State Visit from Lebanon: HRH The Princess of Asturias

It's a big day, hatters -- we've got a brand new set of royal ladies for the blog!

State Visit from Lebanon: HRH The Princess of Asturias (19 Oct 2009)

(And: Tiara Alert!)

Welcome to the blog, royal ladies of Spain!  This is Letizia, Princess of Asturias, the wife of Prince Felipe and the future queen of Spain.  She was a television journalist before marrying Felipe, but she's since worked as a full-time royal, supporting her husband and the King and Queen.

Here she's wearing the Prussian Diamond Tiara, which is nearly 100 years old and has a rich history with European royalty.  Here's a breakdown of the legacy: it was originally given in 1913 to Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia by her father, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, on her wedding day to Prince Ernst August of Hanover.  Viktoria later gave it to her only daughter, Princess Frederike of Hanover, who married King Paul I of Greece in 1938.  Frederike then gave it to her daughter, Princess Sophia of Greece, on her wedding day to Prince Juan Carlos of Spain in 1962.  And then, in 2004, Sophia (by then, Queen Sofia of Spain) lent the tiara to her daughter-in-law, Letizia, to wear on her wedding day.  Letizia has frequently worn the tiara to major events since then.

Whew!  How's that for a royal hand-me-down?

I must admit that I'm not a big fan of this Grecian style of tiara, and especially not with hair severely parted down the middle.  But it certainly does have quite the pedigree!

Tags: ,

This entry was posted by Ella on Monday, October 19th, 2009 at 8:54 PM and is filed under HRH The Princess of Asturias. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

8 Responses to “State Visit from Lebanon: HRH The Princess of Asturias”

  1. JamesB says on October 20th, 2009 at 12:47 AM :

    Great history lesson! Couldn't agree more on this tiara. It's just too solid looking for my liking. It looks like an alice band or a nurse's cap. At the very least it needs height above it with a fabulous up do to balance it I think... Love Sofia's tiara though. There's someone who knows how to wear a tiara!

  2. Matthew says on October 20th, 2009 at 11:39 AM :

    I believe the central pear-shaped element is only attached at the top, so it moves and therefore sparkles quite a bit.

  3. Ursula says on October 20th, 2009 at 11:42 AM :

    I agree it would look better with her hair up. But I like it. It's simple, and it complements her classic beauty.

  4. kiri anne says on October 20th, 2009 at 4:39 PM :

    What's with the safety pin on her sash? Do than not have double-stick tape in Spain?

  5. Matthew says on October 21st, 2009 at 11:08 AM :

    This pin has been under discussion on the Royal Jewels of the world Message Board and apparently it's a gold or platinum safety pin with jewels. But a safety pin in precious metals and jewels is still a safety pin. Some feel that it has a special meaning to the princess as she wears it for this purpose with some regularity.

  6. Matthew says on October 21st, 2009 at 2:34 PM :

    Here's a link to the HQ pic of the safety pin with diamonds
    http://members2.boardhost.com/royal-jewels/msg/1256150842.html

  7. kiri anne says on October 21st, 2009 at 7:50 PM :

    Thank you Matthew! I feel much more informed. :)

  8. William says on February 17th, 2010 at 8:05 PM :

    I'm so glad to see that that safety pin has been discussed. It's bothered me for months; and it looks like any old pin stuck in her sash. Her dresser must hate it.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.