Last week, the royal ladies of Belgium made a poignant visit to Egypt, walking in the footsteps of ancestors who had made the same journey a century before. Here’s a closer look at the jewels worn by Queen Mathilde and Princess Elisabeth during their three-day trip.
The Queen of the Belgians and the Duchess of Brabant arrived in Cairo on Tuesday for the start of a three-day official visit to Egypt. Their first stop was the Baron Empain Palace in Heliopolis, which was designed by a Belgian-born architect, Alexandre Marcel.
The historical relationship between Belgium and Egypt was the theme of the visit. At the palace, Mathilde and Elisabeth toured a special new exhibition, “Queen Elisabeth of Belgium in Egypt,” which charts Queen Elisabeth’s 1923 trip to the country. A century ago, Queen Elisabeth and her son, Prince Leopold (later King Leopold III), traveled to Egypt for the opening of the tomb of King Tutankhamun. She was so moved by the experience that she founded the Queen Elisabeth Egyptological Foundation on her return to Belgium. Mathilde and Elisabeth’s trip last week followed the same pattern as Elisabeth and Leopold’s, including visits to archaeological sites where Belgian scholars are currently working.
For the exhibition visit on Tuesday, Queen Mathilde wore a white Natan day dress, while Princess Elisabeth opted for a pair of bright pink separates from Armani.
Mathilde accessorized with gold-plated Carolina Herrera earrings with faux pearl pendants. (We’ve seen her wear these on multiple earlier occasions, including an important art exhibition visit.)
She also wore a gold cuff bracelet with a floral design. UFO No More tells us that the bracelet was made by the jewelry designer Christine Bekaert.
Princess Elisabeth wore a pair of vibrant statement earrings that also come from Giorgio Armani.
And she added a large cocktail-style ring on her left hand as well.
On Wednesday, the royals continued their trip with visits to several important archaeological sites near Luxor, including a stop at the Temple of Amenhotep III.
Just like Queen Elisabeth and Prince Leopold before them, Mathilde and Elisabeth also visited the fabled tomb of King Tutankhamun.
Both the queen and the princess wore comfortable beige and khaki ensembles perfect for trekking through historical sites.
They also both wore earrings from Sezane. Mathilde’s are the brand’s Raphaël Earrings, made of gold-plated brass and raffia.
Elisabeth wore the company’s Ama Earrings. They’re made of gold-plated pewter.
On Thursday, the royals concluded their visit by visiting excavation sites in Dayr-al-Barsha, home to an interdisciplinary archaeological project overseen by faculty from KU Leuven and the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo. Princess Elisabeth had the not-at-all-nerve-wracking task of climbing a steep ladder while watched by a whole lot of photographers.
A large posted welcomed the two royal ladies to the village, and the image provided us with our only tiara moment of the trip. The picture of Queen Mathilde chosen for the poster shows her wearing the Wolfers Tiara with Queen Fabiola’s Pearl Drop Earrings and her diamond and ruby bracelet.
The picture used comes from the Norwegian royal birthday celebrations in Oslo back in May 2017.
Mathilde and Elisabeth wore more casual, comfortable clothes for the visit to the excavation sites. Elisabeth brought a little color to the all-beige moment with a pink and yellow top.
Both ladies again wore Sezane earrings for these final engagements of the visit. Elisabeth again wore the Ama Earrings, while Mathilde chose the gold-plated brass Meika Earrings. (Thanks to UFO No More for the identifications!)
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