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Crown Jewels
Shows the crowns, sceptres, orbs, jewels, and emblems of the royal families of Europe, explores the stories that surround these precious objects, and discusses the great collectors
144 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1983
60 people want to read
About the author
Prince Michael of Greece
27 books26 followersPrince Michael of Greece and Denmark, Michel de Grèce (modern Greek spelling: Μιχαήλ της Ελλάδας) is a member of the Greek royal family and descendant of the Romanovs. He is the author of several historical novels and biographies, as well as a contributing writer to Architectural Digest.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 8, 2023
My main problem with this book is that it is clearly cribbed from the monumental volume by Lord Twining 'A History of the Crown Jewels of Europe' published in 1960 although it would be unfair to compare that magisterial volume to this picture book. The text is minimalist and very uninformative, the only value it may have had when published in 1983 was the colour photographs but nowadays there are far better more comprehensive ones available on Wikipedia and elsewhere on the internet which will also provide more accurate historical information about the various collections.
As a curiosity from a time when a great deal of the pictorial information was hard to come by. Even so it is distressing to see how limited the coverage is of important elements of various royal regalia, the section on Russia is particularly bad, none of the main regalia like the imperial crown, sceptre or orb are illustrated. They were certainly on display in the Kremlin at the time but whether images were impossible to obtain or were too expensive is not made clear. The image of the crown of st. Stephen which had only been returned to Hungary after languishing in Fort Knox since the end WWII is also only seen in a very mediocre image. For a book that is very much a book of illustrations these and other inadequacies are unfortunate.
Still many of the pictures are nice but I really would recommend spending much money if you are thinking of buying a copy.
As a curiosity from a time when a great deal of the pictorial information was hard to come by. Even so it is distressing to see how limited the coverage is of important elements of various royal regalia, the section on Russia is particularly bad, none of the main regalia like the imperial crown, sceptre or orb are illustrated. They were certainly on display in the Kremlin at the time but whether images were impossible to obtain or were too expensive is not made clear. The image of the crown of st. Stephen which had only been returned to Hungary after languishing in Fort Knox since the end WWII is also only seen in a very mediocre image. For a book that is very much a book of illustrations these and other inadequacies are unfortunate.
Still many of the pictures are nice but I really would recommend spending much money if you are thinking of buying a copy.
July 31, 2019
Beautiful photographs and a very basic text create this pleasant, but (compared to other books on jewellery) unremarkable volume. One also needs to be weary of the information provided, since Prince Michael is not known for great historical accuracy.
August 9, 2012
Fascinating. If only it could have included pieces from Queen Elizabeth II's collection...
The historical notes included were also very interesting and educational.
The historical notes included were also very interesting and educational.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews