Jewels of the Houses of Hesse (by Rhine and Kassel)

[Romanov]

Does anyone have any pics of there jewels? I guess some that originally belonged to Victoria Melita and alixs' mother Alice?

[jfkhaos]

Elisa, is it possible for you to post the photograph of Princess Alice that you mentioned?

[grandduchessella]

She's wearing the Orders of Victoria and Albert (I think the one on th left with a profile of QV) and the Crown of India

[Jim1026]

I may be wrong but weren't some of the Hessen jewels
destroyed in the 1937 plane crash?

[Sergei]

I saw a documentary on the History Channel about G.I looting during WW2 which mentioned what they called the Hesse Crown Jewels. Apparently the jewellery had been buried in a castle which had been occupied by American forces at the end of the war. When one of the Hesse family members came to retrieve the jewellery(for a family wedding)  it was missing. On investigation it was recovered and there was a court martial back in the US. The news reel footage screened in the documentary showed one of the Hesse Princesses looking over the displayed jewellery during the trial. What struck me was how similar in appearance and movement she was to Queen Elizabeth, the present Queen.

[Sergei]

From a google search. I just typed in "Hesse crown jewels war"
The best known case of looting by American personnel was the theft of the Hesse Crown Jewels. The primary instigator of the theft was Captain Kathleen Nash. Nash, Major David Watson and Colonel Jack Durant, Nash’s lover, found a fresh patch of concrete in the cellar as they were exploring the castle. They chipped through the concrete and found zinc lined boxes full of jewels. The trio removed the jewels from the tiaras, bracelets, etc and sold them in Switzerland. In late 1945, the trio returned to the United States. In addition to the jewels and gold, the trio had looted silverware, books, and hundreds of other items. In January 1946, the jewels were reported missing by a member of the Hesse family. The Army’s Criminal Intelligence Division determined the extent of the theft and soon arrested the trio. Durant married Nash so she would not be allowed to testify against him. Watson was sentenced to three years in prison but was released after four months. His family owned a large West Coast grocery store chain that apparently had connections to people in power. Durant was sentenced to fifteen years and released after six years. Nash however, was described as a difficult prisoner and served her entire sentence of five years. About one half of the jewels had been mailed to Nash’s sister.

[Jim1026]

Wasn't that to do with the jewels of the Hesse Kassel
family not the Hesse Darmstadt family

[HerrKaiser]

Such stories of massive looting in Germany following the Allied takeover are quite common and widespread. I have no exact percent of personal property and state property that was stolen once surrender was made, but it is amazingly high. Friends of mine who lived in Breslau were stripped of everything from wedding rings to Meissen collections to Christmas ornaments to expensive jewelry and on and on. The royals at least had a "celebrity" to make a public claim of loss and attempt to retrieve their property, but the average people lost it all.
Did the Hessen jewels ever get returned completely? Or are they still trying to find them?
My my, the jewel thief Nash was also a difficult prisoner? How a few diamonds will create a real ogre!  

[Martyn]

The jewels in question were  those that had belonged to Empress Friedrich and which had been left to her daughter Mossy, were they not?  They were from her personal collection and were not 'crown jewels'.
The Hesse Darmstadt jewels are altogether different.  David Duff on page 88 of his book 'Hessian Tapestry' includes a list of jewellery that Pcss Alice received at her marriage.  This includes the wonderful diamond tiara from her mother Q.Victoria, not to mention a sapphire and diamond parure from Bertie and a curious gold bracelet from the Duke of Coburg with a painting of his own eye upon it, supposedly to remind Alice that 'the eye of Coburg was ever upon her'!
It would appear that Alice was not short of jewellery and this does not take into account pieces that she may have had the use of when she became Grand Duchess.  On page 126 David Duff aslo has this to say.
'It was a sad Christmas (1866) for Darmstadt.  There were few gifts to be bought in the shops and little money for festivities.  There were still many wounded in the hospitals and the Princess took her daughter, Victoria, round the wards to amuse tham.  She thought of "Vicky the victorious" in Berlin; of Helena in the peace of Frogmore, secure with her dowry and the income that came to her husband from the Queen.  She thought of herself as the Princess "with the second-best pearls", although the famous Hessian jewels graced her neck.'
Anybody know what these might have been?

[grandduchessella]

The Tiara:
Alice and Louis


Alice


I think this was ID'd as Ella but notice not only the same tiara but I think the same necklace and earrings. It looks very like the above photo:


Victoria Melita when Grand Duchess of Hesse:






Eleanor, Grand Duchess of Hesse

[dp5486]

I know this is a little of topic but was that portrait of Princess Alice by von Angeli the portrait that hung in Alexandra's Mauve Room? On the Alexander Palace site, it mentions that she had a portrait of her mother by von Angeli and another copy belonged to Queen Victoria. Also, on the site it only shows the Van Sant portrait of Princess Alice in the Mauve Room not the di Angeli one.

Thanks!

[lancashireladandre]

The jewels in question were  those that had belonged to Empress Friedrich and which had been left to her daughter Mossy, were they not?  They were from her personal collection and were not 'crown jewels'.
The Hesse Darmstadt jewels are altogether different.  David Duff on page 88 of his book 'Hessian Tapestry' includes a list of jewellery that Pcss Alice received at her marriage.  This includes the wonderful diamond tiara from her mother Q.Victoria, not to mention a sapphire and diamond parure from Bertie and a curious gold bracelet from the Duke of Coburg with a painting of his own eye upon it, supposedly to remind Alice that 'the eye of Coburg was ever upon her'!
It would appear that Alice was not short of jewellery and this does not take into account pieces that she may have had the use of when she became Grand Duchess.  On page 126 David Duff aslo has this to say.
'It was a sad Christmas (1866) for Darmstadt.  There were few gifts to be bought in the shops and little money for festivities.  There were still many wounded in the hospitals and the Princess took her daughter, Victoria, round the wards to amuse tham.  She thought of "Vicky the victorious" in Berlin; of Helena in the peace of Frogmore, secure with her dowry and the income that came to her husband from the Queen.  She thought of herself as the Princess "with the second-best pearls", although the famous Hessian jewels graced her neck.'
Anybody know what these might have been?

The sapphire parure (necklace with pendant,brooch,bracelet)from Bertie passed to Alice's eldest daughter Victoria who wore them with a matching tiara on her wedding day.In 1914 Victoria & her second daughter Louise went to russia to visit her sisters.As they were to attend various state functions she took all her gems.The outbreak of WW1 and the gruelling journey back to the UK via the Scandanavian countries meant she was advised to leave them in Russia.The revolution meant they were never able to recovered.Count Benkendorff mentions them in his memoirs etc.Among the gems was Queen Victoria's wedding present to her grandaughter a set of diamond stars and a diamond locket ( a christening present from Queen Marie Amelie of the French).

[dp5486]

The aforementioned case of Victoria of Battenberg sounds like what happened to Queen Marie of Roumania.Did this happen to any other royals (non-Russian royals who left jewelry in Russia).

Where exactly did they leave these jewels? In bank vaults?

Thanks!

[Eric_Lowe]

Either in bank vaults or with their relatives.  

[Eddie_uk]

Yes, how did Queen Marie come to lose her jewels? Such a shame!