Birthday wishes go out today to Princess Claire, daughter-in-law of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg. We’re joining in the celebrations with a look at a spectacular pair of heirloom emerald earrings that she wore for a recent family wedding.
In April 2023, Luxembourg’s royal family headed to the south of France for the wedding of Princess Alexandra, the only daughter of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, and Nicolas Bagory. The bride’s brother and sister-in-law, Prince Felix and Princess Claire, live about an hour away in a chateau in Lorgues, so they made an easy journey with two of their children, Princess Amalia and Prince Liam, for the occasion.
Claire wore a summery red gown from Zuhair Murad, paired with a special pair of earrings loaned to her for the occasion by her parents-in-law. The earrings feature diamond and emerald studs and impressive diamond and emerald cluster pendants, connected by a thin string of diamonds.
The jewels have been in the family for almost a century. They were first owned by the Grand Duke’s grandmother, Princess Astrid of Sweden, who was Queen of the Belgians during her marriage to King Leopold III. Here, she wears the emerald earrings with the Nine Provinces Tiara, one of her wedding presents. Sadly, Astrid died young in a car accident, and pieces of her jewelry have been treasured by her descendants as mementos of a mother lost too soon.
After Astrid’s death, the earrings were inherited by her only daughter, Princess Joséphine-Charlotte. She married Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg in 1953 and brought the earrings with her to her new home in the grand duchy. Joséphine-Charlotte liked to pair the earrings with other emerald pieces, mixing jewels that belonged to her mother with others from the grand ducal collection. Here, for a state banquet in Oslo in 1990, she wears several Luxembourgish pieces (the Chaumet Emerald Tiara and emerald and diamond bracelets that belonged to Grand Duchess Elizabeth Mikhailovna of Russia) and family jewels (the earrings, plus the peacock necklace made by repurposing some of Astrid’s emeralds and Princess Ingeborg’s emerald cluster brooch).
Most recently, the earrings have been spotted on Joséphine-Charlotte’s daughter-in-law, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa. She notably wore them in December 2024 for a ceremony celebrating the reopening of the restored Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris.
Grand Duchess Maria Teresa loaned the earrings to Princess Claire for Princess Alexandra’s wedding. In recent years, she has really opened the vaults to her daughter and daughters-in-law. I love seeing royal ladies sharing such fabulous heirloom jewels, which deserve to be worn as often as possible.
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