The King and Queen of the Belgians welcomed the Italian President during his state visit to Belgium on Monday, hosting official greetings at the Royal Palace in Brussels before bringing out a tiara and jewels for a state banquet at Laeken.
On Monday, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians welcomed President Sergio Mattarella of Italy and his daughter, Laura, to the Royal Palace in Brussels at the start of a state visit. The visit is the first Italian state visit to Belgium since 2002.
There are important historical and family ties between the two nations. The last Queen of Italy was Princess Marie-José of Belgium, the daughter of King Albert I and sister of King Leopold III. King Philippe is also half Italian. His mother, Queen Paola, was born Paola Ruffo di Calabria, part of an Italian noble family.
Diplomatically, Queen Mathilde wore a royal blue ensemble from a favorite Italian fashion house, Armani, for the welcome ceremony. Her matching accessories—hatband, clutch bag, shoes—were also Armani creations.
With the bright blue outfit, Mathilde wore a new-to-her pair of earrings that have popped up a few times in recent weeks. The earrings, which appear to be antiques, feature triangular diamond studs and baguette diamond strings, culminating in gorgeous blue sapphire cabochon drops.
Mathilde made her debut in the earrings at the end of September, when she wore them to watch her elder son, Prince Gabriel, take his oath of loyalty as an officer at the Royal Military Academy in Brussels.
A few days later, she loaned the earrings to her elder daughter, the Duchess of Brabant. Elisabeth wore the jewels to witness the ceremonies surrounding the transition of power in Luxembourg on October 3.
On Monday evening, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde hosted a state banquet for the Mattarellas at the Palace of Laeken. The event was a grand white-tie dinner, with the King in uniform and the Queen in gala dress. President Mattarella wore the bright purple sash of Belgium’s Order of Leopold, while Laura Mattarella wore the sash and star of Belgium’s Order of the Crown.
Queen Mathilde again reached for Italian fashion for the banquet, wearing a bright pink-purple gown from Armani. The dress has been in her closet since at least 2019. The gown acted as a vibrant contrast to the green and red sash of Italy’s Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. Both Philippe and Mathilde wore the insignia of the order. Mathilde received hers during this visit, while Philippe has had the decoration for almost a quarter of a century.
The sheer overlay of Mathilde’s evening gown was heavily beaded, but she added even more sparkle with several pieces of diamond jewelry. She reached for the Brabant Laurel Wreath Tiara, a sparkling present that she received from a group of Belgian aristocrats to celebrate her royal wedding in 1999. With the tiara, she wore a pair of fabulous diamond fringe earrings, which have been in her jewelry box for the better part of a decade.
There was another jewelry-wearing royal lady at the banquet: Princess Astrid, King Philippe’s younger sister. She wore a red gown with a matching cape (both from Safiyaa, per UFO No More). She left her tiaras at home, sadly, but she did wear her own fantastic diamond fringe earrings and a major diamond bracelet that has a coordinating fringe design.
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