Elegant Royal New Year Tiaras and Jewels in Luxembourg

Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg hosted a reception at the Grand Ducal Palace to celebrate the new year on Thursday. They were joined by several of their children and their spouses: Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie, Prince Louis, and Princess Alexandra and Nicolas Bagory. The reception was attended by numerous Luxembourgish dignitaries, including government officials and legislators, members of the judiciary and the diplomatic corps, and church representatives.

Grand Duchess Maria Teresa looked lovely in a floral evening gown (by Elie Saab, according to UFO No More), worn with diamonds and aquamarines, plus the insignia of Luxembourg’s most senior chivalric decoration, the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau. The order is shared by two lines of the House of Nassau—one reigning in Luxembourg, the other in the Netherlands—and both Grand Duke Henri and King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands are grand masters of the order.

The elegant jewels she chose for the event included the Belgian Scroll Tiara, which was among the wedding gifts offered to her late mother-in-law, Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte, in 1953. She also wore jewels set with aquamarines to pick up the light blue tones from her dress. Her earrings and the bracelet worn on her left wrist both come from Josephine-Charlotte’s mid-century aquamarine and diamond parure. The diamond bracelet on her right wrist also appears to be set with an aquamarine.

Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie chose a lovely gown with floral embroidery as well. UFO No More tells us that her dress comes from Marchesa Notte. The blue and purple flowers on the dress coordinated nicely with the insignia of her highest Luxembourgish decoration, the Order of Adolphe of Nassau.

Stephanie also echoed the blue colors from her gown and sash in her jewelry choices. She wore the Grand Duchess Adelaide Tiara, one of the oldest diadems in the family collection. The tiara was made in the second half of the nineteenth century, and it’s been a favorite jewel of the women of the grand ducal family for generations. Stephanie also chose earrings from the vault that coordinate nicely with the tiara’s central sapphire. The diamond and sapphire earrings feature a unique double-sapphire stud, which you can see in more detail here.

Princess Alexandra, who recently announced that she is expecting her first child, borrowed a dark blue Elie Saab gown from her mother’s archive for the reception. Like her parents and her brothers, Alexandra also wore the sash and star of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau with the dress.

Alexandra accessorized with diamonds and pearls, including the family’s magnificent Diamond Vine Leaves Tiara. (I believe this is the first time we’ve seen Alexandra wear the tiara in public.) The nineteenth-century jewel has long been a favorite tiara of Luxembourgish princess brides. Alexandra’s modern diamond and pearl earrings also have links to family weddings. She wore them for her religious wedding ceremony in April 2023, and a decade earlier, her sister-in-law, Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie, wore them for her civil wedding ceremony.