Joan as portrayed in Isabel
Joan of Portugal

The Year of Isabella I of Castile – Joan of Portugal, A Queen in an impossible situation (Part one)

The future Queen of Castile and sister-in-law to Queen Isabella I of Castile, Joan of Portugal, was born on 31 March 1439 as the daughter of Edward, King of Portugal, and Eleanor of Aragon. Four elder siblings also survived to adulthood: Afonso, King of Portugal, Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu, Eleanor, later Holy Roman Empress, and [read more]

vladimir tiara
Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

The Vladimir Tiara

The Vladimir Tiara is described as follows, “The intersecting brilliant-set circles of the frame are hung with 15 large claw-set pendant pearls, which can be replaced with emerald drops.” Embed from Getty Images The tiara was created for Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna (born Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin), probably around the time of her marriage to Grand [read more]