The Crown Prince of Norway's Wedding: HRH Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte
Another royal wedding, another dearly-departed royal for the blog: Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte, whose title changed in the interim between Prince Philippe's royal wedding and Crown Prince Haakon's big day. J-C's husband, Grand Duke Jean, abdicated on October 7, 2000, giving over power to their son, Henri.
So now, rather than being The Grand Duchess, she's just Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte on this occasion. Not really a bad switch, in the grand scheme of things. You get to keep your fancy title, all of your jewelry, and probably the castle, too, and instead of cutting endless ribbons and shaking endless hands, you get to sit poolside and drink frozen margaritas, just popping out in a tiara for the occasional royal wedding. (I'm imagining that's the case, anyway. If so, forget being a royal -- I want to be a retired royal!)
J-C here is wearing the same tiara she wore to her own royal wedding way back in 1953. It's called Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte's Diamond Scroll Tiara, and it was a gift from the Société Générale bank. The whole thing actually comes apart into different pieces, including a brooch and a diamond ring that measures a whopping eight carats. Splendid!
Her bank gave her a tiara?? Nice!! It's a bit of a stunner, although it looks like her hair is trying to escape out the top!
Looks pretty from what I can see! But boy does she seem to have aged from the Duke of Brabant's wedding and this one.
I love this tiara! The Lux royal family actually put this on the auction block (along with several other significant pieces of jewelry) after J-C's death, but canceled the sale after it caused a public outcry. Since then Maria Teresa has worn it. Thank goodness they came to their senses and kept it in the family!!
I can't even get a pen from my bank! Very nice indeed.
The late Grand Duchess really didn't have any easy life despite her high station. She suffered through the war (and she really did suffer), the loss of her mother, and an arranged marriage to Jean despite having been in love with someone else.
Most of the jewelry that you mention she got to keep was her own personal property. Maria Teresa always has full access to (and wore most of) the Grand-Ducal collection with the exception of one tiara. She was not permitted to wear the Empire Tiara because it is only worn by The Grand Duchess. The family jewel chest was greatly enriched by Josephine-Charlotte's inheritance from her mother and by gifts she received from her father and husband. Maria-Teresa frequently wore many of the pieces that personally belonged to Josephine-Charlotte even before her death (I'm sure with her premission). There were only a few pieces that JC didn't allow her to wear because they were sentimental to her (no one else wore them either).
Sadly, Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte spent nearly all of her retirement suffering from the cancer which would later take her life.