The scandalous princess whose tiara starred in the French State Banquet

King Charles and Queen Camilla have hosted French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, at a State Banquet at Windsor Castle and Her Majesty chose the Belgian Sapphire Tiara, a jewel that belonged to one of the most scandalous princesses of the nineteenth century. 

The tragic story of a scandalous princess

Queen Elizabeth II purchased the Belgian Sapphire Tiara from Van Cleef and Arpels in 1963, as she was looking for a tiara to wear with the King George VI Sapphire Parure. The tiara actually began life as a necklace, though. 

In 1875, Princess Louise of Belgium married Prince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, her first cousin. She received the large sapphire and diamond necklace as a wedding gift. 

Louise did not take to strict court life in Vienna, and she chafed in her marriage from the very beginning. She then began having many affairs and by the late nineteenth century, her husband had her committed to a psychiatric hospital. 

She would eventually be released from the hospital but was forced to sell many of her jewels to survive, including her sapphire and diamond and necklace. 

From scandalous to majestic

The necklace was sold to Van Cleef and Arpels in the early 1950s and when it went on sale in 1963, the Queen spotted its potential as a tiara and had it mounted on frame. 

This is not Queen Camilla’s first outing with the Belgian Sapphire Tiara; she wore it in 2022 for the South African State Banquet at Buckingham Palace. 

All the details of the French State Visit are on Royal Central.