Queen Letizia dons a "rare" necklace for luncheon with German president

24/10/2018

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia hosted a luncheon for the President of Germany, Mr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and his wife, Mrs. Elke Büdenbender who are on an official visit to Spain.

The Spanish queen wore a new dark red set by German brand Hugo Boss for this stately occasion held in the Royal Palace in Madrid.

Embed from Getty Images

The top is the BOSS 'Burana' Split-Sleeve Blouse with bow details (US$295). It is available at Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, and House of Fraser.

Hugo Boss Dark Red Burana Split-Sleeve Blouse

She teamed it with the 'Vermana' A-line midi skirt (US$348) made from a blend of Italian virgin wool and cashmere. It's available at Hugo Boss and House of Fraser.

Hugo Boss Dark Red Vermana A-line midi skirt

Queen Letizia coordinated the ensemble with a new pair of bespoke leather and suede trim pumps by Magrit in a matching dark red tone.

Embed from Getty Images

In a rare sight, Queen Letizia accessorized with a necklace featuring a graduated string of white round pearls and a gem clasp.

It's a piece she has not worn before and different to the pearl necklace she wore for the 2015 Princess of Asturias awards ceremony contrary to what some royal bloggers have claimed. I notice they have different clasps.

NECKLACE UPDATE (22 Nov 2018):
Núria Tiburcio‏ from Vanitatis tells me that Casa Real confirmed this is a Joyas de Pasar piece. The necklace Queen Letizia wore for the 2015 Princess of Asturias awards ceremony (shown above) is NOT a necklace from the Joyas de Pasar. The pearl necklace worn today was originally a wedding gift from King Alfonso XII of Spain to his first wife Maria de las Mercedes of Orléans. Upon her untimely death in 1878 it reverted to the Crown and later Queen Ena made it part of the Joyas de Pasar.

Letizia complemented the heirloom necklace with small pearl stud earrings. They appear to be the TOUS White Gold Puppies Earrings with Diamonds (US$640).

20 Comments

Estitxu

22/11/2018 09:56:23 pm

Spanish queens have 3 pearl necklaces according to queen Ena's list of the Joyas de Pasar:

One comes from the four strands of pearls property of Queen María Cristina de Habsburgo-Lorena that Ena cut for her daughters (JC sisters have other necklaces coming from that four strands)

A necklace with 37 big pearls and a diamond clasp

A necklace with 47 big pearls and a diamond clasp

ABC newspaper wrote an article when don Juan, king JC's father, married his wife and called the 37 pearls necklace "the Russian pearls" and that's what other authors have repeated without checking the fact, But according to Ena... the Russian pearls, bought in J. Vaillant, Newsky, Saint Petersburg in 1877... were 47 pearls with a diamond clasp... not 37. Some authors said that they probably made earrings with the ones missing, or brooches, or were sold.

Now that we finally had access to the documents of Queen Isabel II last will we know that she she had a pearl necklace with 37 pearls and a diamond clasp, that belonged to Infanta Luisa Carlota, that his husband Francisco de Asis (son of the infanta) gave her as a wedding present... 37 pearls... like the one Letizia's wearing.

These aren't the Russian pearls,,, this is Luisa Carlota necklace that Isabel II used to wear with the Peregrina... exactly like Queen Sofia does... because she knows what she's wearing. And the Russian pearls are the 47 pearl necklace that we call 'the long pearl necklace' and Queen Sofia wears without pendant....

Elizabeth (Admin)

23/11/2018 02:23:18 pm

Thank you for all this information! I double checked and I think I'm now clear on the provenance of the piece! I have updated the blog. Please correct me if I'm wrong :)

Estitxu

23/11/2018 08:26:24 pm

You are totally right!! That is the necklace. And that is the Queen María de las Mercedes , spouse of Alfonso XII.
They had a very pretty but sad love history, she dies very soon, 6 months later and pregnant and the king never overcame it.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes_of_Orl%C3%A9ans

Elizabeth (Admin)

23/11/2018 09:02:59 pm

I'm delighted to hear I got all the facts right :) Yes I did read about her untimely death when I was researching the provenance of the necklace. Such a sad story :(

Veerle Esschenbrouck

22/11/2018 11:28:49 pm

Elizabeth,

The skirt is not new, I think. I have a feeling she wore it for the 2017 or 2018 (I'm not sure) inauguration of the ARCO Art Fair in Madrid. However, the blouse is new.

Elizabeth (Admin)

23/11/2018 07:54:39 am

I initially thought thought too as the silhouette seems identical but I think the red tones are different x

Sandy

23/11/2018 12:30:48 am

I love this entire outfit. The beautiful claret/wine colour looks very elegant on Letizia. The slits and bow ties on the sleeves keeps it from looking boring. The skirt is very luxurious in wool and cashmere and I think the longer length is flattering. And it's great to see her wearing a necklace for a change. Pearls are timeless, look great on any outfit and never go out of style.

