Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1901-03-21
THE LATE QUEENS JEWELS
A Magnificent Collection of
Beautiful Gems.
THE CROWN WAS MADE IN 1888
Ring Given Her When a Girl by
Prince Albert.

Prince Albert.
AT Her First Drawingroom the Queen Ap
peared in a Perfect Blaze of Diamonds
Two Higliiy-prixed Rings-Pricelcss Col
lection of Canoes.
Few sovereigns, says the Lordon
Gentlewonan, have ever possessed such
"shining store'' Of gems as Queen
Victoria, for though the crown Jewels
have been shorn of their splendor by
the quantity ceded to Hanover, and
now In the possession of the Duke of
Cumberland, o vast number of precious
stones remain, and have been added to
at different periods Of her Majesty't
long reign, by magnificent presents,
| which may rather be called tribute,
from the East. and by such quantitieL
Of personal souvenirs that probabl.
even their royal owner had lost count
of them. A great many have beer
| transferred by the Queen 10 her OWE
children and grandchildren, but Hupf
| gifts are entirely private, and the world
seldom hears anything about them.
| There is, 1T is said, among the
private apartments at Windsor a STRONG
ROOM, or rather department. called
"she wardrobe in which quantities
| of keepsakes and souvenirs are stored,
but though cstalogued and duly dock
| eted only those who are In charge
really know anything about them. Tue
accumulations Of over so years must be
stupendous
| Queen Charlotte. the oonsort o
George III, Queen Victoria's grand
mother, had magnificent jewels, many
of which remain in the royal family OF
have reverted to 1t, though Others arr
scattered. She, poor lady, did not ger
a great deal Of Satisfaction out OF
them, though they were, SO to speak,
dangled before her when she wa
chosen TO be the bride of the young
king Of England, to whom she proved
such faithful wife. She herself said
they were the pleasure Of week,
fortnight at most, and to return NO
moro. y Queen Charlotte's pearls
alone, we're valued at e150, 600, and
part of them went to Hanover, left to
her son. the Duke of Cumberland, in
her will The king spent $50, 600 on
Jewels for her. and she bequeatheu
them back to him, or, failing him, as
heirlooms to the House OF Hanover.
Then in 1863 the Nabob of Aroot sent
4 over box or .'bulse'' of diamonds of
fabulous value to King George, aud he
handed most Of them to his queen,
who at her death left them to her four
daug ters. making the Queen Dowager
of Wurtemhere an exception, though
she direotsd that a very fine set OF
garnets and diamonds should be sent
to her. The splendor of Queen Char
lotte's diamonds on state occasions was
almost barbaric, and it is on record
| hat In addition In fhnaa 6ionnaad
about her small person she sometimes
carried q nosegay OF jewels with one
hugo diamond Respondent on the top.
The crown OF England, specially
made for her Majesty in 1888 by
Messrs. Rundell & Bridge, the then
famous court jewellers, has large sap
phire in the center, originally bought
! for the crown OF George Nv. In the
front, set in the center OF diamond
Maltuse cross, is the finest ruby know n.
1t is believed to have belonged to d
potentate of Central Asia centuries age
, in the dim past, and somehow 1t gol
into the hands of an Abyssinian
prince. 1t was next heard Of as worn
by Moorish monarch at Granada,
where 1t excited the envy Of Pedro the
; Cruel OF CASTLE, who asked the great
Moor to visit him, visit from which
4. 4 ne 1bNbT TNluE16u ~ bu6 nhli6 VI
Granada, for Pedro seized him an6
compassed his murder. tearing tn,
= great ruby from his turban. Tradition
! asserts that Pedro gave il to the Blsei
| Prince, who was in Spain good deal
!, and, in the interneoine skirmishes o.
! the time, laid the foundation of thu
nialady that shortened his life. He Il
said to have worn the ruby at thu
! battle of MALARIA in 1867, and it wal
! worn by Henry V, in his helmet a
/, ARincourt. The cross on the SUNNI
contains the rose-cut 'sinestimable'
: sapphire that was once set in thu
famous ring Of Edward the Confessor
so long treasured at his shrine, ant
, the heritage of which gave his sue
= essors the power of blessing oraml
!. rings.
At the first drawingroom Princess
/, Victoria attended, in Fehr uary. 1881
: |. she wore a beautiful pearl necklet ant
diamond clasp in her hair, and a
her marriage she wore aplendit
I match, and the diamond brooch tina
, Prince ALERT had brought her as
Il wedding present. On several occasion
in this early part of her reign she wor
perfect blaze OF diamonds as stom
, aeher or breaetplate, and when sh
7 dissolved Parliament after her aoces
sioh. in addition to an ornament of til
!, nature, great diamond star flashe,
on her neck, and on her head was
/. diamond tiara. At the famous Plan
y tagenet bali, over and above othe
Y jewels, she had on single diamond
worth 100000 Her Majesty's iewe
. cases have always been well iurnishe,
. with these stones, although the dia
u mond bows she had on at her corona
tion, which we're valued at el60, 90
:, were destined TO revert to Hanover.
= OF precious rings Queen Victori
had great number. pathetic in
"a terest attaches to the little enamel Gil
clet with single diamond in it tina
I Prince Albert gave her when they wei
VI boy and girl together, and he and hi
brother came TO England to visit thei
y aunt, the Duchess of Kent, an
e-ANNrA&NscNN~SsSs$stetSN@
SW HA 'N7 v