Today in Luxembourg, Princess Stéphanie celebrates her last birthday as the country’s Hereditary Grand Duchess. In October, her husband will become Grand Duke, and she will likely gain access to an exclusive collection of jewels—including two family tiaras she has not yet worn.
Since marrying Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg in October 2012, Princess Stéphanie has made an impressive dent in the family vaults. She has worn an impressive ten tiaras from the royal vaults, plus two personal tiaras, since becoming Hereditary Grand Duchess, a number that represents almost every single significant tiara in the family’s collection.
In general, there are three tiaras in Luxembourg that appear to be mainly reserved for the use of the woman who holds the title of Grand Duchess. These are worn almost exclusively by the Grand Duchess and only rarely (if ever) loaned to another member of the family. So far, Stéphanie has worn one of them, with two more waiting in the wings. Let’s take a closer look at all three.
Without a doubt, the grandest diadem in Luxembourg is the Empire Tiara, a towering nineteenth-century jewel set with diamonds. The tiara, which is more than four inches tall, dates to the 1820s, and it features the anthemion and scroll design elements that were very popular during that period. Above, the tiara is worn by Grand Duchess Charlotte, grandmother of the present Grand Duke, as she signs her abdication papers in 1964, handing over the reins in Luxembourg to her son, Jean.
The grand tiara was worn next by Grand Duke Jean’s wife, the Belgian-born Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte. She liked to use it for the most important occasions, including the couple’s state visit with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in Britain in 1972.
Grand Duke Jean abdicated in favor of his eldest son, Grand Duke Henri, in 2000. Since then, the tiara has been worn by Henri’s wife, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa. She has only used the challenging tiara on a handful of occasions, including an important state visit to Belgium in 2007 and the Swedish royal wedding in 2010. It’s been some time since we’ve seen her wear the tiara in public.
As the world grows increasingly casual, I think the new Grand Duchess Stéphanie will find very few occasions where wearing such an imposing tiara feels appropriate. But I do think we’ll see her, at the very least, wearing the family’s signature diadem for an official portrait or two.
In that 1964 abdication photograph, Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte is wearing another tiara that is now mainly used by the Grand Duchesses of Luxembourg. When she married Prince Jean in 1953, Princess Joséphine-Charlotte received a treasure trove of wedding presents, including a classic diamond scroll tiara. The jewel was a gift from the Société Générale, a French bank, but it takes its name from the fact that Joséphine-Charlotte was born a Princess of Belgium.
Joséphine-Charlotte kept the tiara in her own jewelry box until her passing in 2005. (On some occasions during her lifetime, she loaned the tiara to a daughter-in-law, Princess Sibilla.) Since then, it has been worn exclusively by her daughter-in-law, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa. In recent years, it has become almost the only tiara that Maria Teresa wears, and it’s easy to see why: it’s a beautiful design, and its 20th century creation date means that it is likely lighter and easier to wear than many older antique jewels.
Will Maria Teresa hand over this symbolic tiara to Stéphanie, who was also born in Belgium, after the abdication, or will she keep it in her own jewelry box? Only time will tell, but I have a hunch that we’ll see the new Grand Duchess Stéphanie wear the scroll tiara soon after her husband’s accession.
The third in the trio of elite tiaras in Luxembourg is a fascinating example of Art Deco design. Made in the first part of the 20th century by Chaumet, the tiara features diamonds set in an intricate pattern, surrounding an enormous cabochon emerald. The shape of the tiara has often garnered comparisons to representations of tiaras from the world of entertainment, including the iconic one worn by Wonder Woman.
The tiara was made for Grand Duchess Charlotte, who wore it often throughout her long reign in Luxembourg. She was still wearing it for gala events in the 1960s, four decades after it was made, including a grand silver wedding celebration gathering for Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands in 1962.
After her abdication, Grand Duchess Charlotte handed the tiara over to Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte. She wore it for a number of gala occasions over the decades, often pairing the tiara with pieces of personal jewelry set with emeralds, many of which had been inherited from her Swedish-born mother, Queen Astrid.
The tiara has primarily been worn by Grand Duchess Maria Teresa since the 2000s, though in recent years, she has begun lending it to other members of the family. Her daughter, Princess Alexandra, wore the tiara for the New Year gala in January 2023—her final family gala before her wedding.
And a year ago, in February 2024, Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie made her very first public appearance in the emerald tiara, wearing it for a state banquet honoring the President of the Czech Republic. The decision to lend the tiara to Stéphanie in this moment seems to signal that change is indeed on the way. Here’s hoping that we see the future Grand Duchess embracing the family jewelry collection even more fully in her new role!
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