This is a truly fascinating story that begins over 550 years ago and follows this one unique gem stone from medieval times, where it was worn and appreciated by Royal Households and infamous blood thirsty Queens, via famous historical Generals (Bonaparte) and finally ending its journey in modern day Hollywood with Elizabeth Taylor. Surely a Hollywood Blockbuster waiting to be made? And it’s all true!
Richard Burton considered writing a history on the pearl and its owners, but unfortunately he never did.

This famous historical pearl is called La Peregrina for a reason. The Spanish translation means the "Pilgrim" or "the Wanderer" and it certainly was.

This is the amazing story...

The pearl was initially found by an African slave on the coast of the isle of Santa Margarita in the Gulf of Panama in the mid-16th century. At the time the Spanish trained men to harvest pearls from oysters on the sea bed by holding their breath. Thus the pearl, which was the size of a duck egg, was found. Thankfully the person who found it was subsequently rewarded with his freedom!

The King of Spain
It was initially given to Don Pedro de Temez, the administrator of the Spanish colony in Panama.
The pearl then entered the Spanish Crown Jewels during the period of rule of King Ferdinand V (1479-1516) and his successor King Charles V (1516-1556).

La Peregrina then changed Royal families and travelled across the English Channel to England, a traditional enemy of the Spanish at this time.
It was sent by the then King of Spain, Philip the 2nd (1527-1598) to be presented to Mary the 1st of England, also known as "Mary Tudor" or "Bloody Mary".

King Philip the 2nd of Spain and Mary the 1st of England wearing the Pearl

It was actually sent as a love token in anticipation of their marriage in 1554 and there are, incredibly, several portraits of the Queen Mary actually wearing the pearl.

Bloody Mary wearing the Pearl in 1554

Queen Mary the 1st was the eldest daughter of King Henry VIII and Queen Catherine of Aragon, and reigned as Queen Mary of England from 1553 to 1558. Being Henry 8th daughter had its problems and Mary and her father fell out frequently, once not speaking for 3 years. While Henry married again, (Ann Boleyn) Mary and her mother were wickedly kept apart and when Catherine died in 1536, Mary was "inconsolable".

Mary's father King Henry the 8th

So why was Mary, given the terrible nickname of Bloody Mary?
It was because of her persecution of English Protestants, as Mary, like her mother Catherine of Aragon, whom Henry VIII had spurned, was a devout Roman Catholic. Mary had over 280 Protestants killed during her brief reign as she attempted to restore Catholicism. However, it was the way she decided that they should meet their end that contributed to her nickname. Mary's favored form of execution was burning at the stake! Heresy was the alleged crime. It's possible of course that the unpleasant circumstances of Mary's adolescence had an effect on her personality.

Mary's father King Henry the 8th (picture on the left), he may have been a little bit responsible for Mary's "attitude"

Mary was 37 when she saw a full-length portrait of Philip which was sent to her in September 1553, (there were no internet dating sites in 1500’s) and declared her self to be in love with him.

Philip and Mary

Philip and Mary having a lovely time in 1558 (picture on the right), four years after they were married. Please note she is again wearing the Peregrina Pearl.

Unfortunately for Bloody Mary, Philip did not feel the same about her, He wrote to a correspondent in Brussels, "the marriage was concluded for no fleshly consideration"... clearly a smooth talker then.

Their marriage at Winchester Cathedral on 25 July 1554 took place just two days after their first meeting. The following year, in early February 1555 the first executions began and it's quite probable that, as Mary was obviously so besotted with the stone that she wore her Pearl whilst witnessing the horrible burnings. Philip spent most of their marriage abroad, while his wife remained in England.

By May 1558, Mary, who was often sick, became weak and ill, and eventually died, on 17 November 1558, aged 42 at St. James's Palace during an influenza epidemic. Philip, who was in Brussels, wrote in a letter, "I felt a reasonable regret for her death". After Mary's death, a clearly distraught Philip decided it would be a good idea to propose to her sister, Elizabeth. However, Elizabeth, having a bit more class, refused him.

So what became of the Pearl?
After Queen Mary's death in 1558 the pearl was returned to Spain, where it remained for over 250 years, becoming a favorite ornament of all queen consorts of Spain.
Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain, the wife of Philip III of Spain, wore the pearl for the celebration of the peace treaty between Spain and England in 1605. It was then worn by both of the wives of Philip IV (1621-1665), Queen Isabel (Elizabeth) and Queen Mariana (Maria Anna).

