Luxarazzi 101: Bavarian Lover's Knot Tiara

It's tiara time again, ladies and gentlemen. Today we are introducing to you another tiara by the former royal family of Bavaria, the Bavarian Lover's Knot Tiara, featured in the Luxarazzi Tiara Race. Much like the Bavarian Ruby and Spinel Parure, this one can't be worn by the current crop of Grand Ducal ladies but it has been worn by a Luxembourgish princess in the past, Princess Antonia, younger sister of Grand Duchess Charlotte and wife of the last crown prince of Bavaria, Rupprecht.

Lover's knot tiaras were once a popular design for pearl and diamond pieces. While the Cambridge Lover's Knot Tiara is probably the most famous of them all these days, the Bavarian tiara is a good 90 years older. Dated circa 1825, it is attributed to Bavarian royal court jeweller Caspar Rieländer. The tiara features 16 diamond arches with pearl drops hanging from lover's knot bows. These pearl drops are mirrored by another sixteen pear shaped pearls interspersed with small pearls on the tiara's top.

A little sparkle for a grey summer Sunday, the Bavarian Lover's Knot Tiara with the accompanying earrings and necklace. This pretty parure was a gift from King Ludwig I of Bavaria to his wife Queen Therese and can be viewed at Munich's Residenz. #throwback #tiara #jewellery #jewels #diamonds #pearls #royaljewels #residenz #residenzmünchen #instapalace #instamünchen #munich #münchen #bayern #bavaria #splendour #palace #schloss #castle #museum #sparkle #sparklygram #latergram #instatravel #travel #travelgram #reisen

Ein von Svenja (@mlle_cook) gepostetes Video am 26. Jul 2015 um 5:56 Uhr

Much like the recently talked about Ruby and Spinel Parure, this tiara - as well as accompanying earrings and necklace - were a gift from King Ludwig I of Bavaria to his wife, Queen Therese. Therese later gave it to her daughter-in-law, Amalia of Oldenburg, who was the Queen consort of Greece from 1836 to 1862. When her husband, King Otto, had to abdicate, the couple, who was childless, returned to Bavaria. These days, the tiara is on display at Munich's Residenz, the former home of the Wittelsbach family turned museum.

Slightly Belated IOC News from Kuala Lumpur

So it turns out Grand Duke Henri wasn't in Malaysia for the 2022 host city vote back on July 31st. However, he was reelected as an IOC member, on August 3rd, during the final day of the 128th Session. For what it's worth, Henri's non-attendance put him in fairly good company this year, as more than 10 percent of voting members were either not present or not eligible to vote (due to being from one of the bidding cities).

It is likely, on the other hand, that Princess Nora was in attendance, as there is no mention of her absence from the events.

A little more news about the session here and here.

The Luxarazzi Tiara Race (13): Empire Tiara vs. Sapphire Art Deco Tiara

It's Tiara Race time again, ladies and gentlemen! Last time around, you kind of surprised me a little. Truth be told, I would have thought that the match between the Citrine/Topaz and Pearl Tiara and the Aquamarine Bandeau Tiara would end a little closer but the latter one took home the win in rather outright fashion gathering almost exactly two thirds (66.53 percent) of votes.

The Empire Tiara and the Sapphire Art Deco Tiara are up against each other today - this one, I suspect, will be a bit of an unfair race. The 'big gun' of the Grand Ducal Collection vs. the convertible necklace that reminds some of you of handcuffs -  so tell us, ...

Voting closes on Saturday night.

Maria Teresa, Claire and Amalia at Marché de Créateurs

Voilà c est terminé, cette édition du marché des créateurs a été un franc succès, et notamment grâce à la visite de son...
Posted by Mamie et Moi on Sunday, 21 June 2015

Just as Rome wasn't build in a day, it sometimes takes us some time to locate news. A few days ago, an article by Luxembourgish magazine Revue popped up in my alerts as it mentioned Princess Claire attending the Marché de Créateurs, which took place at the MUDAM in June, and purchasing a skirt for her baby daughter by a young Luxembourgish designer. Now I finally found photographic evidence of it and turns out, Princess Claire even brought Princess Amalia as well as her mother-in-law, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, along.

On Holiday with the Grand Ducal Family

The best surprised are always those, you do not expect. Case in point: This holiday fun with the Grand Ducal Family. For the first time it what seems like ages, the cour grand-ducale released some holiday snapshots from Cabasson, the Grand Ducal Family's summer home in the south of France. Each year, the Grand Ducal Family spends the weeks of summer at Cabasson in varying lineups. One comes, one goes, the other one comes back - and especially the younger generation often also has an array of friends in tow.

