Our celebration of gorgeous citrines and topazes continues with this week’s Sparkling Spotlight articles. First up: a look at one of my favorite tiara appearances by Princess Stéphanie, the Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.
In October 2019, the King and Queen of the Belgians made a state visit to Luxembourg, where they were hosted by the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess as well as the Hereditary Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duchess. The visit was more than just a diplomatic meeting: it was a family reunion, as King Philippe and Grand Duke Henri are first cousins.
For a state banquet at the Grand Ducal Palace on the first evening of the visit, the royal ladies all wore elegant evening gowns with decorations and jewels. Queen Mathilde brought out the Nine Provinces Tiara, which originally belonged to Philippe and Henri’s mutual grandmother, Queen Astrid of Belgium, for the occasion. She also wore Queen Fabiola’s Diamond and Pearl Drop Earrings and the sash and star of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau.
Appropriately, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa wore the Belgian Scroll Tiara, pairing it with emerald pieces. As the name of that piece suggests, the tiara originally belonged to her Belgian-born mother-in-law, Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte. (Maria Teresa was recovering from knee surgery at the time—perhaps that’s the reason she didn’t wear the insignia of the Order of Leopold, her highest Belgian decoration.)
Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie was ultra-elegant in a gold and ivory caftan-style evening gown for the banquet. The dress featured rich embroidery from the neckline to the hem. The color of the gown coordinated beautifully with the sash and star of her Belgian decoration, the Order of the Crown.
Stéphanie, who was born a Belgian countess, also wore jewels with Belgian connections for the visit. The family has numerous mid-century jewelry suites acquired during the tenure of Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte, who was the daughter of King Leopold III of Belgium. For this banquet, Stéphanie wore Josephine-Charlotte’s citrine and pearl parure, which includes a bandeau-style tiara. The gold and ivory colors of the jewels coordinated perfectly with her dress.
The parure also includes several other pieces. Stéphanie also added the earrings and bracelet from the set to this look, but she wisely left the necklace in the vaults. I think it would have been overkill to include that piece, too.
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