Queen Isabel (Elizabeth)

Queen Isabel (Elizabeth), Philip IV first wife wears the pearl in this picture 1632.
The curse of the Pearl continued to rue the love lives of those who wore it and both Isabel and Philip were rumored to be having affairs. Isabel was thought to be having an affair with her gentleman in waiting, the poet Peralta. Peralta neglected a significant warning that his life was in peril, and he was murdered as he stepped out of his coach. The responsibility for his death was divided between Philip IV and Olivares (At the time, Prime Minister and King's favorite).

On Isabel’s death in 1644, the Pearl was passed to Philips second wife, Mariana of Austria. Unfortunately, again, true romance was never in the stars as Mariana was actually Philips 14 year old niece! Producing 5 children only 2 lived into adulthood and suffered from the physical effects of inbreeding.

Mariana died on 16 May 1696 at the Uceda Palace in Madrid, Spain, and at that moment a total eclipse of the moon reached its maximum and the Spanish capital was completely covered in darkness.
Strangely, also cloaked in darkness were details of the Pearl and with the death of the unfortunate Mariana, details of the Pearl were also lost and it wasn’t until about 1813, over a hundred years later, that the Pearl reappears in history.

The Bonaparte’s
The Peregrina appears back on the scene thanks to non other than Napoleon Bonaparte, and more precisely, his brother, Joseph Bonaparte.

Napoleon Bonaparte	Joseph Bonaparte	Charles Bonaparte

In 1808, Napoleon invaded Spain, crushed the Spanish and placed Joseph Bonaparte on the Spanish throne. Joseph ruled for 5 years until defeated by the Duke of Wellington in 1813 which meant he had to flee Spain, he took with him some of the Royal Spanish jewels and the Peregrina Pearl.

After the final fall of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1815, Joseph Bonaparte emigrated from France to the United States where he took up permanent residence. He died in Florence in 1844 and passed the Pearl to his nephew Charles Louis Bonaparte.
However, young Charles too was to become a big name in history. He considered himself as the legitimate claimant to the French throne and spent the majority of his lifetime trying to transform Bonapartism into a political ideology. He led an adventurous lifestyle, bought a castle, attempted coups and eventually arrived in Paris, and began preparations to run for French presidency which he won in 1848. In 1852 after another coup he announced himself the emperor of France as Napoleon III.

Before dying in 1873 he sold the Peregrina Pearl to Lord James Hamilton, the 2nd Marquess of Abercorn, who was born in Mayfair, London, on January 21, 1811. During the next few years the pearl fell out of its necklace's setting on at least two occasions. The first time, the pearl got lost in a sofa in Windsor Castle, the second time, during a ball at Buckingham Palace. On both occasions, the pearl was recovered. It remained in the Abercorn family for over a hundred years until it was placed with Sotheby's for an auction sale in 1969.

Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor
Richard Burton purchased the pearl at the Sotheby's auction in 1969 for $37,000. He gave it to his wife Elizabeth Taylor as a Valentine's Day gift during their first marriage. At the time Burton purchased the "La Peregrina" it was suspended as a pendant to a delicate pearl linked necklace. They decided to have the necklace re-designed using the expertise of Cartier. The result was a masterpiece of pearls, rubies and diamonds.

Elizabeth Taylor wearing the Pearl

Elizabeth Taylor wearing the Pearl in the 1969 film Ann of the Thousand days.
It is well known that Richard Burton bought specific jewelry knowing its historical past, and this is certainly the case with La Peregrina, as he commented "It used to belong to the Welsh and I thought it time they got it back".

Elizabeth took cues on how she wanted the necklace set from one of the paintings of Mary, above, who was wearing it as a choker. Richard Burton considered bidding on a four-hundred year old painting with the pearl adorning Queen Mary, but instead helped the National Art Collections Fund acquire it. The pearl’s former setting can be seen in publicity shots for Elizabeth’s cameo in the 1969 film, Anne of the Thousand Days, and the new, more elaborate setting in the films Divorce His—Divorce Hers and A Little Night Music.

Elizabeth Taylor

So what of the Pearl now? After Elizabeth Taylor’s death in March her jewelry is to be shown on a world tour and then sold at auction by Christies in December 2011.

If YOU dare to be the next proud owner of this amazing historical pearl, it is estimated that La Peregrina will sell for approximately £1.25million to £1.88million.

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First Published: November-15-2011

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