Queen Henrietta Maria (1638) by Sir Anthony Van Dyck (in Windsor Castle)
For sale: the Crown Jewels
by J.G. Harlond
Most historical fiction readers will be familiar with images of the British Crown Jewels. Various of the crowns used in coronations, the Sceptre and Orb, and regalia used on State occasions are on display in the Tower of London for the public to see. But what about the gemstones and jewellery presented to, acquired or inherited by monarchs, princes and princesses over the centuries? Who owns these jewels: the reigning monarch, the State or the people of Britain?
This question represents much that was in dispute in the United Kingdom during the period leading up to the English Civil War (1642-1646), a time when commoners were trying to limit the power of a monarchy that considered it reigned through ‘divine right’. Charles 1st believed that not only was he appointed by God but he could rule without Parliament – and raise taxes as he saw fit to cover his personal expenses and buy works of art for his private suites. This is an over-simplification, but it is how many ordinary folk in towns and villages interpreted the King’s actions. Ongoing disputes eventually led to the vicious English Civil War between Parliamentarians, known as Roundheads because of their short hair, and Royalists, who feared they had a lot to lose and fought to keep Charles 1st on the throne.
Charles I & Henrietta Maria by Anthony Van Dyck
Once war became inevitable, Charles and his French-born Roman Catholic wife Henrietta Maria (1609-1669) needed to find a lot more money in a short space of time to raise an army. The Queen tried to pawn then, when that proved unsuccessful, to sell various items belonging to the Crown Jewels. Her attitude was that they were the property of the reigning monarch, not the State. When considering Henrietta Maria’s attitude and actions, one must bear in mind that she was the youngest daughter of Henry IV of France and the much-loathed Marie de Medici, that she was married to a God-given Stuart, and her maternal grandparents belonged to a long line of very successful Tuscan bankers. Added to which, her royal spouse was famously ‘not good with money’.
All this naturally met with major opposition from Parliamentarians on two counts: the question of ethics, and the fact that the money being raised was arming their enemy. In July 1641, a year prior to the outbreak of war, the House of Commons drew the attention of King Charles to the fact:
That the House of Commons have received Information of great Quantities of Treasure, in Jewels, Plate, and ready Money, packed up, to be conveyed away with the Queen, not only in such a Proportion as the present Occasions, with due respects to Her Majesty's Honour, may seem to require; but a far greater Quantity; and that divers Papists, and others, under the Pretence of Her Majesty's Goods, are like to convey great Sums of Money, and other Treasure, beyond the Seas; which will not only impoverish the State, but may be employed to the Fomenting some mischievous Attempts, to the Trouble of the publick Peace. (JHC 2: 15 July 1641)
Parliament could see Henrietta Maria was trying to obtain money or credit with the aim of acquiring guns, ammunition and mercenary support for the Royalists. The view of the Commons was that all gemstones, regalia and plate in the possession of a monarch were part of the Crown Jewels, ‘owned’ not by the monarchy but by the State.
But this was just the beginning. On 11 March, 1642, Henrietta Maria arrived in The Hague and set about selling and pawning precious objects she had brought with her from England. One contemporary report placed a value of 1,265,300 guilders on the various items. (A Dutch artisan and his family could live reasonably well for a year on 300 guilders). The jewels, silver and gold came from three interlinked sources: items belonging to and inherited by King Charles, jewels belonging to Henrietta Maria, and items forming part of the State regalia.
While being astute in money matters, however, Henrietta Maria overlooked an important detail that affected her Dutch transactions, her ardent Catholicism. As David Humphreys says in ‘To Sell the Crown Jewels’ (see below)
“The sale of precious objects by an English Catholic (albeit not an English Catholic of average status) in Protestant Holland, under circumstances clearly motivated by political needs, was a task of enormous difficulty at best. That fact was brought home to Henrietta Maria when the first formal viewing of the items for would-be buyers was conducted at the New Palace in The Hague’s Staedt Straat in mid-March 1642. Many of those who attended were pro-Parliament in sympathy and questioned the queen’s right to sell any of the items on show—particularly those items considered to be specifically from the Crown Jewels collection. The queen insisted she had rights of ownership and could prove them with a document signed by King Charles and, therefore, had the right to sell. Those present baulked at the enormous sums expected for the most magnificent of the items on show: two collars, one of which was described as the ‘ruby collar’. Their response grew even more negative when it was made clear that payment for items was expected in specie.”
The Queen eventually managed to pawn a few items in The Hague, although the most valuable remained unsold. In the end she was only able to raise funds on that which was demonstrably in her personal possession. Unwilling to accept defeat however, she tried pawning items in Antwerp and Amsterdam, then to sell the larger of two hugely valuable ruby and pearl collars to the King of Denmark.
