Mediterranean Royals
It’s been a tough couple of weeks for the Spanish royal family, but Queen Sofia and Princess Letizia have managed to keep up appearances through the turmoil. Sofia wore a brooch to visit the “La Pasion del Prado” documentary exhibition in Madrid on January 8, and she selected a strand of multi-colored pearls for a film premiere the same day. At the palace, Letizia chose a simple pair of earrings for an audience on the 8th; she repeated the same earrings at another audience the following day. The two women also recycled some of the same jewels on January 14, when they attended the delivery of the decorations of the Civil Order Of Social Solidarity at the palace.
It was time for a more literal circus in Monaco, where Prince Albert, Princess Charlene, Princess Stephanie, and Pauline Ducruet opened the 38th annual Circus Festival on January 16. Charlene, as per usual, went without jewelry, but both Stephanie and Pauline wore bracelets. Charlotte Casiraghi made her first public appearance on Tuesday since the birth of her son, Raphael. She wore little jewelry herself, but as she was attending the Cartier exhibit at the Grand Palais in Paris (discussed at length on the blog on Wednesday), here’s hoping she was inspired by her surroundings. She’ll have a good reason to don some jewels soon — plans are underway for her big brother, Andrea Casiraghi, to wed Tatiana Santo Domingo again in a religious ceremony in Switzerland on February 1.
Scandinavian Royals
In Norway, Queen Sonja attended an event celebrating the Kiel Treaty of 1814 on Tuesday, one of the first events to mark the the bicentennial of the nation’s constitution. The plans for celebrating that milestone got a bit sparklier this week, when King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden announced that they will attend the celebrations after all. They’ll join the Norwegian royal family and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark at the event, which will be held on May 17.
Back in Stockholm, the king and queen held an audience of the county governors of Sweden on January 9, where Silvia wore a striking red necklace. Crown Princess Victoria demonstrated her dedication to her role on Wednesday, attending presenting an award wearing an elaborate necklace and a heavy brace on her ankle, which she sprained recently while skiing in the Alps. The Swedes also announced that their newest jewel-wearer, the daughter of Princess Madeleine, will be born in February in New York City.
It was a somber week in Denmark, where the funeral for Countess Anne-Dorte of Rosenborg was held on January 9th. Anne-Dorte was the widow of Count Christian of Rosenborg, who was a first cousin of Queen Margrethe II, Princess Benedikte, and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece. Margrethe and Prince Henrik represented the Danish royal family at the funeral, and Anne-Dorte’s sister-in-law, Princess Elisabeth, was also in attendance. After making an official visit to Myanmar, Crown Princess Mary was back to work in Denmark this week. She wore a pair of delicate, dangling earrings and an impressive diamond ring to inaugurate the new head office of Royal Copenhagen on Wednesday, showing off the style that earned her Hello! readers’ votes for Most Elegant Woman of 2013.
Benelux Royals
The new sovereign couple in Belgium, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, attended a new year’s reception for European Union representatives on January 10. Mathilde accessorized an elegant gray dress with a pair of dangling diamond earrings and glittering bracelets on each wrist. Mathilde sparkled in another pair of beautiful earrings at a diplomatic reception on January 15.
New Year’s receptions were also on the docket in the Netherlands. On January 14, a reception was held at the palace in Amsterdam, and was attended by King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima (who wore an impressive suite of aquamarines, including a large brooch), Princess Beatrix, Princess Margriet, and Pieter van Vollenhoven. Beatrix also made several solo appearances, selecting pearls and sapphires for a jubilee concert on January 9, and wearing golden jewelry to an anniversary event for an equestrian organization on January 11. Maxima also made a bejeweled appearance on her own, wearing striking red earrings on January 9 in Haarlem. And the ladies of the family weren’t the only ones wearing bling: Willem-Alexander wore his military finery for an event in The Hague on January 9.
Happy news comes this week from one of the newest princesses in Luxembourg: Prince Felix and Princess Claire are expecting a baby this July. Here’s hoping that it’s yet another Nassau princess to delve into the family jewel vault!
British Royals
While the royals are still on vacation, the lists detailing the gifts they received while on official engagements in 2013 were released; you can read about the jewels they received in yesterday’s blog post. This week has also seen the identification of one of the sparkliest jewels in the Duchess of Cambridge‘s collection. Readers from the Duchess Kate blog noted that the diamond and ruby necklace worn by Kate to the 2011 Sun Military Awards resembled jewels made by Mouawad. Official confirmation came this week that the jewels were indeed made by the same company. We know now where the set came from, but we still haven’t been told who gave it to Kate — only that it was among her wedding presents.
NOTES, PHOTO CREDITS, AND LINKS
1. Banner image: detail of The Marriage of George, Duke of York to Princess Mary of Teck (1894) by Laurits Tuxen. Image in the public domain; source here.
Leave a Reply