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At the marriage of Elizabeth, daughter of James I, to Frederic the Elector-palatine, her father loaded himself with six hundred thousand pounds' worth of jewels; and the bride's white satin dress was embroidered with pearls and gems, and her coronet set in pinnacles of diamonds and pearls.
Among the MSS. belonging to the Rev. Walter Sneyd, of Keele Hall, county Stafford, is a receipt, dated April 9, 1612, signed by Elizabeth of Bohemia, for jewels delivered to her by Jacob Hardret, on this and some previous days. The total value was pound 325 and 25s. There were pendants and rings, some of diamonds and some of rubies.
Howell tells us, in one of his letters, that "Queen Anne (consort of James I) hath left a world of brave jewels behind; and although one Piers, an outlandish man, hath run away with many, she hath left all to the Prince (Charles I) and none to the Queen of Bohemia."
It appears, from Evelyn, that "a great collar of rubies" had been disposed of in Holland for the King's necessities as early as Sept. 10, 1641. Queen Henrietta Maria raised on the royal jewels two millions sterling in one year. |
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Precious Stones Vol 11
>> History about Various Royals and Their Jewels
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