Belgian State Visit to Luxembourg: October 15-17, 2019

[suztav]

The royal ladies look lovely, although Stephanie continues to look forelorn.

I am happy to see MT attend. It seems as if she had knee surgery. I know people who've had knee replacements and are encouraged to walk the same day! Probably not too big of a deal to rest and then get dressed for a dinner where she is just going to sit down.

[Mbruno]

Originally Posted by Stefan

Really? But why make differences between 2 heirs and why give the one who is close related a lower Order?

You can see in ther video below that CP Frederik is wearing the Order of Leopold.



https://youtu.be/lvZ9Qiyfj-8?t=379

[Stefan]

Originally Posted by Mbruno

You can see in ther video below that CP Frederik is wearing the Order of Leopold.



https://youtu.be/lvZ9Qiyfj-8?t=379

Have seen it already. But that doesn't answer my question why was treated different.

Originally Posted by wartenberg7

I don´t know if we talk about the same tiara - but if we do, I guess it will never leave its vault again: it was a gift from Franco, a man we today regard as one of the meanest dictators, under whose regime 1000s of people were killed, napped or tortured.
I was wondering, too, why Fabiola never passed it on to her successors as I must admit, it looked quite beautiful and the royal ladies of Belgium don´t really "bathe" in jewellery - until I learned it was a gift for her from the "Generalissimo"... So, it would be highly politically incorrect of the current Queen in today´s standards to use it.

One of the msot worn tiaras by the Queen of Spain is the floral tiara which was a Wedding gift by General Franco to her mother-in-law. So if the Queen of the country where these dictator ruled can wear a gift from him i see no reason why the Queen of the Belgians could not. That's if the tiara is availible to her.

[Marengo]

I suppose that if the Belgian royals never stopped wearing the Floral tiara -f.e. if Queen Fabiola had given it to Mathilde in 1999- there would be less attention to its provenance, as is the case with the Spanish floral tiara. Considering its long absence combined with its provenance any future usage will attract press attention, which is unwanted in this case.

The Spanish floral tiara was originally made for Alfonso XII, who gave it to his second wife. Queen Sofia and now Queen Letizia have always worn it so the newsworthiness of it being a gift from Franco has faded to the background.

Of course if we require all royal jewels to be given/acquired by people who are acceptable to today's standards we may see most royal jewelry collections slashed in half. Any piece with Romanov origins will have a darker 'past' than a piece acquired by Franco for example.

-
The absence of Josephine-Charlotte's Congo necklace/tiara is a mystery too. The piece is easy to wear and to combine, either as a tiara or as a necklace. But we have not seen it in ages. If any occassion was appropriate for its re-appearance it would have been this one. Nobody knows the reason: its Congo origins or issues around the cancelled auction (or something else). Let's hope it has not been taken apart and sold, although that would explain why we have not seen it on any of the recent Lux. brides.

[Mbruno]

Originally Posted by Marengo

I suppose that if the Belgian royals never stopped wearing the Floral tiara -f.e. if Queen Fabiola had given it to Mathilde in 1999- there would be less attention to its provenance, as is the case with the Spanish floral tiara. Considering its long absence combined with its provenance any future usage will attract press attention, which is unwanted in this case.

The Spanish floral tiara was originally made for Alfonso XII, who gave it to his second wife. Queen Sofia and now Queen Letizia have always worn it so the newsworthiness of it being a gift from Franco has faded to the background.

Of course if we require all royal jewels to be given/acquired by people who are acceptable to today's standards we may see most royal jewelry collections slashed in half. Any piece with Romanov origins will have a darker 'past' than a piece acquired by Franco for example.

-
The absence of Josephine-Charlotte's Congo necklace/tiara is a mystery too. The piece is easy to wear and to combine, either as a tiara or as a necklace. But we have not seen it in ages. If any occassion was appropriate for its re-appearance it would have been this one. Nobody knows the reason: its Congo origins or issues around the cancelled auction (or something else). Let's hope it has not been taken apart and sold, although that would explain why we have not seen it on any of the recent Lux. brides.

Queen Paola also got a diamond necklace gift from the Congo which could have been converted into a tiara, but I guess she never wore it because it was a gift from the dictator Kabila ? It is kept as part of the state-owned royal collection.