Maya

23/11/2018 01:08:10 am

I really like red color and pearls are my favorite thing ever but somehow this whole look really has " a mother of the bride" vibe. I don't know why, maybe it's the hair. What do you ladies think?

Sandy

23/11/2018 11:40:12 pm

It is a conservative look for sure, Maya. Especially compared to the black/wave dress she wore a day before. Maybe her husband chastised her and told her to tone it down. But that's what we like about Letizia- her versatility.

Maya

25/11/2018 08:42:34 am

Actually, the more I look the more I am sure that it's not the clothes but the hair. It is combed back somehow, and that ages her a bit. But she is always pretty and just like you said, her versatility is one of the best things about her. True fashion inspiration.

Holly

23/11/2018 02:55:59 am

For someone who wears RED so spectacularly, I personally think this outfit makes Letizia look tired. I don't know if its the red (it is more of a brown red or brick red than the true red or blue red she wears so well), or the way it matches the curtains, or if she just really was tired that day (no amount of make-up makes me not look tired if I am tired), but something about the color just doesn't seem to work for her.

The pearl necklace is lovely and her makeup is flawless as always, its just something about the red that does not seem to work for her.

Holly

Bertie

23/11/2018 08:22:41 am

I thought the colour seemed draining on Letizia, I wondered if she was wearing paler make-up and also whether the lighting was wrong for the photos. But I also thought it all looked a bit much on her.

Holly

23/11/2018 08:47:21 am

Her make-up color choices (lipstick, eye color) do appear lighter, but when you look at just her face picture, they seem "normal". The more I look, the more I think the color is just not the right shade of red. The shoes look almost identical to the color of the outfit, but then when those shoes are outside (an event from 11/20), they look really brown to me - I think the brown-red is just not a good color. I personally have a lot of trouble wearing red in general (I have a lot of pink in my face that just jumps out wearing red), so I can understand choosing the wrong red.

Bertie

23/11/2018 10:03:53 am

Oh Holly no need to tell me about reds - I can only take blue-reds never the orangey ones like my poor brother bought me in a lovely pashmina wrap which never goes out in public but drapes forever on the arm of an easy chair. I agree this could well be the wrong red for Letizia but just wondered if the lighting was causing a change of tone. I also recall there was some talk here recently about Letizia favouring more fashionable nude shades in her make-up. I think there was an occasion possibly on a school run where the effect almost made her look unwell in photos

Holly

27/11/2018 09:00:05 am

Hi Bertie,

I think I finally figured out what is wrong with this red! Letizia seems to wear red, any color red, quite well - but all of the red is Bright! I looked back at all of her red outfits and there is no question it is RED! This outfit could be rightly questioned as to if it is brick red, a brown red, a red brown, etc.

And, while I think the photographers could not light that badly to make the clothes match the curtains, in comparison to the pictures posted, the lighting could be off to make this red not appear bright. But, I really think, it is the more muted, darker shade of red that is the problem for her.

Sorry to hear about the pashmina that goes unused - such a lovely gift, but just the wrong color (which, unfortunately, is why my dh gets the exact picture of the item I want, if not the link, to make sure he does not get the wrong color!).

Holly

Bertie

23/11/2018 08:19:56 am

Oh my goodness I really don’t like this Hugo Boss set, so sorry. The top seems to be droop over the skirt waist adding bulk to Letizia. The length of the skirt and its fullness all add to a general heaviness which makes the whole look dowdy and ageing. I can see the lighting and photography probably aren’t helping, but my first impression is not good. It also means I find the sleeve detailing too cluttered, although the outfit is an understandable choice and colour in the context of the stately palace.

Geneviève

23/11/2018 09:53:15 am

I really like the silky top with a matte bottom in the same colour. The A-line midi skirt strikes me as fashionable and very flattering.

Royal Watcher

23/11/2018 02:31:24 pm

Elizabeth as soon as you come back on the scene we get all the right details! I read so many conflicting reports on the provenance of the necklace so I'm glad you were able to resolve it and distinguish between the two necklaces. This is why so many people love your blog. You are meticulous! Thank you for all your hard work.

Mart

24/11/2018 04:53:03 am

I like the red Hugo Boss set, but I can't say that I love it , but I love the pearl necklace. It's timeless

Stephie

24/11/2018 12:37:51 pm

Wearing separates in the same colour can be tricky - I think adding a belt might have made this outfit work better, otherwise it looks like a rather ill-fitting dress. Lovely to see Letizia in pearls, they complement her beautiful luminous skin.

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Queen Letizia dons a "rare" necklace for luncheon with German president

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