a cellar/bomb shelter in battered old suitcases. But could not find any evidence or links to back this up.
Mike
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I found the quote below in a review of Osbert Sitwell's book, Queen Mary and others .
The quote refers to the time Queen Mary spent at Badminton during WWII.
Unfortunately, I haven't read Sitwell's book. If anyone has, I would love to hear if he gave other snippets about Queen Mary's jewels.
But back to the issue of tiaras. (I think this is a shorthand reference used by Sitwell about her jewels in general).
What tiaras might Queen Mary have taken with her to Badminton?
I think that prior to going to Badminton HM was either at Balmoral or Snadringham, so she would have had tiaras, elaborate necklaces, bracelets etc as well as innumerable brooches and ropes of pearls as, during that era, the royal ladies dressed formally with tiaras for most dinners.
I have a vague memory of reading somewhere that they were stored in a cellar/bomb shelter in battered old suitcases. But could not find any evidence or links to back this up.
Mike
Previous Message
I found the quote below in a review of Osbert Sitwell's book, Queen Mary and others .
The quote refers to the time Queen Mary spent at Badminton during WWII.
Unfortunately, I haven't read Sitwell's book. If anyone has, I would love to hear if he gave other snippets about Queen Mary's jewels.
But back to the issue of tiaras. (I think this is a shorthand reference used by Sitwell about her jewels in general).
What tiaras might Queen Mary have taken with her to Badminton?
I think that prior to going to Badminton HM was either at Balmoral or Snadringham, so she would have had tiaras, elaborate necklaces, bracelets etc as well as innumerable brooches and ropes of pearls as, during that era, the royal ladies dressed formally with tiaras for most dinners.
I remember reading a book by one of the Sitwells who spent at least a Christmas at Badminton during the war and spoke of Queen resplendent in pearls and sapphires
on September 10, 2020, 8:08 am
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