Although the visit officially began on June 23, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako of Japan landed for the Belgian royal banquet a few days early. The couple spent their weekend at the Royal Castle of Ciergnon, demonstrating the close relationship between the Japanese and Belgian royal families. At the airport, the emperor and empress were greeted by Belgium’s Princess Elisabeth, who was making her debut in this type of institutional duty typical of her future role as queen. Yesterday, following the official welcome at the king’s Palace Square, the visiting Japanese dignitaries visited City Hall and Parliament, ending the day with a traditional state banquet at the Palace of Laeken.
This gala dinner provided several highlights. First and foremost was the debut of Princess Eléonore—having just turned 18, she is the youngest of the Belgian king and queen’s four children to wear a tiara for the first time. Eléonore donned a tiara purchased in 2019 at an auction for 26,000 euros (or roughly $29,000), crafted by the Brussels-based jeweler Coosemans.
The ornate accessory features scrollwork and clover motifs in silver and gold, set with diamonds that can be detached and worn as a brooch. It was an 18th-birthday gift from Eléonore’s parents. The Belgian royal also debuted a dress by Safiyaa, a designer who has become a favorite among the younger generation of royals. The cape-style design is very similar to those we’ve occasionally seen on Princess Amalia of the Netherlands.
It was also the first time in two decades that the Brabant Laurel Wreath Tiara had been lent out. This piece of jewelry, worn by Princess Elisabeth, was a wedding gift from the Belgian nobility to Mathilde on the occasion of her wedding in 1999. It consists of 631 diamonds set in platinum with laurel-leaf motifs. The heir to the throne paired it with a pair of cascading diamond earrings, also lent to her by her mother—jewelry that stood out particularly well thanks to the midnight blue dress she chose.
