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Archives for October 2017
Royal Jewel Rewind: Pre-Wedding Gala in Luxembourg (Part 2)
Guy Wolff/Grand-Ducal Court of Luxembourg via Getty Images |
Time for the second installment of our look back at the glittering pre-wedding gala held in Luxembourg five years ago! If you missed our first post, check it out here. Otherwise, get ready for some royal glitter!
Sean Gallup/Getty Images |
The grand ducal family of Luxembourg and the royal family of Belgium are closely related. The late Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte was the sister of King Albert II of Belgium, which means that the current rulers of each nation are first cousins. Add in the bride’s Belgian nationality, and it’s no wonder, then, that there was a major contingent of Belgian royalty and nobility at the wedding. Queen Paola arrived wearing some of her best personal jewels, including Queen Elisabeth’s Art Deco Bandeau (more here!), her diamond and pearl half-moon earrings (more here!), and a diamond necklace.
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images |
Queen Mathilde, who was then the Duchess of Brabant, wore one of her wedding gifts: her sparkling diamond laurel wreath tiara (more over here!). She also wore her diamond and pearl wedding earrings, a diamond necklace, and a pair of diamond bracelets.
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images |
Princess Astrid wore the Savoy-Aosta Tiara, a diamond sparkler from the family of her husband, Prince Lorenz. (More on the tiara over here!) She paired it with stunning diamond and emerald drop earrings.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images |
Also in green: Princess Claire, who wore her small diamond and pearl tiara (more on that here!) with her pearl wedding earrings.
Andreas Rentz/Getty Images |
The wedding was one of the last major public appearances of Queen Fabiola of Belgium, who was a beloved aunt to both the Belgian and Luxembourgish royals. On this occasion, she accessorized with a diamond daisy ornament in her hair, plus a pair of coordinating earrings.
Guy Wolff/Grand-Ducal Court of Luxembourg via Getty Images |
Belgian friends and relatives of the bride were also in attendance. Wearing an impressive diamond tiara above is Countess Blanche de Merode, a member of one of Belgium’s most important noble families. She was one of Stephanie’s witnesses at the wedding. Blanche wore the same tiara for her wedding to Baron Philipp von und zu Bodmann in 2010. (Thanks to Svenja for helping jog my memory on Blanche’s tiara — of course, some of the best coverage of this wedding can be found at Luxarazzi!)
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images |
One of Stephanie’s sisters-in-law, Countess Luisa de Lannoy, wore a petite diamond tiara for the gala, plus diamond earrings and a diamond brooch.
Guy Wolff/Grand-Ducal Court of Luxembourg via Getty Images |
Also very elegant and sparkly: Stephanie’s sister, Nathalie Hamilton, who wore tassel earrings with a lovely diamond necklace. The Lannoys are experienced jewel-sharers; Stephanie herself has also worn the same necklace.
Grand-Ducal Court of Luxembourg via Getty Images |
Stephanie has also worn the lovely diamond earrings worn by another sister, Isabelle de la Court, at the gala. Isabelle also wore a triple-stranded pearl necklace with diamond spacers, a diamond brooch, and a diamond and pearl bracelet.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images |
The Benelux representation at the gala was rounded out by Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, who was then still a princess. She wore pieces from one of her favorite sets of Dutch royal jewelry, the Mellerio Ruby Parure. (More here!)
Guy Wolff/Grand-Ducal Court of Luxembourg via Getty Images |
We were also treated to a rare appearance by Princess Marie Aglae, the wife of Prince Hans Adam II of Liechtenstein. She wore a major pair of diamond earrings and a pearl choker with an elaborate diamond clasp.
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images |
We’ll round out this second installment of gala jewels with a very sparkling appearance by Princess Caroline, who represented the princely family of Monaco at the event. She wore her grandmother’s fantastic Cartier Pearl Drop Tiara (more here!), her diamond fringe necklace (more here!), and diamond earrings.
