Queen Elena of Romania / Helen of Greece-Romania, Part 2

[KarlandZita]

On this portrait which dates 1923 or 1924, Helen still concerns the long hair with a small bun behind the nape of the neck. She has not given up her girl's hair yet and does not yet dare to carry the very short hair. I wonder when exactly she decided to sacrifice her long hair to carry the short fashionable hair of the roaring twenties.

[Eric_Lowe]

I would think the 30's. By the time the cousins (the Andrew & Nicholas girls) got married, they all had short hair.

[KarlandZita]

Queen Marie of Romania was not one of the first Queens of Europe to wear short hair in the early 20 ?

[Eric_Lowe]

Yes I think so, although I don't think Queen Mary had long hair too...

[KarlandZita]

Crown Princess Helen by Julietta, 1922 :

[Eric_Lowe]

She looked good with that tiara.

[KarlandZita]

Was it the only Tiara which had Helen for the Court Portraits and others official ceremonies ? Wore she, occasionally, the jewels of her mother-in-law Queen Marie ?

[Eric_Lowe]

I don't think so. Queen Marie left more jewels to her daughters Ileana & Elisabetta. She was miffed that while she gave Helen a nice tiara (bought from Ducky) after her wedding, while Queen Sophie failed to give her own daughter Elisabetta one. Helen also sometimes wore her mother 's big diamond tiara for photos.

[KarlandZita]

Thank You, Eric. Maybe as well as Marie of Rumania did not appreciate enough her daughter-in-law to lend her her jewels. I read somewhere that queen Marie hated Helen and made her responsible for the failure of her marriage with Carol.

[Eric_Lowe]

I don't think Missy hated Helen, but yes she did blame her for giving up on the relationship too quickly. Only later when Carol was cruel to them both that Missy understood her error and reconciled with Helen.

[ashdean]

I don't think so. Queen Marie left more jewels to her daughters Ileana & Elisabetta. She was miffed that while she gave Helen a nice tiara (bought from Ducky) after her wedding, while Queen Sophie failed to give her own daughter Elisabetta one. Helen also sometimes wore her mother 's big diamond tiara for photos.

Helen and her sister Irene were able to wear there mothers big tiara (although Irene had inherited another of Queen Sophies big diamond tiaras)because their brother Paul who inherited it was not married till 1937.Irene did inherit from Marie the long diamond sautoir with the 438 carat sapphire that had originally been bought from Cartier.Helen wore it in 1947 in London at the Royal wedding and the chain was worn the following year by her daughter in law on her wedding day though by then the sapphire had been sold.In the mid 1980s the Cartier historian and chairman of Christies Europe Hans Nadelhoffer dining with the King Michael and Queen Anne in Switzerland was shown a trinket in the Queens jewel case and saw at the bottom in pieces the chain!

[Eric_Lowe]

Only one question. Irene (I think you mean Princess Irene of Greece & sister of Helen) was not related to Queen Marie of Romania, why would she left such a jewel to her daughter-in-law's sister ? I think it was sold later and Queen Frederike of Greece bought it and wore the big saphhire inpublic a few times. I think it was she who left it her daughter Princess Irene of Greece (sister of Queen Sophia of Spain & Ex-King Constantine II of Greece).

[ashdean]

Only one question. Irene (I think you mean Princess Irene of Greece & sister of Helen) was not related to Queen Marie of Romania, why would she left such a jewel to her daughter-in-law's sister ? I think it was sold later and Queen Frederike of Greece bought it and wore the big saphhire inpublic a few times. I think it was she who left it her daughter Princess Irene of Greece (sister of Queen Sophia of Spain & Ex-King Constantine II of Greece).

Marie  left the sapphire & saoutoir to Helen and Helen passed it on to her daughter in law.
Queen Frederika did not buy the sapphire it was given to her by a greek shipping tycoon after the Romanian royals sold it...
And it was Fredrika herself who sold it during her exile.

[Eric_Lowe]

Thanks for clearing it up. It seems that Queen Frederica did not leave much jewels to her daughter Irene.

[ashdean]

Thanks for clearing it up. It seems that Queen Frederica did not leave much jewels to her daughter Irene.

Frederica had some gems to leave her daughter (or had already passed on)...a diamond circle tiara (which had belonged to Queen Sophie) a diamond and pearl tiara necklace (later sold and then sold again in Italy a few years ago) and a strand of enormous pearls ..sure too there was more smaller items...and then of course there is the mystery of the big diamond tiara from Queen Sophie she so often wore....