A ROYAL JEWEL - FORMERLY FROM THE COLLECTION OF HER ROYAL HIGHNESS, THE PRINCESS MARGARET, COUNTESS OF SNOWDON AN 18TH CENTURY GEORGIAN ENAMEL AND ROCK CRYSTAL MOURNING RING, CIRCA 1760, in yellow gold, comprising a hair work compartment covered by hexagonal Stuart crystal, to a black enamel band, reading ‘E.Lowes ob:5 May 1760 aet 70’. The band is engraved with the Princess’s ownership mark - the monogram ‘M’ surmounted by the Princess Margaret’s coronet, size N / 6.5, 4.5g Accompanied by the Certificate of Provenance from Kensington Palace, within its original embossed leather folder/folio dated 13th June 2006, signed by Viscount Linley and Edward Dolman. Provenance: Lot 94, Christies, Property from the Collection of Her Royal Highness, The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowden, Volume I: Jewellery and Faberge, Tuesday 13th June 2006, London. Purchased from the above sale by the current owner. From a legendary sale and in the Diamond Jubilee year, a chance to own a jewel from a Royal Collection. Jewels have long had an immediate association with royalty, especially when one thinks of a Queen or Princess. Their collections have always represented or even led the way for the fashions or styles of the times they live in. The Princess’s jewellery collection contained jewels spanning over 3 hundred years, from the 18th century in the case of this mourning ring, to the Art Deco and modernist movements. Her love and respect for the pieces within her collection is evident when looking at their condition. It is nothing short of a miracle that the ring offered today has survived over centuries, and decades within her ownership, due to its previous owners treating it with the respect and care it truly deserves. Traditional mourning jewels have always featured prominently in the collections of various members of the British Royal Family, a recent example being those of the Last Countess Mountbatten or Burma, and this royal collection was no exception. Often worn to respect and commemorate both the life and death of an individual, these pieces often have sentimental attachment to their owners. This ring commemorates the death of Eleanor Lowes (nee Graham) of Ridley Hall, wife of John Lowes. Ridley Hall was sold by the Lowes Family following the death of John and his two sons (William Cornforth Lowes in 1810 and his brother in 1812). The descended family resided at Allensgreen Farm until 1830, when John Davidson, cousin and beneficiary of William Cornforth Lowes, bought back Ridley Hall and make extensive improvements to it during his lifetime. He then married Susan Jessup (grandaughter of 9th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne). Upon her death she bequeathed the estate and house to John Bowes, an illegitimate son of the 10th Earl, her first cousin and it is believed to be through the Bowes-Lyon line of her family that this ring reached Her Royal Highness and made it into her collection. Her Royal Highness, The Princess Margaret Rose, sister of then Princess Elizabeth (now H.M The Queen) was born in Glamis Castle on 21st August 1930, to parents the Duke and Duchess of York, later Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother and King George VI. Upon her father’s ascension to the British throne due to the abdication of her uncle, Edward VIII, she moved from 145 Picadilly to Buckingham Palace and at times, Windsor Castle, Balmoral and Sandringham. She moved to Clarence House, along with the Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, following the death of her father, and the ascension of her sister to become The Queen. Her residence Although her early childhood was mostly spent out of the public eye at Windsor Castle due to the Second World War, the Princess soon became a global household name, known for her whit, vibrant style and glamour, sometimes being styled as the ‘Royal Rebel’. This did not prevent her from engaging with her Royal Duties, becoming involved with various charitable organisations across the globe as either patron or president, as well as representing the Crown in nations such as Switzerland, Jamaica and Australia. Her involvement in charity domestically centred around Children, Health and the Arts, serving as President to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, the Royal College of Nursing and the Scottish Ballet. She famously embarked on an infamous love affair with her father (the King’s) former equerry, Group Captain Peter Townsend, with the two becoming closer, according to the Princess, during the Royal Tour of South Africa in 1947. Despite opinions differing when the relationship began, it is widely acknowledged that the relationship developed significantly following the death of her father in February 1952. Townsend eventually proposed to the Princess in April 1953, creating a constitutional crisis both in public and in private due to state and religious opposition to the match. The primary opposition occurred as a result of the Group Captain being a divorcee with his former wife and its conflict with the teachings of the Church of England, of which the Queen is the head. It was the public reception to establishment opposition to the marriage that is widely considered to be the turning point for the Royal Family’s approach to marriage. Margaret later married photographer Anthony Armstrong Jones in the first televised Royal Wedding in Westminster Abbey on 6th May 1960, two years after meeting at a dinner party in 1958 and becoming engaged in 1959. They were styled the Earl and Countess of Snowden a year following the union and had two children, David in 1961 and Sarah in 1964. The marriage ultimately ended in divorce in 1978, with both the Princess and Armstrong-Jones having extramarital affairs. Following the breakdown of her marriage, Margaret never remarried, preferring to spend a large majority of her time in her home in Mustique, Les Jolies Eaux. In the final decades of her life, she remained committed to the philanthropic causes and organisations she served throughout the decades, despite her declining health. Towards the end, she suffered from various health problems and suffered several strokes. Princess Margaret died on 9th February 2022 at the age of 71.