Princess Charlotte was the only child of the Prince Regent. In November 1817, she died after giving birth to a stillborn son. The Queen would have been aware of the two kingdoms separating if Princess Charlotte had not died in childbirth. She would have succeeded her father in 1830, and the Duke of Clarence would have become the King of Hanover.
The battle of the jewels began after Victoria succeeded to the throne in 1837 and her uncle, Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, inherited the Hanoverian throne. This was due to the Salic law (males only). He was styled as King Ernst August I.
But it was not until December 1857, seven years after his death, that a British commission ruled in Hanover's favor. It was "difficult to identify" which jewels the late King and his son, King Georg V, were claiming. According to the late biographer, Cecil Woodham-Smith "certain jewels worth £50,000 in 1761, a great sum at that time, had been bought by George III to be presented to Queen Charlotte." These jewels, which included the nuptial crown, were bought "with English money," and it was ridiculous to call them the "Hanoverian Crown jewels."
It was suggested that King Georg V hoped for a financial settlement rather than the return of the jewels. This did not happen. Hannover's ambassador, Count Adolphus von Kielmansegg was tasked with the job of bringing the jewels to Hanover.
Queen Victoria, however, had the last laugh. In 1867, King Georg V of Hanover (who was Victoria's first cousin) sided with Austria in its war with Prussia. This was not a smart thing to do because Prussia was more powerful than Austria. Prussia exacted its revenge on Hanover by annexing the country. King Georg and the royal family went into exile to their home in Gmunden, Austria.
The jewels were buried for safekeeping until arrangements could be made to get them out of Hannover. At some point, the jewels were taken to Austria, and in 1870, the jewels were returned to England.
It was the former ambassador's wife, Countess Juliane (nee von Zesterfleth), who undertook the assignment to bring the jewels back to England. The jewels were sewn into her clothes, and she wore the nuptial crown under her hat. Countess Juliane, then 62 years old, left Vienna for London. This "courageous, wonderful old lady travelled all the way to Vienna with this heavy ponderous piece of jewellery on her head," to Calais, France, when she met Grand Duchess Augusta of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, who was a British and Hanoverian princess by birth, and the sister of the Duchess of Teck (Princess Marie Adelaide of Cambridge.)
In 1948, the Grand Duchess' niece, Queen Mary, read the story about the jewels being brought back to England. She wrote a note, which is in the Royal Archives: "After reading the enclosed story about the saving of the Hanoverian Crown Jewels in 1866, I remembered that my Aunt the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz had told me that when she was coming to England on a visit in 1870 when she arrived at Calais to embark in her special steamer (in those days every member of the royal family was given a special steamer for crossing the Channel), a Hanoverian lady she knew met her and asked whether the Grand Duchess would give her a passage to England because she had the Hanoverian crown jewels sewn into her dress and that the crown was inside her hat, she was to deposit them in the Bank of England in London for safekeeping. Of course, the Grand Duchess consented readily. This lady must have been the Countess Kielmansegge mentioned in the story."
Some sources state that the jewels eventually were returned to the Hanovers, but this is incorrect. The jewels, including the Nuptial crown, are kept at Windsor. Hanover has not existed as an independent kingdom since 1866. In November 1918, Kaiser Wilhelm II and the other German Sovereigns abdicated their positions and the German Republic was established.
The de jure King of Hanover, Prince Ernest August, Duke of Cumberland, was one of three British peers who were stripped of their British titles in the 1917 Titles Deprivation Act. His son, Prince Ernst August, Duke of Brunswick, was married to Kaiser Wilhelm II's only daughter, Princess Victoria Luise.
Since 1900, the bridal crown has been lent by the British sovereign to several Hanover brides. There is no evidence that Princess Frederica of Hanover, who married Baron Alfons von Pawel-Rammingen, wore the crown at her wedding in the Private Chapel at Windsor in 1880.
There are no photos of the wedding of the next Hanover bride, Princess Marie Louise, the eldest daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Cumberland. The Duchess of Cumberland was born Princess Thyra of Denmark, the younger sister of Queen Alexandra.
An extensive report of the wedding was published in the Wiener Salonblatt in July 1900. This is a rough translation of the description of what the bride wore on her head. "A wreath made from myrtles and orange blossoms was on top of her hair with a ducal crown surmounted by diamonds..."
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The next to wear the crown was Marie Louise's sister, Princess Alexandra. On both occasions, the crown was lent to the Princesses by Edward VII. He was their uncle by marriage as their mother and Queen Alexandra were sisters.
