Queen Letizia’s Incredible Spanish Royal Portrait Diamonds

We were treated to a lovely royal jewelry surprise from Spain today: an appearance by the family’s treasured heirloom diamonds in a fabulous new portrait of Queen Letizia.

New portraits of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain were unveiled on Tuesday in Madrid. The photographic portraits were commissioned by the Bank of Spain, the nation’s central bank, and are displayed there as part of a new exhibition. The images were made to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the King’s accession, and they are the work of the famed American portrait photographer Annie Leibovitz.

The portraits are hanging at the Bank of Spain, but they were taken at the Royal Palace in Madrid. Royal reporter Rick Evers shares that the pictures were taken on February 7, 2024, in a room in the palace known as the Salón de Gasparini. The room takes its name from its designer, Mattia Gasparini, during the reign of King Carlos III. The room is a noted example of European Baroque design from the eighteenth century.

Leibovitz is known for the way she uses light in her imagery, something particularly evident in the portrait of Queen Letizia. In the image, the Queen wears a vintage black Balenciaga evening gown and scarlet-colored wrap, highlighted by the light that streams in from the window behind her.

She also wears her signature Coreterno ring on her left hand, plus two more very important pieces of diamond jewelry that have been in the royal family for several generations. The dazzling diamond earrings and diamond necklace are both part of the joyas de pasar collection, which was assembled by King Felipe’s great-grandmother, Queen Ena, to be passed down from monarch to monarch. Since Queen Ena’s passing in 1969, the jewels have been handed down through the family and primarily worn by the Countess of Barcelona, Queen Sofia, and now Queen Letizia.

Indeed, these diamonds have been worn for Spanish royal portraits for more than a century. This image of Queen Ena was taken by the noted Danish court photographer Christian Franzen in Madrid in 1922. She’s wearing the same diamond earrings and necklace that Letizia wears in the new Leibovitz portrait in this image. (The necklace can be worn in longer and shorter settings.) She also wears the grand fleur-de-lis tiara that is also part of the joyas de pasar collection, as well as an emerald necklace that was later sold. A century later, the diamonds are still glittering on the Queen of Spain, just as Ena had hoped.