Last week, the Pope made a visit to a pair of small European countries, stopping by to see two of his fellow heads of state and their families in Luxembourg and Belgium.
On Thursday, Pope Francis traveled from the Vatican to Luxembourg, where he was welcomed at the Grand Ducal Palace by Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa. Here, Francis signs a guest book after his arrival.
Almost the entire grand ducal family was on hand to welcome the Pope to Luxembourg. They posed for official photos at the palace to mark the occasion. Seated here, from left to right, are Grand Duke Henri, Princess Amalia of Nassau, Pope Francis, Prince Liam of Nassau, and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa. Standing behind them, from left to right, are Nicolas Bagory and Princess Alexandra (whose four-month-old daughter, Victoire, sensibly stayed back in her nursery); Prince Félix and Princess Claire with Prince Balthazar of Nassau; Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie with Prince Charles and Prince François; Prince Sébastien; and Prince Louis with Prince Gabriel and Prince Noah of Nassau.
The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess also posed for photos with the Hereditary Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duchess and their sons. Guillaume, Charles, and François are first, second, and third in line to the Luxembourgish throne, and Grand Duke Henri recently announced that he has begun to transfer some of his responsibilities to his eldest son, signaling that he plans to abdicate within the next few years. The Pope was particularly charmed by the youngest members of the family and even offered cookies to the princes during the photo session.
For the official welcome at the palace, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa wore a dark navy Natan day dress with an eyelet pattern, accessorized with diamond and sapphire earrings and a coordinating diamond and sapphire ring.
Here’s a closer look at the earrings, which have been favorites of the ladies of the family for decades. The stud portion of the earrings feature two sapphires set within a cluster of diamonds, giving them a unique oval-shaped look.
Princess Stéphanie also wore blue for the occasion, opting for a light blue day dress with pearl and crystal buttons on the bodice.
With the dress, she wore a pair of earrings with pavé-set diamond pendants.
After a mass in Luxembourg, the Pope jetted off to neighboring Belgium, where he was welcomed by Grand Duke Henri’s first cousin, King Philippe of the Belgians, and his wife, Queen Mathilde.
Queen Mathilde wore a navy dress with a bow detail at the neck (from Natan, per UFO No More) for the papal airport arrival, plus a pair of coordinating earrings that feature small blue beads within their pendants.
On Friday, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde officially welcomed Francis to the Palace of Laeken, the royal family’s official residence on the outskirts of Brussels.
Queen Mathilde wore white for the welcome ceremony. Appropriately, she wore the diamond and pearl drop earrings that she inherited from Queen Fabiola of Belgium, a devout Catholic who did charity work with the Little Sisters of the Poor in Madrid before her royal marriage. Mathilde also wore her tanzanite and diamond ring, thought to be an anniversary gift from King Philippe, on her left hand.
The legacies of King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola were at the forefront of this particular papal visit. On Saturday, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde accompanied Pope Francis to the royal crypt at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken, where they prayed at the tomb of the late monarch. At the end of the papal visit, Francis announced, “Upon my return to Rome, I will start the beatification process of King Baudouin.”
The last major event of the Pope’s visit to Belgium was a mass at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels on Sunday. Numerous members of the Belgian royal family were in attendance, including King Philippe and Queen Mathilde with Prince Gabriel and Princess Eléonore, Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz, and Prince Laurent and Princess Claire with Princess Louise, Prince Nicolas, and Prince Aymeric.
Also present were King Albert and Queen Paola, as well as Princess Delphine and Jim O’Hare with Princess Joséphine and Prince Oscar.
Queen Mathilde again wore white for Sunday’s papal mass, opting for a classic jacket and skirt ensemble with matching shoes. UFO No More tells us that the outfit comes from Christian Dior.
Mathilde kept her jewelry simple for the service, adding a pair of diamond and pearl button earrings from her jewelry box to her ensemble.
There was a bit more sparkle at Sunday’s mass from Mathilde’s sister-in-law, Princess Astrid, who wore a pair of diamond earrings with her shiny blue Burberry trench coat. The earrings, which have been in Astrid’s collection for many years, feature pear-shaped studs and rectangular drops.
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