On Friday, the Spanish royal family headed to Oviedo for the annual Princess of Asturias Awards ceremony, and Leonor borrowed a fabulous pair of earrings from her royal grandmother for the occasion.
The Princess of Asturias was joined by her parents, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia; her sister, Infanta Sofia; and her grandmother, Queen Sofia for the annual presentation of the Princess of Asturias Awards at the Campoamor Theatre in Oviedo. The awards, which were established in 1981 when King Felipe was Prince of Asturias, honor those who exemplify the “scientific, cultural and humanistic values that form part of the universal heritage of humanity.”
Winners are honored for their contributions to eight different categories. This year’s winners were the American musician Patti Smith (arts);, the Japanese animators from Studio Ghibli (communication and humanities); the British novelist Julian Barnes (literature); the British historian Timothy Garton Ash (social sciences); the Svalbard Global Seed Vault (international cooperation); the scientists David Klenerman, Shankar Balasubramanian, and Pascal Mayer (technical and scientific research); the American astronaut Christina Koch (concord); and the Argentine soccer superstar Lionel Messi (sports). Above, Messi is recognized during the ceremony.
Princess Leonor delivered remarks during the ceremony and handed out this year’s prizes. For the occasion, she wore a fuchsia pink dress from the Spanish brand Hannibal Laguna White.
She paired special diamond and ruby earrings with the outfit. These earrings belong to her grandmother, Queen Sofia, who loaned them to Leonor for the evening.
The earrings are part of a suite of diamond and ruby jewelry made by Van Cleef & Arpels. The necklaces from the set were given to Queen Sofia as a wedding present in 1962 by the Greek shipping magnate Stavros Niarchos, and the earrings were a gift from her mother, Queen Friederike, to complete the parure.
Above, Sofia wears the earrings and necklaces from the parure for a ball held during the wedding festivities for her brother, King Constantine II of Greece, and Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark in Athens in 1964. (I wrote a lengthy article about the glittering ball earlier this year at Hidden Gems.)
More recently, we saw Queen Sofia wearing the Niarchos Rubies for the sparkling banquet held after the wedding of Crown Prince Hussein and Prince Rajwa of Jordan in the spring of 2023.
Friday’s awards ceremony marked Leonor’s first appearance in jewels from the ruby parure. The loan was clearly a meaningful one. After the ceremony had concluded, cameras caught Leonor pointing out the rubies to her grandmother, visibly proud that she had been able to wear them.
The rest of the royal family also brought out glamorous outfits and jewels for the ceremony. Queen Letizia wore a black dress made of sustainable fabric, paired with gold shoes and a gold clutch bag.
She also wore gold-toned jewels for the occasion: a big pair of textured, modern statement earrings, plus her ever-present Coreterno ring.
Infanta Sofia was elegant for the ceremony in navy blue, wearing a silky midi dress paired with a matching sheer cape.
Like her mother, she wore gold jewelry pieces for the occasion. On her left hand, she wore Letizia’s favorite Karen Hallam ring, and on her right forearm, she added a golden bracelet.
Sofia arrived for the awards ceremony alongside her grandmother and namesake, Queen Sofia. She wore a blush pink jacket and coordinating trousers for the event, paired with a selection of pearl and gold jewelry. She always wears the same brooch for the ceremony: a Quirós Arte y Joya brooch made of gold and set with pearls and tanzanites. Fittingly, the jewel depictures Our Lady of Covadonga, one of the patron saints of Asturias.
Sofia wasn’t the only proud grandmother in attendance. Paloma Rocasolano Rodriguez, Queen Letizia’s mother, was also on hand to watch her granddaughter hand out this year’s prizes. She wore a blue tweed skirt suit with pearls for the occasion.
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