The main character of this video is Queen
Louise of Sweden, born Louise Mountbatten, formerly Princess Louise of Battenberg. She
was the second child among her siblings, with her elder sister being Princess Alice, the
mother of Prince Philip of the United Kingdom, and her younger brother being Louis
Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma. In 1923, at 34, Louise married the
41-year-old Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden (later King Gustaf VI Adolf), becoming
the Crown Princess of Sweden and the stepmother to his five children. Before this, Louise
had a rather tumultuous romantic history, having been engaged twice only to
have the engagements broken off, and also losing a lover who died heroically
on the battlefield during World War I. After turning 30, Louise might have thought
she would remain single for life. However, fate unexpectedly united her with Crown Prince
Gustaf Adolf. In her youth, she had claimed that she would never marry a future king or become the
wife of a widower. Still, the reality dramatically overturned these expectations, as Crown Prince
Gustaf Adolf was both a future king and a widower. At that time, Sweden still followed the rule
that members of the royal family had to marry princes or princesses. Since Louise and her family
were later stripped of their Battenberg titles, her marriage to Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf
initially faced difficulties. It was ultimately the pressure from their British
relatives that facilitated the marriage. Possibly due to frail health, Louise gave
birth to a stillborn daughter in 1925 and thereafter had no public record of pregnancy,
nor did she have any children of her own. However, following tradition, Louise still
received some wedding gifts before her marriage, although the number of these gifts was far
fewer than those received by Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf's deceased former wife, Margareta.
These were the wedding gifts received by Louise, and these were the wedding gifts
received by Margareta. In addition, during her subsequent career as Crown
Princess and later Queen, Louise also wore some non-Swedish royal jewelry. Now, let's delve
into the ownership of these jewels in detail. The triangular-shaped diamond tiara was a
wedding gift from Louise's brother, Louis Mountbatten, and his wife. This tiara appeared
frequently in Louise's early royal career, despite its somewhat delicate appearance. After
Louise became Queen of Sweden, this tiara was borrowed by her four step-granddaughters
(the current king's four sisters). When Princess Désirée married in 1964, Louise
gave this diamond tiara as a wedding gift. The Aquamarine tiara, given as a wedding
gift, was presented to Louise by her sister, Princess Alice of Greece and Denmark. This tiara
appears somewhat modest in appearance, and Louise never publicly wore it. It was borrowed by her
step-granddaughters during their younger years. Perhaps Louise also felt that
this tiara was not quite suitable, so it was not given away. After her death, the
tiara entered the Swedish public vaults. However, the next Queen of Sweden, Queen Silvia, showed
even less interest in it. Eventually, this tiara became the adult tiara of Princess Madeleine,
the youngest daughter of Queen Silvia. However, Princess Madeleine has not worn this
Aquamarine tiara in almost 10 years. This Art Deco-style leaf-shaped brooch
was likely a wedding gift from King George V and Queen Mary to Louise. After Louise's
death, the brooch was inherited by her niece, Patricia, Countess Mountbatten of Burma.
