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| © Cour grand-ducale/Sophie Margue |
On Saturday, the royals of Luxembourg celebrated an important occasion: the baptism of a future grand duke! Here’s a look at some of the jewelry we saw during the baptism of Prince Charles of Luxembourg and the wedding of his cousin, Archduchess Gabriella.
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| © Cour grand-ducale/Sophie Margue |
Little Prince Charles, who was born on May 10, is the first child of Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie of Luxembourg. He is currently second in line to the throne of Luxembourg, after his father. (His grandparents are Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa.) The baby’s full name is Charles Jean Philippe Joseph Marie Guillaume, which honors several members of his family. The name “Charles” likely honors his great-great-grandmother, Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg, and “Jean” pays tribute to his great-grandfather, Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg. Phillipe was the name of Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie’s late father, Count Philippe of Lannoy.
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| © Cour grand-ducale/Sophie Margue |
Nearly the entire grand ducal family attended the baptism, which was held on September 19 at the Abbey of St. Maurice and St. Maurus of Clervaux. The only members of the family not in attendance were the baby’s aunt, Princess Alexandra, and two of his cousins, Prince Gabriel and Prince Noah. Several members of the Lannoy family were also in attendance and took part in the ceremony.
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| © Cour grand-ducale/Sophie Margue |
Prince Charles has two godparents, one from each side of his family. His godfather is his father’s brother, Prince Louis of Luxembourg. His godmother is his mother’s sister, Countess Gaëlle of Lannoy, who is a religious sister. The ceremony conducted was a thanksgiving for the baby’s baptism, including a completion of the rites of baptism. It seems that the actual baptism took place earlier and in private, perhaps on the same day that he was born, and possibly because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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| © Cour grand-ducale/Sophie Margue |
Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie wore some lovely vintage jewels for the service. Her diamond earrings look delicate, but they must be quite heavy, as they have wires to loop over the top of the wearer’s ear to help distribute the weight. That suggests that they’re older, perhaps nineteenth century. We’ve seen the earrings on Stephanie on several previous occasions; she likes to pair them with the Grand Duchess Adelaide Tiara. They’ve also been worn by one of Stephanie’s sisters, which seems to confirm that they come from the Lannoy family.
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| © Cour grand-ducale/Sophie Margue |
She also wore a sautoir-style necklace of pearls, including a pearl tassel.
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| © Cour grand-ducale/Sophie Margue |
Grand Duchess Maria Teresa wore a pair of modern earrings with her white and pink outfit for the day.
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| © Cour grand-ducale/Sophie Margue |
Here’s a closer look at the long earrings.
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| © Cour grand-ducale/Sophie Margue |
And Princess Claire, Guillaume and Stephanie’s sister-in-law, wore a golden necklace with a pair of charms.
One week earlier, several members of the grand ducal family gathered to celebrate the wedding of Archduchess Gabriella, daughter of Archduke Carl-Christian and Archduchess Marie Astrid of Austria. Marie Astrid is the elder sister of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg. Archduchess Gabriella married her second cousin, Prince Henri of Bourbon-Parma, who is a grandson of Princess Marie Gabriele of Luxembourg (sister of Grand Duke Jean and aunt of Grand Duke Henri). Gabriella and Henri have a daughter, Victoria, who will turn three in October.
For her wedding day, Archduchess Gabriella borrowed an important family jewel from her uncle: the Grand Duchess Adelaide Tiara. She’s the second recent family bride to wear the tiara; her cousin, Princess Marie Gabrielle of Nassau, wore the tiara for her wedding in September 2017. Archduchess Gabriella wore pearl drop earrings with the tiara.
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