Princess Saw Her Unique Engagement Ring in Auction Catalog

(IDEX Online) - Princess Firyal Irshaid of Jordan told a court this week that she discovered her unique sapphire-and-diamond engagement ring had been stolen when it was pictured on the front of an auction catalog.

The princess, who married Prince Muhammad bin Talal, second son of King Talal of Jordan, in 1964, was giving evidence yesterday (October 7) at the trial in London of her longtime housekeeper, Maria Virgelina Taborda Henao, who is accused of stealing her jewelry.

Taborda Henao, 71, from Colombia, is accused of stealing the ring and other items between February and November 2020 and of selling them through an auction house. She denies the charge of theft by an employee.

Princess Firyal, 81, told Southwark Crown Court (pictured) she first became aware of the alleged theft when her friend Pierre Jeannet, a partner at JAR, the Paris-based high-jewelry house that made the ring, contacted her.

He called to say a picture of the ring - "the only one like it in the world" - had appeared on the cover of a Canterbury Auction Galleries catalog. No further details of the jewelry have so far been provided.

The princess subsequently discovered more items of her jewelry in other catalogs for the same auction house.

She had flown back to Jordan in mid-March 2020 at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, leaving Taborda Henao in charge of her $7.5 million home in the exclusive Belgravia area of London.

Police later searched Taborda Henao's home and recovered Firyal's wedding ring, a pair of earrings and a jeweled metal necklace, the court was told.

The case continues.