06 May 2023 , 09:33
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The royal family has been passing down priceless jewels for generations - but there's one tiara nobody wants to inherit. The Strawberry Leaf Tiara was commissioned by Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, in 1861 as a wedding gift for their daughter, Princess Alice.
However, the "cursed" tiara claimed its first victim when Prince Albert suddenly died of typhoid just months before the nuptials. Tragedy struck again when Princess Alice, who had moved to Germany with her husband, tragically lost two children after being gifted the diadem.
Duke and Duchess of Gloucester on their wedding day (PA)
Princess Alice pictured wearing the Strawberry Leaf TiaraSpeaking on Channel 5's documentary 'Secrets of the Royal Jewellery, historian Dr Kate Williams said: "The Hesse Strawberry Leaf Tiara is a beautiful tiara but it's known to be haunted because it brings bad luck to pretty much anyone who owns it or wears it."
When Princess Alice died at age 35, the tiara was passed down to her son, Ernst, who gave it his wife to wear at the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.
While it was in their possession, the couple sadly lost a child and eventually divorced.
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Queen Elizabeth II wearing stunning royal jewels (Getty Images)Following this, Ernst entrusted it to his second wife, who seemed to escape its curse.
However, their eldest son, Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse, was not so lucky, as he died in a plane crash alongside his wife Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark, who was a sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and their two children.
Princess Cecilie reportedly gave birth prematurely during the flight forcing an early landing - but this resulted in the crash killing all those on board.
Historian Dr Kate Williams added: "Awful, terrible but the tiara survives through the crash, through the wreck, through the fire. So you see why it's known as the haunted Strawberry Leaf Tiara."
Princess Margaret held onto the tiara after this, but did not leave it to the Geddes family before her death in 1997.
The deadly diadem is now believed to be in storage alongside other royal jewels at the Foundation of the House of Hesse.