Gala Jewels: Chilean Visit to Spain
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet arrived in Madrid on Wednesday for an official visit with King Felipe and Queen Letizia. The day started off with lunch at Zarazuela Palace, following the traditional welcome ceremony photo-op.
Letizia’s jewels for the daytime event were minimal as usual: just a delicate pair of drop earrings. But her jacket also had a little more interest courtesy the beaded detail.
The real glitter came later that night, when Felipe and Letizia hosted their first white-tie gala as king and queen. I was holding my breath to see if Letizia would wear any of the joyas de pasar, the collection of jewels from Queen Ena that are reserved for the use of queens and queens consort. But I’ll be holding my breath a bit longer: none of those jewels appeared at the gala dinner.
Instead, Letizia wore jewels that she’s worn to gala events in the past. The tiara is the floral sparkler originally created in 1879 by J.P. Collins for Queen Maria Cristina. The piece actually belongs personally to Queen Sofia, who received it as a wedding present in 1962 from Franco. She’s loaned the tiara several times to Letizia in the past, and that arrangement seems to have continued. The fleur-de-lys brooch pinned to Letizia’s sash is the one that is presumed to be part of a yet-unseen tiara created for her by Ansorena.
Both Felipe and Letizia wore Chilean orders at the dinner. Felipe is wearing the collar and star of the Order of Merit of Chile, plus the neck badge of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Letizia is wearing the sash and star of the Order of Merit. She’s pinned the star directly on to the sash, which is something that Letizia sometimes does at these occasions — I can only guess she’s reluctant to pin a very heavy star to the delicate fabric of her Carolina Herrera gown?
State Visit Jewels: Dutch Visit to Japan
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands are currently in Tokyo on a state visit to Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan. On Wednesday, the royal couple were welcomed to the Imperial Palace.
Everybody dressed just about the way you would expect them to: suits on the monarchs, tiny saucer hat and pearls on Michiko, and an orange dress with a turban-y headpiece for Max. She’s also wearing diamond pendant earrings with citrine drops, a golden bracelet, and a watch.
Also present at the welcome ceremony: Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako! So good to see her looking happy and healthy. She wore pearls, her usual daytime jewels, but she also wore an outfit in orange, the Dutch royal house’s signature color — a really lovely gesture of welcome to the king and queen, who have become good friends of the crown princely family.
At the state banquet on Wednesday night, Queen Maxima debuted a brand-new-to-her tiara: the Württemberg Ornate Pearl Tiara. It’s more than a century old, made of diamonds and pearls, and can be worn with or without a set of upright pearls on the top. (Max is wearing it without the extra pearls.) The tiara is one of Princess Beatrix’s signature pieces; it’s also the tiara she wore at her wedding. I wondered when we’d see Queen Maxima finally take this one out for a spin, and now we’ve got our answer. (I was excited to see the tiara — but disappointed to see that it looked a little bit askew.) She’s also wearing pearl drop earrings and part of the large diamond bow brooch from the Stuart parure.
“@VorstenNL: Nieuwe knopen op ‘hofrok’ hofhouding koning http://t.co/b0e8Q60GpP #Vorsten pic.twitter.com/tFyfAGRDQl” Great view of the jewels!
— Ella Kay (@courtjeweller) October 29, 2014
Empress Michiko didn’t wear a tiara, but she is wearing an impressive diamond necklace. And, of course, everyone’s wearing their chivalric orders. There’s a basic rule for order-wearing at a state banquet: you wear the highest order you have from the other country present, and if you don’t have an order from that country, you wear the highest order you have from your own country. From left to right, we’ve got Michiko wearing the Order of the Netherlands Lion; Willem-Alexander wearing the collar of the Order of Chrysanthemum with the sash of the Military William Order; Akihito wearing the Order of the Netherlands Lion (unseen beneath his jacket); and Maxima wearing the Order of the Precious Crown.
“@VorstenNL: Vliegende start staatsbezoek dankzij Masako pic.twitter.com/muxc6V1do3” Masako’s wearing the pearl & diamond sunburst tiara
— Ella Kay (@courtjeweller) October 29, 2014
And another extremely exciting tiara sighting: Crown Princess Masako at the state banquet, wearing full gala dress and jewels! She wore the tiara she’s been seen in most frequently in recent years: a pearl and diamond tiara featuring a modern starburst motif. The tiara is a part of a mirrored set, with a coordinating necklace in the same design. Masako’s also wearing the Dutch order she received during this state visit: the Order of the Crown.