A year-long battle to keep Queen Victoria’s coronet in the UK has been won with the aid of a hedge fund millionaire.
We are delighted to announce the acquisition of Queen Victoria’s stunning sapphire and diamond coronet designed by Prince Albert in 1840. pic.twitter.com/lBEBEDVnfL
— V&A (@V_and_A) August 27, 2017
A temporary export ban had been placed on coronet that belonged to Queen Victoria, preventing it from being sold abroad. The coronet was designed by Prince Albert for their wedding in 1840. It was at risk of being exported unless a buyer in the UK was able to match the £5m asking price. The ban was imposed after the owner applied for the export licence. The coronet is mounted with 11 sapphires, set in gold and with diamonds, set in silver and was given to Queen Victoria the day before her wedding.
The coronet is now heading to the Victoria & Albert Museum in London after it was bought and donated by an Irish-American hedge fund millionaire, identified by the Sunday Times as William Bollinger. It will go on display in 2019 when a gallery named after William Bollinger has been renovated.
Queen Victoria wore the coronet again for the State Opening of Parliament in 1866. It was given to Princess Mary by her parents King George V and Queen Mary upon her marriage to Viscount Lascelles in 1922. It was then sold to a dealer in London, who later sold it to the former owner.
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