State visit season continued in Europe on Tuesday in Helsinki, with the President of Finland giving a grand state dinner for the King and Queen of Spain.
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain arrived in Finland on Monday to begin a state visit. The first full day of the program ended on Tuesday with a gala banquet at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, hosted by President Alexander Stubb and his wife, Suzanne Innes-Stubb.
The event was a white-tie occasion, complete with gala ensembles and decorations. King Felipe and Queen Letizia each received the Order of the White Rose of Finland, with Felipe as a Commander Grand Cross with Collar. The Stubbs both received the Order of Isabella the Catholic from their royal guests.
Queen Letizia wore a Felipe Varela evening gown with diamonds for the banquet, but as she has often done when visiting republics, she did not wear a tiara. Instead, she opted for some of the grandest diamond jewels bequeathed to the monarch by Queen Ena, including the set’s large, imposing diamond earrings.
Letizia also wore both of Queen Ena’s diamond bracelets, placing one of them on each wrist. On her left hand she also wore a familiar pair of rings: her Coreterno ring and her Karen Hallam ring.
The Queen secured her order sash with another special family jewel: a diamond floral brooch that comes from the collection of her mother-in-law, Queen Sofia.
Letizia has worn the brooch occasionally over the years. Her highest-profile outing in the jewel to date is probably her appearance in the brooch on Garter Day in Windsor back in June 2019. On that occasion, she also wore Queen Ena’s diamond earrings.
Here’s one more look at the royal and presidential couples during the state dinner. I sort of get where the Spaniards are coming from where tiaras and different state banquets are concerned. But really, when the gentlemen are dressed in full white-tie attire, a small tiara surely wouldn’t look out of place.
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