Count Alexander von Beregshasy: ‘It’s time to spread my sparkle to angels’
A final message from Count of Many Crystals as mourners holding roses pay their tributes
Published: 19 February 2010
by RÓISÍN GADELRAB
A CARPET of snow fell as Count Alexander von Beregshasy’s angel-adorned coffin arrived at the grounds of St Marylebone Crematorium on Monday.
The 6ft 6in Count of Many Crystals, a much-loved character who sold his lovingly crafted jewels from Islington’s Camden Passage, lost his battle against tuberculosis last week.
His funeral, a dramatic affair, took place in East Finchley, with four black horses drawing the hearse carrying a coffin bearing a flower and crystal crown atop. Mourners were given pink crystal-encrusted roses to hold during the service.
Count Alexander’s mother, Baroness Isle von Beregshasy, shared moving memories of their time together, while friends took turns to pay tribute.
The Baroness said: “Every day when I saw him – so tall, 6ft 6in – I couldn’t believe what a miracle he was. I didn’t mean to live with him. He always pointed out he didn’t live with his mother, his mother came to live with him. “He was a sensation to be with. Sometimes I would purposely walk behind him in Hampstead High Street just to observe people’s reactions.
“He lived exactly the way he wanted to live. It was good being with him, even if it was much too short. It was quality.”
Another friend told how the count weighed 13.5lb at birth, “the largest child ever born in Linz”, and the news was announced on the radio hourly. She added: “That was the beginning of many dramatic entrances.”
A friend, Appleseed, described how Count Alexander “refused to engage in the modern, new-fangled way of life”, adding: “Although they did have modern appliances in their home they were hidden away. Alexander never drove a car and if he could have had his way, he would have travelled by horse and carriage.”
Opera student Rosemary Lloyd, 16, became a friend of the count through their shared love of the 18th century. Wearing a vintage dress and the Coeur de la Mer necklace, which Count Alexander made for the movie Titanic, she sang Time to Say Goodbye and Mozart’s Lullaby.
Another friend, Ruth Pridham, who ran a shop in Camden Passage, read out some words the count wrote prior to his death: “Alexander says goodbye to all. I was very happy to be able to bring some sparkle into people’s lives.
“Now it’s time for me to say goodbye to you all and spread some of my sparkle to the angels. I want you all to remember, like the fairy tales, I will live happily ever after.” Describing the count’s Camden Passage shop, which he gave up in 2008, she said: “He created one of the most elaborate, unique and beautiful store fronts one could see anywhere in the world.”
Michael Lynton, the count’s jeweller, who carried out commissions for him from his Hatton Garden workshop, said: “He always had fantastic vision... You won’t see the likes of him for many years.”
Lelia Gomes, who cared for the count in his final days, recalled: “One day he told me that no man deserves a lady’s tears.” She added that he would “deserve my tears always”.
The service ended with Susan Boyle’s version of the Les Miserables classic, I Dreamed a Dream. The funeral was followed by a celebration of Count Alexander’s life in the Marie Antoinette suite at the Ritz, where Count Alexander used to take tea weekly.
The resident pianist played melodies from the Phantom of the Opera as the funeral party arrived, a nod to the film version of the musical for which Count Alexander designed jewels.