[tommy100]

TBH I'm not a fan of the congo necklace/tiara, I don't think it makes a good tiara and at best makes a pretty "standard" (by royal measuring anyway) necklace.

Would love to see the floral tiara on Mathilde though and tbh wouldn't mind seeing MT wear some different tiaras, feels like the same two or three are always worn atm. Though if she was ever going to wear the Belgian Scroll Tiara for an event I guess it was going to be at a Belgian state visit.

[Somebody]

Mathilde is clearly the star of the show in the evening but other than that it seems all rather subdued so far for a state visit.

[Tatiana Maria]

Originally Posted by Marengo

VTM has more:

https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2019/10...aar-luxemburg/

It is a normal train carriage that recently has been refurbished. After the visit the train will be used for normal service. The trip took 3 hours, which is longer than a car trip. The train departed from the station Brussels-Luxembourg, close to the European parliament.

Apparently during other visits the king and queen used the Eurostar to visit London and the Thalys to visit Paris.

The new official design of the royal arms looks quite nice in the train window and informal enough for use in that context. Perhaps that was the reason for belatedly updating the arms in July.

[HereditaryPrincess]

It's good to see MT attending indeed. I hope this means her legs are on their way to recovery.

[Duc_et_Pair]

Originally Posted by maria-olivia

On her left arm the Grand Duchess wore a watch with above an emerald, great !

Possibly one of the emeralds inherited from Queen Astrid, attached to a bracelet? I looked very impressive.

Originally Posted by Marengo

I supposed refurbished/updated for normal use by NMBS? Not as a royal carriage certainly. At least the NMBS-train had no delay, which in my experience is not too often guaranteed .

--
A pity that not more royals attended the visit of their cousin. I believe Prince Guillaume and Princess Sybilla also live in Luxembourg?

It is hard for me to see the pattern of thinking at the offices of the NMBS / SNCB. It is not only a honour and a promotion for their company: it is also THE possibility to show in a foreign country that Belgium is a modern country with avantgarde, innovative trains, complete with interactive screens, Wifi aboard, recharges for mobiles, personal climate control et al.

But what did the company send? A 30-40 years old train with dents... Look at this, good Lord, how is this possible, such an old damaged train: http://www.monarchie.lu/pictures/pho...019-110706.jpg

Is this selling the Trade Mark "Made In Belgium" to the world????

[Princess Xenia]

So far it seems to be a low key state visit. I thought that because they’re cousins, we would see the Luxembourgish Princes and Princesses. It’s so good of MT to attend the state banquet, at least it gives the impression to me that this is still some sort of a state visit.
I wonder why HGD Guillaume and HGD Stéphanie were not present for the welcoming ceremony? I also had the impression that the Belgian King and Queen are good friends with Prince Guillaume and Princess Sybilla. But I guess good or close friendships doesn’t guarantee state banquet appearances.

Mathilde is the star of the banquet.

[Stefan]

Originally Posted by tommy100

T Though if she was ever going to wear the Belgian Scroll Tiara for an event I guess it was going to be at a Belgian state visit.

On the other hand GD Joséphine-Charlotte always wore the big empire tiara for State Visits to and from Belgium and not her belgian scroll tiara.

Originally Posted by Marengo

The absence of Josephine-Charlotte's Congo necklace/tiara is a mystery too. The piece is easy to wear and to combine, either as a tiara or as a necklace. But we have not seen it in ages. If any occassion was appropriate for its re-appearance it would have been this one. Nobody knows the reason: its Congo origins or issues around the cancelled auction (or something else). Let's hope it has not been taken apart and sold, although that would explain why we have not seen it on any of the recent Lux. brides.

Do they have several 2row diamond necklaces? GD Maria Teresa wore a 2row doamond necklace at the State Visit to the Netherlands whioch i thought was the congo diamond necklace.

But then even GD Joséphine-Charlotte wore it seldom as a tiara but more as a necklace.

[Prisma]

I'm glad Grand Duchess Maria Teresa could attend some events. I wish the HGD couple were utilized more but oh well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Originally Posted by wartenberg7

[...] Why has the GDss to be operated, what kind of nature are her health problems?

Maria Teresa had a knee injury that required surgery last week. She also had knee surgery in September 2014 and has a fear of flying.

