Queen Mathilde Gleams in Diamonds and Velvet for a Banquet in Berlin

The King and Queen of the Belgians were the guests of honor at a state banquet hosted by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife, Elke Büdenbender, at Schloss Bellevue in Berlin on Tuesday.

Both ladies were resplendent in autumnal colors for the banquet, with Ms. Büdenbender in a rust-orange ensemble and Queen Mathilde in deep red velvet. Her dress, with its dramatic off-the-shoulder sweetheart neckline, comes from Armani Privé.

Queen Mathilde has worn the dress on a previous occasion. She paired the gown with the same jewels for a state banquet during the French state visit to Belgium in November 2018.

The jewels in question are particularly glorious ones. She wore the meander bandeau base of the Nine Provinces Tiara, a fabulous diadem made almost a century ago as a wedding gift for King Philippe’s grandmother, Queen Astrid. Mathilde also added a pair of diamond fringe earrings with a ribbon design, which have been in her collection since at least 2017.

Her jewels also included a diamond and ruby bracelet from Queen Fabiola’s collection, plus a sparkling diamond necklace that nestled pretty much perfectly into the neckline of her evening gown.

This is the same diamond necklace that she wore in Oslo in 2022 for the gala celebrating the 18th birthday of Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway. The necklace comes from Graff.

And for fun, here’s a look at the modern gold jewelry worn by Elke Büdenbender for the banquet. She wore the same gown and jewels previously for a banquet during Queen Margrethe II of Denmark’s state visit to Germany in 2021.