Monthly Archives: April 2013

The Blue Diamond Affair

by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2013

A huge stash of jewels stolen from a Saudi palace, hidden in a vacuum cleaner bag… an alleged 50-carat blue diamond… many of the jewels found and returned… but were they real? And who is the Elvis impersonator caught up in the whole thing? Sounds like the plot of a movie-of-the-week. But it’s all real! It’s (cue the theme music) The Blue Diamond Affair!

Back in 1989, a Thai worker at Prince Faisal bin Fahd’s palace snuck into one of the princesses’ bedrooms and helped himself to a huge stash of jewels and gems. Hiding them in a vacuum cleaner bag, he got them out of the palace and quickly shipped them off to Thailand, and then high-tailed it out of Saudi Arabia. Once back in Thailand, he found it difficult to sell the treasures. A jeweler heard of the whole affair and purchased many of the pieces for just a fraction of their worth.

The Saudis quickly figured out they’d been robbed and notified the Thai authorities. A Thai Police team, led by Lt-General Chalor Kerdthes, quickly found the thief. He was sentenced to 7 years in jail (reduced to 3 once he confessed to the crime). The Lt-General also tracked down the stolen jewels and personally flew to Saudi Arabia to return them to Prince Faisal.

Here’s where the intrigue really gets good! Upon examining the returned jewels, it was discovered that many of the pieces were fakes – most of the gems having been replaced with paste copies – and the famed 50-carat blue diamond was still missing. Suspecting the Thai authorities of not being completely honest about the whole situation, the Saudis sent a representative to Bangkok to get to the bottom of things. But before he could figure things out, the plot takes a more sinister turn. First, the Saudi consul was killed, as well as two Saudi embassy staff members. Two days later, the businessman disappeared, presumed to have been murdered as well. So far, these four murders remain unsolved.

Convinced that the Thai police were involved in the murders, Saudi Arabia severely restricted their diplomatic relations with Thailand. They canceled visas and work permits for the Thais, and barred Saudi citizens from traveling to Thailand. A new Saudi representative was sent to investigate. He claims that the four Saudis had found vital information regarding the jewels and were murdered to keep them from passing the information along. A few years later, the jeweler (generally believed to have been the one who replaced the gems with fakes) was kidnapped and tortured, and then his wife and son were found dead. It was quickly discovered that all of this was all done at the orders of Lt-General Kerdthes.

Kerdthes was charged with the murder of the jeweler’s family. He was found guilty and sentenced to death in October 2009. (In 2001, King Bhumibol Adulyadej reduced the sentence to 50 years in prison). He was also convicted, in 2006, of receiving the stolen Saudi jewels. However, neither the jeweler nor Kerdthes have revealed anything more about the whereabouts of the jewels. Lt-General Kerdthes remains in jail, where he has put a band together, and recorded a cover version of Elvis Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock.” He continues to profess his innocence.

And to this day, there’s still no word about whatever happened to the famed Blue Diamond…

Who Knew?!

Wikipedia: Blue Diamond Affair

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Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, Duchess of Braganza

by Emily McMahon © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg was the wife of deposed King Miguel I of Portugal. She was born April 3, 1831, in Kleinheubach, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in Bavaria, Germany, to Hereditary Prince Constantine of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg and Princess Agnes of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.

Adelaide had one younger sibling:

After the deaths of both of her parents by the time she was seven years old, Adelaide and her brother were raised by their paternal grandparents, Karl Thomas, Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, and Princess Sophie of Windisch-Graetz.

Wedding of Adelaide and Miguel, watercolor by William Peoples. source: Wikipedia

On September 24, 1851, at Schloss Löwenstein in Kleinheubach, 20-year-old Adelaide married 49-year-old Miguel, who had been deposed as King of Portugal in 1834.  The couple met in the Grand Duchy of Baden, where Miguel lived in exile. Following the wedding, the couple lived in Bronnbach, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, at Schloss Bronnbach, a former monastery owned by the Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg family.

They had seven children:

Adelaide with her husband and two eldest children. source: Wikipedia

Miguel died on November 14, 1866, leaving Adelaide a widow with seven young children. She spent the next several decades arranging prominent marriages for her children. Because of these marriages, Adelaide is the ancestor of the current royal families of Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and the former royal families of Austria, Bavaria, Portugal, and Romania.

Adelaide as a nun; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1895, Adelaide retired to the Abbey of Sainte-Cécile in Solesmes, France, and two years later, on June 12, 1897, she professed as a nun. The cloister later moved to the Isle of Wight in England, first in Cowes and then settling in Ryde, where it was called Saint Cecilia’s Abbey in Ryde. On December 16, 1909, 78-year-old Adelaide died at Saint Cecilia’s Abbey, where she was buried. In 1967, Adelaide and her husband were reinterred at the Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora, in Lisbon, Portugal.

Portugal Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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Arthur, Prince of Wales

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Arthur, Prince of Wales; Credit: Wikipedia

The first child of King Henry VII of England, the first Tudor monarch, and Elizabeth of York, daughter of King Edward IV, niece of King Richard III,  and sister of King Edward V, was born purposefully in Winchester, England, once the capital of the Kingdom of Wessex, on September 20, 1486.  The name Arthur was chosen in hopes that he would bring a new Arthurian age to the new Tudor dynasty.

Arthur was christened on September 24, 1486, at Winchester Cathedral. His godparents were:

Arthur had six siblings:

Henry VII’s family, including children who did not survive childhood: At left, Henry VII, with Arthur, Prince of Wales behind him, then Henry (later Henry VIII), and Edmund. To the right is Elizabeth of York, with Margaret, then Elizabeth, Mary, and Katherine; Credit – Wikipedia

Arthur had an education befitting the heir to the throne. A household was set up for him in Ludlow Castle near the Welsh border when he was six years old. His early education covered the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic, which he learned very quickly. In 1491,  John Rede, former Headmaster of Winchester College, became his tutor, followed by the blind poet Bernard André in 1496, and then Thomas Linacre in 1501.

When Arthur was very young, his father began negotiations for him to marry Catherine of Aragon, the youngest child of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. The Treaty of Medina del Campo, ratified by Spain in 1489 and England in 1490, contained the marriage contract between Catherine and Arthur. Catherine left Spain in 1501, never to return, and on November 14, 1501, the two 15-year-olds, Catherine and Arthur, were married at the Old St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Catherine was escorted to the cathedral by Arthur’s brother, the 10-year-old Henry, Duke of York, who would eventually become her second husband.

Catherine of Aragon, circa 1502; Credit – Wikipedia

After the marriage, the couple lived at Ludlow Castle in Shropshire, England, near the Welsh border, where, as Prince of Wales, Arthur presided over the Council of Wales and the Marches.  It is doubtful that the marriage was consummated, and this question later became vitally important when King Henry VIII sought to annul his marriage to Catherine.  Arthur and Catherine became ill within months of the marriage, probably because of the sweating sickness.  Catherine survived, but she was left a widow as Arthur did not survive. 15-year-old Arthur died on April 2, 1502, and was buried in Worcester Cathedral. Henry VII and his wife Elizabeth were naturally distraught at the death of their eldest son. Their second son succeeded his father as King Henry VIII in 1509, leaving us to ask the question, “What if Arthur had become king?”

Tomb of Arthur, Prince of Wales; Credit – www.geograph.org.uk

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