Mrs Greville (1863–1942), born Margaret Helen McEwen, daughter of a Scottish brewer who built one of the largest fortunes in Britain, was among the most prominent society hostesses of the Edwardian and interwar years and one of the most significant collectors of Cartier jewellery of her era.
She was close to King Edward VII and to the royal family across several generations. The future King George VI and Queen Elizabeth honeymooned at Polesden Lacey, her Surrey estate, in 1923. That relationship with the Crown gave particular weight to what she chose to do with her collection at the end of her life.
The Greville Bequest
When Mrs Greville died in 1942 (the middle of the war, with Cartier London still operating from New Bond Street and the city living under the threat of bombing), she left her legendary collection of Cartier jewellery to Queen Elizabeth. It was, by the account of those who have studied it, the most significant private gift of jewels in the twentieth century. The pieces passed into the Royal Collection and have been worn by successive members of the royal family since.
The bequest came at a particular moment in Cartier London's wartime history. The New Bond Street showroom had remained open throughout the war. A salesman had reportedly offered the premises to de Gaulle as a headquarters. The Greville pieces, arriving into royal hands in 1942, were some of the most important Cartier objects to change hands in that period.
Cartier and Fabergé
Like many of the wealthiest Edwardian clients, Mrs Greville collected from both Cartier and Fabergé. Her Fabergé pieces included a figure of a dog modelled on Caesar, King Edward VII's own terrier, which she gave to Queen Alexandra in 1910; it is now part of the Royal Collection. The overlap was characteristic of the period; Cartier and Fabergé served overlapping circles, and the most serious collectors of the era tended to buy from both.
Her story is told as part of the broader account of Cartier London's relationship with the British Crown in the webinar British Crown: Part II.
Sources
- Francesca Cartier Brickell, The Cartiers (Ballantine Books, 2019)
- Wikipedia: Mrs Greville
