State Visit to Portugal: HRH The Grand Duchess of Luxembourg
A quick note: It's the beginning of the semester, and I've been absolutely swamped with work this week -- I've been getting all of your lovely e-mails, and I'll try to do a larger update this weekend when I get a little breather time. Thanks so much for your continued interest in the blog -- just wanted to give everyone a little heads up! 
And now ... on to the Tiara Alert! (Because I knew if there was one thing you kids would want in a post, it's a tiara!)
Henri and MT headed to Portugal for a state visit this week, and Maria Teresa wore brand-new (to her) tiara! This is Joséphine-Charlotte's Emerald and Diamond Tiara, a stunner with a sort of peacock-like motif, made by Van Cleef and Arpels. The tiara was a wedding present to the late Grand Duchess J-C from her husband, Grand Duke Jean.
It's a fabulous piece, but I can't say I like the combo of emeralds and this coral-colored gown. It would be a knockout with a blue, purple, or black dress, I think -- but this just doesn't work -- it's Sonja at Vic's wedding all over again! (But not quite that horrendous, obviously!)
PHOTO CREDITS: presidencia.pt
Tags: state visit, tiara
I like the tiara and I love Maria Teresa - she seems like such a sweet woman, but the combination of the emeralds and this color gown doesn't work. And the halter neck isn't flattering to MT at all.
I love MT, really I do- she's great- but she seriously needs to learn how to dress her plump body type. If anything, this halter top look is just making her look bigger than she is!
Enough on what she wore- I actually really don't like this tiara. It's almost as though she got bumped in the head, then the bump got infected and this is what it produced. Blech.
Obviously work will come before play
Can't wait for your big post.
The tiara and dress combo doesn't bother me too much; what really gets me is Maria Teresa's hair. Definitely not tiara hair; it should be up, not down.
Believe it or not, the secondary colors match with each other: orange, green and purple. However, its not my favorite combination. MT is beautiful and I love what she is wearing.
Sorry Jake, I wouldn't like her hair up. IMHO, I believe the softness hair provides enhances an aging woman's face.
Yeah, I'm not feeling this at all. But, you know, the tiara could work without the rest of the parure. If she stuck with diamonds (necklace not a choker and bracelet) that would have complemented her overall look. I totally agree with Jake...that hair style does not work for a formal to-do...nope, not one bit.
Thanks for the update, Ella!
I love Maria-Teresa, she's one of my fave royals (Along with Victoria, Haakon and Mette-Marit, and Maxima/WA/Cake), but my life goal is to take her shopping so she learns how to dress as a larger-than-average woman.
I think the dress would not have been as bad had she worn another necklace. I do understand she wanted to match, but a necklace which "hangs down" a bit, covering her chest a bit more would have been more flatering. I like the tiara, but I agree, not with this dress.
I think she looks pretty good! I hope this replaces her hideous diamond top hat/Empire Tiara as worn at Victoria's wedding in her regular tiara rotation.
I don't mind the colour combo, nor do I mind the halter style on her, I think she looks quite nice. I do, however, dislike the tight choker necklace - doesn't fit the Grand Duchess at all, nor does it go well with this dress. And it's just too much - a slightly longer diamond necklace would have been so much better. I also don't like the brooch at the bottom of her neckline, she could have left that one at home. It puts such a sudden stop to it, it really draws my eye, and with a tiara and smile like that, that's not where you want people to look:)
Hmm, I don't really mind her hair... But now I'm trying to picture her with the hair blow dried and swept backwards, sort of carefully 70-ish. Just a bit more volume and away from her face!
Maria Teresa is 54 years old and has five children. I think she looks remarkably young and she has such a sweet face. She is unfortunate in that she is petite and kind of plump (I would not call her fat) and the standard of beauty now is for women to be tall and stick thin. If I had to say who was prettier, Maria Teresa or Victoria Beckham I'd have to go with MT. She might not be the height of fashion, but she looks so pleasant and happy.
I guess I'm in the minority but I actually like the dress on MT. But then again I'm above-average weight and there are probably people who think I don't know how to dress for that fact either. LOL The color is marvelous with her complexion.
Not crazy about the tiara, but I like it better than the rest of the parure, particularly the brooch she wore to accentuate her cleavage. I think that point of cloth would look better unadorned. And between the tiara and the necklace, it looks like you're cutting off her face from the rest of her body. The tiara is small enough I think she's ok leaving her hair down - it looks pretty.
The tiara's nice, but perhaps not the best. I would probably have liked it better with a different coloured frock and an up-do with the barnet.
However, Sonja's combination of emeralds and her salmon coloured gown has to be perhaps my ultimate guilty pleasure. I just loved it. Very Margo Leadbetter.
Fabulous new tiara in an interesting design and with gorgeous emeralds? Check! Halter neckline and brooch to draw the eye to the magnificent bazoombas? Check! Matching stole to cover the difficult upper arms? Check! Sashy bow thing that cuts you in half and adds bulk at totally the wrong bit of your body...? Alas, check.
I adore Maria Teresa and I think she looks amazing - her skin is so fabulous - I can't believe she's fifty four! But I just wish she'd realise that a less boxy look would be so much more flattering.
I also like the tiara, although I can't help but wonder whether its art-deco styling is crying out for a fringe (bangs I believe you call them in the US of A!)
NoOw, like most others, I too love our little Lux Dumpling, but this does her no favours at all. The tiara is a bit small and nothingy (though no doubt beautiful close up!) and the dress looks a bit cheap. She's done so much better.
Still - as others have said, she looks so young and fresh for 54...
Just been browsing, and she looked fabulous at a do the night before.
i have to say that i love the second dress more than the first, she should wear more purple it looks very flattering on her
Maggie, thanks for the link. MT looks wonderful in that gown. The color, the cut, simple jewelry, just perfect. I wonder if she has lost some weight.
The second dress (in maggie's post) was actually the night after. I didn't like this tiara/necklace initially (on Josephine-Charlotte) but the more I saw of it the more I like it. I actually like the color combo.
maggie, thank you ever so much for that photo. The Grand Duchess nailed it in that ensemble. She looks a-m-a-z-i-n-g. This is such a beautiful example of a color scheme that works so perfectly for her. I, too, appreciate her fuller figure.
I'm still entranced by the delicate tiara. Lovely.
Wow! MT looks so good in purple, and the cut of the gown flatters her. She is such a pretty woman and I count her as one of my favorite royals.
I love the purple dress Maggie linked too, I wonder if she'd let me borrow it? I also notice she is wearing the pearl drop pin she wore on national day that I just loved. Again, think she'd let me borrow it?
@ Maggie, she looks stunning in that picture! I think we knock her down a tad much. She looks bloody good for 54.
Oh, wow, that purple looks fantastic on her! When she gets it right, it's so right, isn't it? Thanks for posting the link, Maggie!
Wow, she looked amazing in that purple dress! The cut flattered her and of course, the colour is fabulous! She's a little like Princess Anne- when she gets it right, she gets it sooo right. When she gets it wrong, look out.
I love the tiara, but I would call this colour combo "watermelon". Not so much, thank you.
I don't think anyone ever gets it quite as wrong as Princess Anne.
Maria Teresa looks absolutely fabulous in the purple dress. Thanks for the link, Maggie. No way does MT look 54 years old, the mother of five children and grandmother of two. You go girl!!!!!
In this photo(http://www.royaltyinthenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Luxembourg-Portugal-2.jpg) the dress looks more red than salmon, which raises the whole Christmas-theme question, but it's better than orange in my opinion.