An 18th century 18 carat gold and verre eglomisé festooned necklace with a most intriguing provenance. It is illustrated on page 155 of the iconic publication Georgian Jewellery.  The necklace is composed of an octagonal and two lozenge-shaped plaques, depicting faith, hope and charity in black and gold verre eglomisé within mother-of-pearl and corded gold frames, connected by delicate swags of 18 carat gold chain. It is 16 inches in length. The swagged gold chain has been artfully arranged so it sits beautifully on the neck. The necklace is immaculate.

There has been much debate about the story of George III’s relationship with a  young Quaker girl, Hannah Lightfoot. Their love affair is said to have begun whilst he was a young prince, producing two sons and a daughter and culminating in a clandestine marriage in 1759. Of the three progeny, the eldest son was given a Royal Warrant and sailed to South Africa in 1797. There he founded the town of Kynsna where he remained until his death in 1839. He never spoke of his lineage, the only reference to his royal association being in his name, George Rex. His will attested that all his surviving offspring were illegitimate due to his resolve never to marry their mother and many believe that this substantiates the story that George III’s last request to him was that he must never produce any legitimate heirs to undermine the British monarchy. George succeeded the throne in 1760 and in 1761 made Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz his queen, with whom he had fifteen children. This necklace has been historically documented as having been given to Hannah Lightfoot by George III when he was Prince of Wales. It was passed down for generations in the family of George Rex. Whether the tale of Hannah and the King is truth or myth we will probably never know. Truth is often stranger than fiction.