A letter dated 2 June, 1642, sent from Amsterdam, was read to the House of Commons on the 11 June by Sir Walter Erle:
That there were Jewels brought to Amsterdam, certain Collars of Pearl; which were sold; and the Product of them is the Sixteen thousand Pounds sent over hither; and the Residue is kept there, to pay for the Arms and Ammunition bespoken there. One great Collar of Rubies. The Jewels called the Three Brethren; Four or Five great Diamonds; with divers other Parcels; but no Money got upon them yet. … (JHC 2: 11 June 1642).
Another letter from an unnamed correspondent who was close to the Queen was later read to the House of Lords.
I cannot learn that any Jewels more are pawned than I have formerly expressed, neither of the Sale of any jewels, save divers Collars of Pearls. (…) In writing hereof I understand, by an eyewitness, that all the jewels are brought here again to be pawned and amongst them the great collar fetched from Hamb. Also the three Brethren, four or five great diamonds, with divers more; but no money to be had thereupon in this place, as the party imployed therin doth tell me (JHL 5: 11 June 1642).
In Amsterdam a man named Webster advanced 140,000 guilders on her rubies and pendant pearls, the Burgomaster of Rotterdam offered 40,000 guilders on unnamed items and Fletchers of The Hague 126,000 guilders. Compared to what the Dutch had spent on tulip bulbs between 1635 and 1637 these were not vast sums. By January 1643, Henrietta Maria had disposed of or pledged most if not all of the items considered to be her own. A month later, when she returned to England, however, she still had one of the most famous and valuable pieces, the Three Brethren jewel.
The Three Brethren (detail from Elizabeth 1st’s ‘ermine portrait’)
The Three Brethren comprised of a massive pyramid-cut wine-yellow diamond surrounded by three square-cut spinel rubies and three large pearls set in pronged brackets. The centre diamond, of a most unusual cut, weighed approximately 30 carats. In the early 15th century it had been described as the largest faceted diamond in Europe. The jewel was said to have been commissioned as a shoulder-clasp for John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy from 1404 to his assassination in 1419. His grandson, Charles the Bold, owned it in 1467 when his inventory describes it as “Un Gros Dyamant Pointé a Fass”. It was then sold to or via a banker named Fugger, and came into the possession of Henry VIII in England circa 1546. In 1551 it belonged to Henry’s only son, Edward VI. On Edward’s death, the Three Brethren passed into the hands of his elder sister Mary, then became a favourite jewel of Elizabeth I. Later, it features in portraits of James 1st of England, VI of Scotland.
Elizabeth Tudor’s ‘Ermine Portrait’ (1585) by Nicholas Hilliard (in Hatfield House)
What happened to it during the Civil War is uncertain. Various theories suggest it was sold, or pawned but not retrieved in Amsterdam or Antwerp, that three more diamonds were added and it was renamed the Three Sisters, that Cardinal Mazarin, who collected valuable gemstones, acquired it along with the debts he purchased from Henrietta Maria. One theory says the jewel was adapted and offered for sale through the Queen’s agent, a ‘Monsieur Cletstex’ of the Bank of Lombardy in Rotterdam. The real fate of this fabulous brooch is open to speculation . . . And this is where my Genoese rogue and sometime pirate Ludo da Portovenere (The Chosen Man) steps in.
In 1644, Henrietta Maria gave birth to her last child in England then, gravely ill, returned to her homeland of France, where she was not made welcome. Despite ill-health and having no home, despite being forced to move between various towns until finally allotted a suite in St Germaine, she continued to pawn and/or sell items of the Crown Jewels for the floundering Royalists. Parliament maintained watchful spies, but Henrietta Maria succeeded in raising money and credit in various European markets until her husband was imprisoned.
Numerous authors have turned aspects of this story into historical fiction, and somebody somewhere owns and/or wears antique gemstones once belonging to the British monarchy, or ‘the people’, depending on your point of view. In By Force of Circumstance I explore the delightful irony of the wily Ludo obtaining and selling on various jewels to the new royal House of Braganza in Portugal, thus (possibly) enabling Queen Catherine of Braganza to bring a pearl collar or two back to Restoration England. Whether or not they were the originals I leave for the reader to decide, Ludo trades in gemstones after all.
© Jane G. Harlond
Málaga, May, 2022
For a more detailed analysis of Henrietta Maria’s attempts to raise money see: To Sell England’s Jewels: Queen Henrietta Maria’s visits to the Continent, 1642 and 1644 by David HUMPHREY: https://erea.revues.org/3715
For more about the 17th Century Dutch scandal tulip mania or tulip fever see: The Chosen Man: http://getbook.at/TheChosenMan
Book Two, A Turning Wind, and Book Three, By Force of Circumstance can be found on: http://getbook.at/ATurningWind and http://getbook.at/ByForceofCircumstance
For more about J.G. Harlond’s fiction go to www.jgharlond.com
The Chosen Man Trilogy is published by Penmore Press: http://www.penmorepress.com
