Grand Duchess Stephanie of Luxembourg has hosted her first state banquet since she and Grand Duke Guillaume took the throne. The couple welcomed Finland’s President Alexander Stubb and his wife, Suzanne Innes-Stubb, to the Grand Ducal Palace in Luxembourg City for a visit that was the first official trip by a Finnish head of state in 18 years.
For the evening, the 42-year-old Grand Duchess chose one of the most versatile pieces in the family’s collection. She wore the tiara of Grand Duchess Josephine Charlotte, which belongs to the jewels of the House of Nassau-Weilburg. The piece combines pear-shaped diamonds with delicate sapphires that came from the legacy of Grand Duchess Hilda of Baden. It began life as a necklace and can be converted into a tiara, and Stephanie has worn it before in its other form, as a choker, at Norwegian royal birthday celebrations in 2017 and during a Dutch state visit in 2018.
The banquet capped a full day of ceremony. Military honours, a floral tribute and cultural events all formed part of the welcome for the Finnish visitors. The occasion was the latest in a series of firsts for Stephanie since the accession last November, when Grand Duke Henri stepped aside after 25 years. That handover was marked by an accession ceremony, a balcony appearance, a welcome at City Hall, a public walkabout, a reception and a gala dinner.
Guillaume, 44, is the eldest child of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa. He married the former Countess Stephanie de Lannoy on 19 October 2012, and the couple have two sons, Charles, born in May 2020, and François, born in March 2023. Earlier this year, Stephanie used the privilège du blanc, the privilege of wearing white granted as consort of a Catholic head of state, during an audience with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican.
The banquet sits within a busy autumn of royal diplomacy across Europe. Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia were scheduled to make a state visit to Finland from 5 to 7 October, while the Spanish royals had recently welcomed Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron in Madrid. For Luxembourg’s new Grand Duchess, the Stubb visit offered a first chance to lead the palace’s most formal form of hospitality, and to bring out a historic family jewel in its tiara setting.
