![Coronation of Marie de Medici Peter Paul Rubens [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://i0.wp.com/thegoodlifefrance.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Rubens_-_Couronnement_de_Marie_de_Médicis_le_13_mai_1610.jpg?ssl=1 "Coronation of Marie de Medici Peter Paul Rubens [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons")
A diamond once worn by Marie de Medici at her coronation in 1604 as Henry IV of France’s Queen Consort was sold for almost $10m by Sothebys Geneva.
The 34.98 carat diamond named the Beau Sancy and purchased by an anonymous bidder has a fascinating history.
It passed from the French monarchy to the Dutch and was given to seal the wedding of William of Orange to Mary Stuart, daughter of Charles I, King of England.
Mary Stuart pawned the rose-cut gem to finance her brother Charles II’s fight for the throne. And in 1702, the first king of Prussia placed it in the first ever royal crown of Prussia. It has passed through generations of the House of Prussia, a line of descendants of the once royal family of Prussia who put it up for sale.
