a box of Crown jewels
The 4 Duchesses of Westminster
History of the Jewels of France
more information: Palace Hotels of the World
the beginning .... Bendor, the Carlton's most glamorous guest
The hunt for ever more extraordinary jewels
To return to Bendor: from his distant England he watched everything that was happening in New York, and he watched all those Americans dazzled by her ...
And he said to himself: "there may be plenty of Americans circling around Aimée, but there is only one Bendor".
And this gave him a most exotic idea, very typical of him: to set off in pursuit of the lost jewels of the French Crown, for he knew.
You had to be a little crazy like Bendor and have a few magical connections, like a "Stéphane Binet of the last century" (see the following article on the French Crown Jewels).
Bendor hunted down every jewel, from those of Empress Eugénie to those that had been at the court of Versailles. Later the American publisher Malcolm Forbes also took it up, hunting Fabergé eggs, but with less success.
But his most intense desire, to be able one day to marry Aimée, was never fulfilled.
Not for anything in the world would she leave her husband, who was also very handsome, likewise younger than her, and to whom she was an extraordinary wife.
The editor of this site is too young to have known Joseph Kennedy, who died long before he was born. As for Aimée's husband, he was likewise too young, but his nephew John Wanamaker Leas often spoke to him about him. It was a dream marriage that lasted 40 years, with a woman who always remained just as beautiful.
The last gift Despite everything, Bendor is happy to be able to keep up this secret friendship, and nothing gives him greater pleasure than offering historic jewels to Aimée.
Jewels from the French Crown, each more spectacular than the last, far surpassing everything the 4 Duchesses had ever received put together.
... the last of them, tucked away in a little red box, was slipped to her with the utmost discretion when they saw each other for the last time, in the midst of the coronation festivities of Queen Elizabeth II. Fortunately, the 4th Duchess had at one point to go and wash her hands ...
Queen Elizabeth II Riding...
Queen's Coronation, 1953
Queen Elizabeth II in Cor...
Cecil Beaton
Queen Elizabeth II in Cor...
Cecil Beaton
It was his last magical gift ... the most beautiful, the most important and the most exceptional, a jewel that no Cartier boutique could ever have sold him.
The little red box held an object that Bendor had been trying to obtain for years, the triumph of his "jewel hunt": one of the most important diamonds of the French Crown, the equal of the Queen of England's.
... as the little red box changed hands, it was accompanied by a few tears and these words: "you are my queen, it was in the crown of the Bourbons, don't forget me, thank you for your overwhelming beauty" – in other words, "you are my queen, it was in the crown of the Bourbons, always remember me fondly, thank you for your utterly exceptional beauty"
The little box was marked "Crown Diamond"
that was the "Bendor" way of saying goodbye. Six weeks later, on 19 July 1953, he was dead.
The three Elizabeths (Bowes-Lyon, Windsor and Taylor) would have been fascinated to witness this scene.
Alas, the publisher of this site has no photograph of these "two slightly mad friends" during the coronation festivities, but by examining the photographs in the Buckingham Palace archives under a magnifying glass, one would surely find pictures of the pair.
As for the "Bendor Diamond", he was able to hold it in his hand twice. It was an object of indescribable brilliance, but alas he did not at all grasp the historical importance of the stone, for perhaps 300 years earlier Louis XIV too had held it in his hand.
But perhaps it was precisely thanks to this lack of awareness that he gained access to so many secrets of the past.
continued .... the French Crown Jewels
Video of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
A few websites related to this article:
The Cremerie de Paris exhibition centre. In the history of the Cremerie .... Aimée de Heeren, Bendor and Coco Chanel. The story of Aimee de Heeren. A website on the history of brands: Very Beautiful = VB.com. Among other things, the hotels frequented by Aimee de Heeren ... Palace Hotels of the World.com