Princess Margaret's 800 Jewel Collection, and the Sale Her Children Could Not Avoid
Lost Jewels
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In 1962, Princess Margaret's own husband photographed her lying in her bath, wearing nothing but the diamond Poltimore Tiara, a crown she had bought for herself at auction three years earlier for just £5,500. Forty-six years later that same crown sold at Christie's for £926,400, and it has not been seen in public since. It was one lot out of more than 800. When Margaret died in 2002, she left her two children a reported £3 million inheritance tax bill and only one way to pay it, so in June 2006 almost everything she had ever owned was carried into a saleroom and sold across two days for £13,658,728. Every single lot found a buyer. But there was one small ring the family refused to sell.
In this video, we talk about what really happened to Princess Margaret's 800-piece collection, including the Poltimore Tiara and its famous bathtub portrait, the £5,500 gamble that won her a crown of her own, Queen Mary's diamond rivière that became the top jewel of the sale at £993,600, the five-row Art Deco pearls that beat their estimate fourteen times over, the mauve Fabergé clock that was the single most expensive lot of all, the roughly £3 million tax bill that forced the auction, Lord Snowdon's reported plea to his children to stop it, the anonymous buyer who made the wedding tiara vanish, and the ruby "marguerite" engagement ring that was never sold and now sits on the hand of Margaret's granddaughter, Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones.
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💬 Comment where you're watching from and tell me whether you think her children were right to sell, or whether the collection should have stayed together whatever it cost.
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DISCLAIMER:
This video is based on real historical events and figures, drawn from primary archives, biographies, court records, period press, and leading historical scholarship. While every video is heavily researched, occasional minor inaccuracies in dates, quotes, or specific details may occur — historical sources sometimes disagree, and interpretation is sometimes required where the historical record is silent. Any errors are unintentional.
#PrincessMargaret #RoyalJewels #PoltimoreTiara #Christies #QueenMary #RoyalHistory #BritishRoyalFamily #CountessOfSnowdon #LordSnowdon #RoyalTiaras #Faberge #Cartier #RoyalAuction #InheritanceTax #HouseOfWindsor #MargaritaArmstrongJones #RoyalWeddings #JewelHistory #Diamonds #RoyalFamily #LostJewels
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Princess Margaret's 800 Jewel Collection, and the Sale Her Children Could Not Avoid
Lost Jewels
827 views
In 1962, Princess Margaret's own husband photographed her lying in her bath, wearing nothing but the diamond Poltimore Tiara, a crown she had bought for herself at auction three years earlier for just £5,500. Forty-six years later that same crown sold at Christie's for £926,400, and it has not been seen in public since. It was one lot out of more than 800. When Margaret died in 2002, she left her two children a reported £3 million inheritance tax bill and only one way to pay it, so in June 2006 almost everything she had ever owned was carried into a saleroom and sold across two days for £13,658,728. Every single lot found a buyer. But there was one small ring the family refused to sell.
In this video, we talk about what really happened to Princess Margaret's 800-piece collection, including the Poltimore Tiara and its famous bathtub portrait, the £5,500 gamble that won her a crown of her own, Queen Mary's diamond rivière that became the top jewel of the sale at £993,600, the five-row Art Deco pearls that beat their estimate fourteen times over, the mauve Fabergé clock that was the single most expensive lot of all, the roughly £3 million tax bill that forced the auction, Lord Snowdon's reported plea to his children to stop it, the anonymous buyer who made the wedding tiara vanish, and the ruby "marguerite" engagement ring that was never sold and now sits on the hand of Margaret's granddaughter, Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones.
🔔 Subscribe so the next story from the royal vaults reaches you first.
💬 Comment where you're watching from and tell me whether you think her children were right to sell, or whether the collection should have stayed together whatever it cost.
📢 Share this with anyone who loves royal history, on Facebook, Reddit, or a group chat, because you are the reason these stories get told.
DISCLAIMER:
This video is based on real historical events and figures, drawn from primary archives, biographies, court records, period press, and leading historical scholarship. While every video is heavily researched, occasional minor inaccuracies in dates, quotes, or specific details may occur — historical sources sometimes disagree, and interpretation is sometimes required where the historical record is silent. Any errors are unintentional.
#PrincessMargaret #RoyalJewels #PoltimoreTiara #Christies #QueenMary #RoyalHistory #BritishRoyalFamily #CountessOfSnowdon #LordSnowdon #RoyalTiaras #Faberge #Cartier #RoyalAuction #InheritanceTax #HouseOfWindsor #MargaritaArmstrongJones #RoyalWeddings #JewelHistory #Diamonds #RoyalFamily #LostJewels