[iceflower]

Day 2 of the state visit has started:


** belga gallery ** rex gallery ** ppe gallery **


** lessentiel.lu: Der Großherzog als Kultur-​​Guide für Luxemburg **


** gettyimages: LUX: King Philippe Of Belgium And Queen Mathilde Of Belgium : State Visit In Luxembourg : Day Two **


** monarchie: Visite d'Etat au Grand-Duché de Luxembourg de LL.MM. le Roi et la Reine des Belges - Seconde journée ** gallery **

[Duc_et_Pair]

Originally Posted by Mbruno

You can see in ther video below that CP Frederik is wearing the Order of Leopold.



https://youtu.be/lvZ9Qiyfj-8?t=379

Possibly because Crown Prince Frederik acted as escort to the Queen. In reciprocity Queen Margrethe gave the Elephant to King Philippe and his escort, Queen Mathilde. That could be an explanation.

Note that also the Dutch King gave Frederik the Grand Cross in the Orde van de Nederlandsche Leeuw, usually only given to heads of state. Apparently Frederik enjoys a special status.

[Kingen]

Crown Princess Victoria received the Order of Leopold when she accompanied her parents on a state visit to Belgium.

[Duc_et_Pair]

Apparently there is a new policy under King Philippe for Heirs.

The Prince of Orange was not upgraded to the grootlint in de Leopoldsorde / grand cordon de l'Ordre de Léopold when he was escort to his mother, Queen Beatrix. He still wore the grootkruis in de Kroonorde / the grand-croix de l'Ordre de la Couronne he received from King Baudouin:

https://nos.nl/data/image/2014/12/05.../2048x1152.jpg

[Stefan]

Originally Posted by Duc_et_Pair

Apparently there is a new policy under King Philippe for Heirs.

The Prince of Orange was not upgraded to the grootlint in de Leopoldsorde / grand cordon de l'Ordre de Léopold when he was escort to his mother, Queen Beatrix. He still wore the grootkruis in de Kroonorde / the grand-croix de l'Ordre de la Couronne he received from King Baudouin:

https://nos.nl/data/image/2014/12/05.../2048x1152.jpg

But only for Heirs of Kingdom's then and not for the heir of the Grand Duchy but from a close related Family? Seems strange to me.

And why was Crown Princess Victoria given the Order of Leöopold when she accompanied her parents on a state visit to Belgium but not the Prince of Orange a few years later? both State Visits took place when King Albert was King.

[Duc_et_Pair]

Originally Posted by Stefan

But only for Heirs of Kingdom's then and not for the heir of the Grand Duchy but from a close related Family? Seems strange to me.

And why was Crown Princess Victoria given the Order of Leöopold when she accompanied her parents on a state visit to Belgium but not the Prince of Orange a few years later? both State Visits took place when King Albert was King.

Yes, it is very inconsequent. And Willem-Alexander as well Guillaume were Heirs of neighbouring countries, fellow Benelux-countries, during a State Visit. That both Heirs received the Couronne and Frederik and Victoria the Léopold is strange.

But maybe we have to count differently: both King Willem-Alexander as well the future Grand-Duke Guillaume will have the Couronne AND the Léopold. Frederik and Victoria "only" will have the Léopold?

Just trying to find a logic here.

[wartenberg7]

Originally Posted by Stefan

Have seen it already. But that doesn't answer my question why was treated different.
One of the msot worn tiaras by the Queen of Spain is the floral tiara which was a Wedding gift by General Franco to her mother-in-law. So if the Queen of the country where these dictator ruled can wear a gift from him i see no reason why the Queen of the Belgians could not. That's if the tiara is availible to her.

From that respect you are right. But still I guess it is no coincidence this tiara hasn´t been used since about the last 40 years (I think Fabiola last used it at some time in the 1970s).

Concerning order policy I think us "commoners" can only speculate why King or Queen x bestows oder y on CP/css z and to another one, who was much more likely, not - we will never really know. It sometimes seems a real riddle and mystery, making no real sense, like the last King of the Belgians never been to Britain for a state visit and never receiving a Garter, or why one cannot wear its order for a state dinner before a knee operation to name just two examples. Again, we could speculate getting lost in all sorts of theories for hours, without reaching any result.