Will Duchess give Princess of Wales the royal emeralds?

Press, 10 May 1982, Page 20

Will Duchess give Princess of Wales the royal emeralds?

HELEN HOWARD

considers the prospect

of more than S6M of royal emeralds gracing the Princess of Wales.

Comings and goings between Buckingham Palace and a secluded, elegant house in Paris’s Bois de Boulogne could mean that the royal birth in June could make the Princess of Wales £3 million richer, and finally solve a classic, 50-year-old’ mystery. There are growing and insistent rumours that the Duchess of Windsor, now a frail 85, will choose the birth of the next heir-apparent to give Diana the fabulous collection of emeralds traditionally worn by the future Queen of England, and now estimated to be worth around £3 million. It is thought that the Duchess, who acknowledges she hasn't long to live, has made Charles chief beneficiary in her will. Recently she told her friend and legal adviser, 80-year-old Suzanne Blum, that she would like to mark the 10th anniversary of her husband’s death — in May — by giving a present to the Princess of Wales to commemorate the birth of her child. Says Suzanne Blum: “The wife of the last man to be Prince of Wales and the wife of the present Prince obviously have much in common. ■ “It is a matter of deep regret to the Duchess that she hasn’t met the wife of her favourite nephew.” The recent visit to Paris of two Buckingham Palace advisers has renewed speculation that the Duchess intends to give the Princess the dazzling jewels known as Queen Alexandra’s Emeralds — which haven’t been seen in public for half a century. By tradition, the Princess of Wales should have worn them for her wedding last year. But they “were not available.” It has always been assumed that the Duchess has kept them locked away. Cer-

tainly, she has never worn them in public. The jewels were last seen being worn by Queen Mary, wife of George V in the early 19305, and were thought to have passed to the Duke when he became Edward VIII in 1936. The Duchess has hinted more than once that her money will go to Prince Charles. She told a close friend: “He's the only one of the present royal family I really care about.” The Prince has visited her at the elegant house provided for her at a nominal £25-3-year rent by the French Government in the Bois de Boulogne. It’s ho secret that Prince Charles is the only member of the family who has managed to bridge the icy gulf of polite formality which has existed between the Palace and the Windsors ever since the abdication crisis. He calls the Duchess “Aunt Wallis.” If the Royal couple do benefit from the Duchess's will, it will .greatly increase their own sizeable wealth. When the Duke of Windsor died in May, 1972, it was estimated that the value of his estate was some £4 million — after taxes and death duties — although details of royal wills are never published. Since then, with the growing pressures of inflation and ill health, the Duchess has kept a close eye on her spending and has trimmed hep personal staff. The bulk of her wealth certainly remains intact. -

The big question, though, is whether the Duchess’s estate, will include the missing emeralds. And if so, will they eventually find their way to Diana? Royal advisers believe they do rightfully belong with the Princess of Wales. They say the jewels were first owned by Queen Alexandra, the Danish wife of King Edward VH. She willed them to the Duke of Windsor, when he was Prince of Wales. The story goes that Queen Alexandra intended them to be handed down, in perpetuity,-' to future Queens of England, but it is thought that the Duke of Windsor gave the jewels to Mrs Simpson before the abdication, as an indication that he intended to make her his bride, no matter what the opposition. Since then, they have never been seen in public — and there’s even a persistent rumour that they may have been stolen. This could have happened during the war, when the Duke was Governor of the Bahamas, and left many of his valuables in a safedeposit box in a Paris bank, where they fell into Nazi hands. Another theory is that the Duke and Duchess were burgled, while on holiday in 1947, and had lost much of their jewellery, including the . emeralds. The French police have always refused to confirm these reports. After the Duke died, it is believed that officials of the royal household visited the

Duchess, to clear up “certain outstanding matters” connected with his estate. The emeralds were thought to have been one of the items discussed. But no-one outside the royal circle knows whether or not the Duchess has the emeralds in her possession. And if not, where are they?

The uncertainty is in keeping with the emeralds clouded history. Nobody knows for sure where they came from. . Experts think they may have originated in Russia, and may have' belonged at one time to« Queen Alexan-

dra’s sister, who was married to one of the Csars. Or they could have come from India. One thing seems certain: the emeralds would enhance Diana’s good looks — if she ever gets the chance to wear them. Features International.