She owned a large collection of jewelry and may not have worn it frequently, as
there are no photos of Patricia wearing this brooch. Later, the brooch appeared on her
daughter-in-law, the current Countess Penelope. This sapphire floral brooch probably
wasn't a wedding gift received by Louise, and its exact origin is uncertain. Louise
started wearing this brooch in her later years, and it complements the
Swedish royal sapphire suit. After Louise's death, this
brooch may have been placed in the Swedish royal vaults or inherited by
her step-granddaughter Margaretha. In 1966, Margaretha wore this brooch at a banquet
in the Netherlands, and she wore it again two years later. Over 50 years have passed
since then, and there have been no further sightings of this brooch. Hopefully, it hasn't
been forgotten in some inaccessible corner. This emerald brooch was possibly a wedding
gift from Louise's mother, Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, and its history can be
traced back to Princess Victoria's grandmother, Princess Elisabeth of Prussia. Louise gave
this brooch early on to her niece Sophie, who is Prince Philip's fourth sister. In
the 1980s, facing financial pressures, Sophie sold some jewelry, including this emerald
brooch, which was later purchased by Johannes, head of the Thurn und Taxis family, and often
seen on Princess Gloria. After Johannes passed away in 1990, a significant portion of the
Thurn und Taxis family jewels were sold off, and this brooch appeared on the sales list,
after which its whereabouts became unknown. This emerald cross brooch was also
a wedding gift from Louise's mother, Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine,
with its origins similarly traced to Princess Victoria's grandmother, Princess Elisabeth
of Prussia's collection. This brooch, too, was given early on to her niece Sophie
and later its whereabouts became unknown. The origins of this pair of pearl
clip brooches are unclear. Louise began wearing them in the 1940s, but
their appearance is not particularly striking. It is widely known that Louise had
a strained relationship with her stepdaughter, Princess Ingrid. Despite Louise not engaging
in any improper behavior, Ingrid could never accept the presence of other women around her
father, as her deceased biological mother, Margareta, remained paramount in her
heart. Nevertheless, Louise still symbolically left jewelry to her stepdaughter,
including at least this pair of brooches. Ingrid likely disregarded this piece
of jewelry, setting it aside. There have been no photos found of her wearing this
brooch. It wasn't until the new millennium, after Ingrid's death, that people saw this
brooch again, on her youngest daughter, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, and realized
it was originally Louise's heirloom. The diamond-shaped brooch
with sapphire inset has an unknown origin. Louise left it to her
step-granddaughter, Princess Désirée. In summary, Louise did not have a large collection
of personal jewelry. However, due to the extensive jewelry collection of the Swedish royal family,
she could still easily display splendid jewels on public occasions. Additionally, she
had some jewelry whose whereabouts were unknown—perhaps given to a younger relative or
kept hidden in a safe, unknown to outsiders. For example, neither of these two brooches
seems to have been worn by her descendants, and the whereabouts of the anchor-shaped
brooch and the sapphire pendant shown in the wedding gift illustration are also unknown. Some might wonder whether Louise left her jewelry
to the main branch of the Swedish royal family. She did. For example, the well-known Nine-Prong
Tiara was a wedding gift from her father-in-law, King Gustaf V. After Louise's death, this tiara
was inherited by her stepdaughter-in-law, Crown Princess Sibylla, and later became a frequently
worn tiara of the current Queen, Silvia. Someone might ask where the elaborate tiara
Louise wore at her wedding went. As shown in the picture below, it was a replica of an
orange blossom bud-style decorative headdress, which was reportedly very fashionable at the time. The original piece of this headdress is
currently preserved in the palace museum. In general, despite Louise not having biological
children and not outliving her husband, King Gustaf VI Adolf, her life seemed to go
well after marrying into the Swedish royal family. Apart from stepdaughter Ingrid, her other
four stepsons maintained proper politeness and respect towards her, and her relationship with
her step-granddaughters was also good. It is said that Louise had a very good relationship with her
husband, King Gustaf VI Adolf. Louis Mountbatten, who had initially been skeptical of his
sister's marriage to the Swedish royal family, reportedly wrote in his diary after
attending Louise's funeral in 1965, 'I suppose he (Gustaf VI Adolf)
did love her (Louise) after all. Earlier, someone mentioned that both Louise and
Princess Lilian of Belgium married kings and became stepmothers to a bunch of children, but
Louise handled jewelry far better than Lilian, possibly because Louise didn't have biological
children while Lilian did. I believe whether or not someone has biological children doesn't
determine Louise's attitude toward jewelry. If her daughters had survived, she and her husband would
have cherished them immensely, perhaps adding some personal pieces of jewelry, but not completely
emptying the royal treasure trove. Judging from her life's trajectory and public opinion, Louise
was gentle, friendly, and cultured; she wouldn't have done something like Princess Lilian, who
sold off her husband's former wife's dowry.