Royal Jewel Rewind: Pre-Wedding Gala in Luxembourg (Part 1)
Guy Wolff/Grand-Ducal Court of Luxembourg via Getty Images |
Five years ago this week, one of the last great royal weddings of a generation took place in Luxembourg. Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, the last eligible heir in Europe, married his Belgian-born fiancee, Countess Stephanie de Lannoy. But before their big cathedral wedding, they hosted a grand gala for their guests. Here’s the first (of four!) posts for the day looking back at the astonishing jewels worn for the occasion.
Christian Aschman/Grand-Ducal Court of Luxembourg via Getty Images |
Earlier the same day, Guillaume and Stephanie were married in a civil ceremony at the Hotel de Ville in Luxembourg. Like many European countries, a civil ceremony is required to make the marriage legal, but as Guillaume and Stephanie are Roman Catholic, they wouldn’t have considered themselves married until after their religious wedding, which was held the following day.
Guy Wolff/Grand-Ducal Court of Luxembourg via Getty Images |
For the pre-wedding gala, Stephanie stepped out for the first time in one of the grand ducal family’s tiaras: the classic Diamond Vine Leaves Tiara. (Read more about it over here.) She paired it with lovely diamond earrings, which she would wear again on her wedding day. These are family jewels as well. According to our friends over at Luxarazzi, the earrings were a wedding gift to Grand Duchess Maria Teresa from her parents in 1981. Maria Teresa wore them at her wedding, and Princess Claire wore them for her wedding in 2013, too.
Guy Wolff/Grand-Ducal Court of Luxembourg via Getty Images |
Stephanie also wore two diamond rings. On the third finger of her left hand, she wore her mother’s diamond engagement ring. (Alix de Lannoy, Stephanie’s mother, sadly died between the engagement announcement and the wedding.) Her own diamond engagement ring was situated on her right hand. She also wore a necklace, but she tucked it beneath the neckline of her Elie Saab gown.
Guy Wolff/Grand-Ducal Court of Luxembourg via Getty Images |
Guillaume’s mother, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg, wore a diamond and pearl sparkler from the family collection: the Chaumet Choker Tiara. (More over here!) She paired the tiara with long diamond and pearl drop earrings.
Guy Wolff/Grand-Ducal Court of Luxembourg via Getty Images |
Guillaume’s sister, Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg, wore one of the smaller tiaras from the family vaults: the Nassau Floral Tiara. The tiara has often been worn by Nassau family brides, so wearing it for a wedding celebration seems fitting. Alexandra also wore a glittering bracelet.
Guy Wolff/Grand-Ducal Court of Luxembourg via Getty Images |
Today, she’s in the midst of divorce proceedings, but in 2012, Princess Tessy of Luxembourg was still Guillaume’s sister-in-law. For the pre-wedding gala, she wore one of the family’s most important historical jewels, the Grand Duchess Adelaide Tiara. (Much more over here!) She appears to have paired the sparkler with diamond and sapphire earrings.
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images |
Guillaume’s aunt-in-law, Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg, brought a big bejeweled surprise with her to this gala: a suite of diamond and aquamarine jewels that belonged to her great-grandmother, Queen Ena of Spain. (More on the set over here!)
Andreas Rentz/Getty Images |
Grand Duke Henri’s elder sister, Archduchess Marie Astrid of Austria, wore the Emerald Peacock Tiara, one of the jewels that belonged to her late mother, Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte. The tiara is convertible; it can also be worn as a necklace. She paired it with bezel-set diamond earrings and a gem-set evening watch.
NICOLAS LAMBERT/AFP/Getty Images |
Also in a tiara from the late Josephine-Charlotte was Henri’s younger sister, Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein. She wore her mother’s diamond and aquamarine bandeau, pairing it with earrings from the same suite (one of which she accidentally wore backwards!).
Sean Gallup/Getty Images |
Here you can see a bracelet from the aquamarine suite as well.
Andreas Rentz/Getty Images |
Another of Guillaume’s aunts-in-law, Countess Diane de Nassau, borrowed Princess Sibilla’s Art Deco Tiara for the event, wearing its smaller setting. (More about the tiara here!) She also added a dramatic pair of diamond and pearl earrings and a double-stranded pearl choker with a diamond and sapphire cluster clasp.
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