A tiara worn by the late Queen’s American-born lady-in-waiting, a jewel that witnessed some of the most significant moments in recent royal history, has sold for £189,000* at auction in London with Lyon & Turnbull on Wednesday 22 October.
Believed to have been made by Garrard, the Crown Jewellers, in the late nineteenth century, The Airlie Tiara exceeded its pre-sale estimate of £50,000–£70,000. The magnificent piece, featuring natural saltwater pearls and over 30 carats of diamonds, led a collection of fine jewellery and objets de vertu from the late Virginia Fortune Ryan Ogilvy, Dowager Countess of Airlie.
A “white-glove” result for the collection which also included a unicorn brooch by Verdura (sold for £17,010*), a multi-strand pearl choker with a mid-19th-century diamond clasp (sold for £12,500*), and a Fabergé nephrite and ruby objet, circa 1900, created under the supervision of Michael Perchin, Carl Fabergé’s workmaster (sold for £17,010*).
The Airlie Tiara was worn by Mabell, Countess of Airlie, in 1901 when she was made Lady of the Bedchamber to the then Princess of Wales. She continued to wear it when the Princess of Wales became Queen Mary after King George V became King in 1910.
Latterly, the heirloom was worn by her granddaughter-in-law, Virginia Fortune Ryan Ogilvy, Countess of Airlie in her role as Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth II. The Countess, who married David Ogilvy, the 13th Earl of Airlie, was the first ever American Lady-in-Waiting to a British monarch. She died in August last year at the age of 91 at her home at Cortachy near Kirriemuir, Angus.
The position of Lady of the Bedchamber is a lady-in-waiting to a British Princess or Queen. It is a role traditionally held by the wife of a peer and a trusted confidante.
Lady Airlie was 40 years old and a mother of six when she accepted Queen Elizabeth II's invitation to become Lady of the Bedchamber in 1973, a role she held with devotion and discretion until the death of the Queen in 2022.
Born Virginia Fortune Ryan on 9 February 1933, she was the daughter of John Barry Ryan Jr. and Margaret (Nin) Kahn. Her maternal grandfather was the renowned German-American financier and philanthropist, Otto Kahn, a prominent figure in New York society and a leading patron of the arts. Virginia spent her childhood between New York City and Newport, Rhode Island, and was educated at the Brearley School in Manhattan, later attending the James Franklyn School of Professional Arts.
From an early age, Virginia developed a fondness for England. Each year, her mother brought her to London, where they stayed in a flat overlooking St James’s Park. During one visit, aged 16, she met David Ogilvy, at a dance at the Savoy Hotel. Three years later, he proposed, and in October 1952 they were married at St Margaret’s, Westminster, in a ceremony attended by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret.
Lyon & Turnbull is marking an “Autumn of Airlie” by bringing The Airlie Tiara to the market for the first time ever. It is one of a number of historic lots being sold by the auctioneers throughout the season on behalf of the estate of Virginia Fortune Ryan Ogilvy, Dowager Countess of Airlie.
The Airlie Tiara is being offered by Lyon & Turnbull as part of a distinguished collection of fine jewellery and objects of vertu formerly belonging to the late Countess. Among the highlights is a unicorn brooch by Verdura, a tribute to Scotland’s official animal, and a refined multi-strand pearl choker secured with a mid-19th century diamond clasp.
The collection also includes a remarkable Fabergé nephrite and ruby letter opener, circa 1900, created under the supervision of Michael Perchin (1860–1903), Carl Fabergé’s second workmaster. Completing the collection are elegant examples of early 20th-century craftsmanship, including a Cartier enamel cigarette case, circa 1925, and an Art Deco diamond-set vanity case from the same period.
Sarah Duncan, Head of Jewellery, London for Lyon & Turnbull said:
"This beautiful tiara is so unique in that it has been a ‘working tiara’ for decades. It came directly from Buckingham Palace, not something that happens every day. Historic tiaras of this provenance are rare to appear on the market and coupled with its noble history and associations with the late Queen Elizabeth II, it makes this an incredibly rare and desirable acquisition."