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| Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Princess Alexandra of Cumberland, June 7, 1904 |
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There are no photographs from this wedding. There are numerous sketches of the wedding and the Torch Dance.
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| This is not a wedding photo. Let's call it primitive Photoshop. |
The veil and the Brunswick tiara were added to the postcard after the wedding. This postcard was published before the marriage. In my collection are several examples of fake wedding photos with the veils added.
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| This is the real image. |
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| Princess Victoria Luise did wear a small crown on her head but I am not convinced it is the Hanover bridal crown. This is a sketch of the Fackeltanz. |
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| This sketch also shows the princess wearing a small crown on her head. |
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| Princess Friederike of Hanover married Prince Paul of Greece on January 9, 1938 |
King George VI sent the Crown to Athens for this wedding.
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| Princess Ortrud of Schleswig-Holstein married Prince Ernst August of Hanover on September 5, 1951 |
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| Princess Alexandra of Ysenburg und Büdingen married Prince Welf-Heinrich of Hanover on September 21, 1960 |
Two days before Prince Welf-Heinrich's wedding, The Times (September 20, 1960) published a three-paragraph story: The Queen Lends Diamond Crown. "A Buckingham Palace spokesman said last night that the crown is a decorative piece, not a crown of State but it is part of the Hanover jewelry.
"The crown, which is studded with diamonds, is about the size of a large apple and sits on the back of the head. It belonged to the Hanoverian monarchs and went to Hanover when Victoria came to the throne. Somehow it found its way back to England and has been in the collection at Windsor for many years."
The bridal crown was flown to Frankfurt before the wedding.
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| Prince Christian of Hanover married Mireille Dutry on November 25, 1963. This marriage was morganatic. Queen Elizabeth was not asked to lend the crown for this wedding. |
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| The marriage between Prince Andreas of Leiningen (now the Prince of Leiningen) and Princess Alexandra of Hanover on October 11, 1981 |
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| Alexandra and Andreas |
Princess Alexandra of Hanover is the most recent bride to wear the crown. At the time of the wedding, the local press reported that Queen Elizabeth II had lent the crown to Princess Alexandra. After the wedding, the crown was returned to the Queen.
The crown was not worn by Chantal Hochuli when she married Prince Ernst August of Hanover, the present head of the house in 1981 nor by her two daughters-in-law, Ekaterina Igorievna Malysheva and Alessandra de Osma, when they married Prince Ernst August and Prince Christian, respectively.
The "antient (ancient) Hanoverian jewels" consisted of Queen Caroline's "pearl earrings and drops" as well as "the stones which had adorned her stomacher." This latter piece of jewelry had been reset "in the bodice ornament" made for Queen Charlotte in 1761.
King Georg V of Hanover was also awarded Queen Charlotte's diamond bows, three-drop, and single-drop earrings, necklace pendant cross, nuptial crown, a nosegay" and the original stones from Queen Caroline's stomacher. The stones from three of Queen Adelaide's "diamond wheatear ornaments" were also sent to Hanover. Count Adolphus von Kielmansegge took back to Hanover two small pearl necklaces, as King Georg agreed Victoria could have the two large pearl necklaces.
After Prussia annexed Hanover in 1866, the kingdom ceased to exist, and the family in exile. Most of their wealth was taken by von Bismarck. It took some years to negotiate a settlement. It made more sense to bring the jewels back to England. It is wrong to call these jewels "Crown Jewels" because Hanover did not become a kingdom until 1814. Most of the jewels were used by several female members of the family, and it was Queen Charlotte who left some of her jewels to the House of Hanover. None were Crown Jewels.
Victoria's uncle, King Ernst August's claim was based on being the Male heir to the Hanover line.
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Do you know, that Viktoria- of Preußen and Ernst August von Hannover, who got married in 1913 were distantly related?
ReplyDelete6 cousins.
Greetings to Harper and Fleur.
Cu
Andrea
Yes they were related -- all the European royals were related in one degree or another.
ReplyDeleteSome of there relatives are buried in Gmunden, Austria near Schloss Cumberland
ReplyDeleteCu
Andrea
Schloss Cumberland was the family home for many years. The present head of the house still owns a home and property in Gmunden
ReplyDeleteSchloss Cumberland was the family home for many years. The present head of the house still owns a home and property in Gmunden
ReplyDelete