The Duke's Darling Nellie: The Bejeweled Legacy of Princess Helen, Duchess of Albany (Part 1)

Our series on the jewelry secrets revealed by a recently-unsealed series of royal wills continues today with the sparkling legacy of the Duchess of Albany, Queen Victoria's resilient daughter-in-law

When the Duchess of Albany, Queen Victoria’s daughter-in-law, died in 1922, her will was sealed, making it inaccessible to the general public. Now, more than a century later, historians and scholars have been permitted to access to the document for the first time, uncovering inheritance secrets that have been long hidden from view. The Duchess’s royal life was uniquely tragic, thanks to the early death of her husband and a war that divided her family decades later. Today, my two-part series begins with a look at Helen’s royal wedding and her early widowhood.

Springtime in Cannes was glorious. The golden hour sunshine streamed down on La Croisette, glinting off the wide fronds of the palms and the sparkling water that splashed against the promenade by the sea. On March 27, 1884, on the balcony of the exclusive Cercle Nautique yacht club, Queen Victoria’s youngest son, the Duke of Albany, watched as the elaborate parade of the annual Bataille des Fleurs moved past on the boulevard below. The Duke decided that it wasn’t enough simply to watch the flower-decked carriages go by—he wanted to take part in one of the area’s grandest traditions himself. He summoned a friend, Baron Hoffmann, to come by the club to pick him up. With the Baron’s carriage joining the procession, the Duke would be able to be right in the midst of the fun, tossing and catching bouquets of colorful spring flowers as they drove along the esplanade.

Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, ca. 1880 (Royal Collection Trust)

Leopold, who was just a few days shy of his 31st birthday, had largely enjoyed his time in Cannes so far. He had attended garden parties and suppers at the club, and he had gone out driving and yachting with his equerry, Captain Alexander Clifton Perceval, with whom he was staying at the Villa Nevada. The warm weather on the Riviera was a welcome respite from the springtime chill of England. Leopold’s family members had hoped that the change in climate would help him to recover from a series of medical setbacks suffered in recent months.

When Leopold was a toddler, doctors had discovered that the young prince had hemophilia, an inherited genetic disorder that prevented blood from clotting properly. Injuries that were minor for others could prove deadly for hemophiliacs, and Leopold frequently suffered from bruising, joint pain, and stiffness as a consequence of the disease. His medical problems had intensified in recent years, leading the prince to use mobility aids like walking sticks. The especially cold and unpleasant British weather in the early months of 1884 had been particularly tough for Leopold to bear. His doctors advised the prince that he should go abroad to spend some time in a more temperate climate, allowing his body to try to heal away from the chilly English weather. It wasn’t an easy task to persuade Leopold to leave his young family. His baby daughter, Princess Alice, had only just celebrated her first birthday, and his wife, Princess Helen, was expecting their second child.