So after working hard on the caravan to fit the new heater and putting up some temporary secondary glazing for Pat, we decided to visit Pollok Park 2 miles from Pat’s. The Burrel Collection was closed but we went to use the car park which was full of police! So I asked the nearest one what was happening and he told us that King Charles was inside! And he would be out in 15 minutes if we wanted to wait! So we joined a few school children and a handful of public to wait! What a treat. The bagpipes came out first and then he walked right by us!
And so on to Pollok Park National Trust house. Pollok House and Park were open despite King Charles’ visit! Pollok House is a Georgian mansion extended in the early 19th century by the Maxwell family. The house contains collections of Spanish and European painting including works by El Greco, Murillo, and Goya, plus antique furniture, porcelain, silver and glassware. The house is set in 360 acres of parkland.
Found by African slaves in the Pearl Islands in the gulf of Panama during the 16th Century, the pearl earned its nickname, which means ‘The Wanderer’, for its unfortunate habit of vanishing.
Its story surpasses even the glamorous lives of the A-list couple who were its custodians for only part of the five centuries in which it has been one of the world’s most sought-after jewels.
On one occasion it disappeared as Elizabeth Taylor wore it in the Burtons’ suite at Caesar’s Palace, in Paradise, Nevada. “I just casually opened the puppy’s mouth and inside his mouth was the most perfect pearl in the world”
And La Peregrina – the most perfect natural pearl the planet has seen – was the exquisite heirloom that sealed Hollywood’s most tempestuous marriage. The 50 carat stone was one of the most famous gifts that the Afan-Valley-born Hollywood legend, Richard Burton, gave to his jewel-loving wife.
After being given to the Spanish administrator of Panama and taken back to Spain, where it was given to the future Philip II of Spain, the pearl was passed down through a long line of royalty that included Spain’s Philip II, Philip III, Philip IV, Charles II, Philip V, Fernando VI, Charles III and Carlos IV.
Then there was Joseph Bonaparte, France’s Prince Louis Napoleon, the Duke and Duchess of Abercorn and finally Elizabeth Taylor.
Richard Burton acquired the gem in 1969 for £37,000 at a Sotheby’s auction, in London. He gave it to her as a Valentine’s Day gift during their first marriage.
Sixth generation pearl trader Charlie Barron said that Philip II gave the pearl to Mary Tudor to court her for marriage. She wore the pearl as a pendant. On her death in 1558 it was returned to Spain and it remained part of their Crown jewels for the next 250 years.
It became a favourite ornament of Spanish queens. Philip III’s wife, Margaret of Austria, wore the pearl at the celebration of the peace treaty between Spain and England in 1605.
Portraits by Diego Velázquez show it was prized by Elisabeth of France and Mariana of Austria, wives of Philip IV.
In 1808 Joseph Bonaparte, became king of Spain. He ruled for five years but was forced to leave the kingdom, after the defeat of the French at the Battle of Vitoria. But Napoleon’s big brother took some of the crown jewels with him, including La Peregrina. That was when it acquired its name. Bonaparte left it to his nephew, the future Napoleon III of France, in his will.
While exiled in England he sold it to James Hamilton, Marquess and later Duke of Abercorn. His wife, Louisa, nearly lost it twice. The first time, it disappeared into a Windsor Castle sofa. The second time at a Buckingham Palace ball. Each time it was found.
It was sold to an unknown bidder in 2011 at Christie’s in New York, following Liz Taylor’s death. It fetched $11,842,500 – about £7.6m