All photos: Cour grand-ducale / David Nivière

Our picture lineup for the group shot:

First row from left to right: 

Grand Duke Henri, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, Grand Duke Jean, Archduchess Marie-Astrid, Archduke Carl-Christian

Second row: 

Princess Margaretha, Prince Nikolaus, Prince Guillaume, Prince Jean, Countess Diane

Third row: 

Archduchess Katarina, Archduke Christoph, Archduchess Adelaide, Prince Louis, Princess Tessy, Prince Félix, Princess Claire, Princess Amalia 

Fourth row: 

Princess Maria-Anunciata, Princess Marie-Astrid, Archduchess Gabriella, Prince Sébastien, Prince Jean

Fifth row: 

Prince Josef, Princess Alexandra, Prince Paul-Louis, Prince Léopold 

You know what, this group shot wasn't even all! But just to prove my point from above how quickly the grand ducal lineups at Cabasson can change, you can also glance Prince Gabriel and Prince Noah, sons of Prince Louis and Princess Tessy; plus Princess Marie-Gabrielle, daughter of Prince Jean; as well as Princess Charlotte, daughter of Prince Guillaume, in the following pictures...

As always, click on the pictures to enlarge! In case you have a hard time putting the names to the faces and just how they are all related, check out our Who's Who.

More from the Borromeo/Casiraghi Wedding

How life goes... My goal was to find a better picture of Prince Félix at this weekend's wedding of Beatrice Borromeo and Pierre Casiraghi but instead I learned that 1) Princess Thera of Liechtenstein, who you might recall from other weddings, was also present; that 2) Prince Amedeo of Belgium and his wife Elisabetta were among the guests, too; that 3) you can be the chairman of one of Italy's biggest companies (John Elkann) but that you still have to carry your wives luggage; that 4)  Sacha Casiraghi is pretty cute; 5) that Beatrice Borromeo at the evening reception reminded me of a young Queen Paola of Belgium; and so on, and on, and on.

Plus, I also found this:

On the left, quite visibly, Princess Anunciata, daughter of Prince Nikolaus and Princess Margaretha, with a tiny peek of Princess Claire behind her. If you care to look past Eugenie Niarchos, you can also spot Claire in soft pink in the picture on the right. Alas still no photo - if you do not count the hair and the arm on the left picture - of Prince Félix (that I could locate), but I'm fine with a good picture of Anunciata, we get those much less than good pictures of Félix and Claire. Still, if you found better ones of Félix and Claire, you know where to find us! 

Photos: CTK, SGT

The Luxarazzi Tiara Race (12): Citrine or Topaz Tiara vs. Aquamarine Bandeau Tiara

Previously on The Luxarazzi Tiara Race: Poor Floral Button Tiara (understandably) never stood any chance whatsoever against the Grand Duchess Adélaïde Tiara only gathering some 22 votes against the 458 its opponent got.

Today's match though, I predict, will be a much closer one. Heading off against each other are the Citrine or Topaz and Pearl Tiara, which has seen a bit of a renaissance within the Grand Ducal Family during the last few years, and the Aquamarine Bandeau Tiara, which we shamefully have no own post about, but a little more information nonetheless in our post about the Grand Ducal Tiara Collection. Tell us...

Voting closes on Wednesday night.

New Picture of Prince Louis

Photo: Hana Noguchi /
Cour grand-ducale

No actual royal sighting but we'll have to make use of what we get these days... On Monday, Prince Louis turns 29 and (I think) the cour grand-ducale has added a new picture of the third son of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa to his biography on the official website. 

I say 'I think' because I don't check the biography section of the website that often but I'm fairly certain I haven't seen it before. In any case, happy birthday to His Royal Highness, may he have a lovely day with his wife, kids and whoever else is invited to the party.

Luxembourgs and a Liechtenstein at the Casiraghi/Borromeo Wedding

Photo: Willi Schneider / REX

Today, Pierre Casiraghi, son of Princess Caroline of Hanover (and Monaco), married his longtime girlfriend, Italian aristocrat Beatrice Borromeo on Isola Bella, one of the Borromean Islands on Lago Maggiore in Italy. Among the guests for the nuptials were Prince Félix and Princess Claire of Luxembourg as well as Princess Maria-Anunciata of Liechtenstein. 

While Claire and Anunciata are rather clearly visible in the picture above (together with Prince Christian of Hanover and his girlfriend Alessandra de Osma), Félix can be spied in this one. I kinda have the suspicion that someone else of the Luxo-Liechtenstein clan was present but I'll need to see better pictures to confirm. So keep your fingers crossed, that there will actually be more.

Luxarazzi 101: Kathedrale St. Florin

For a long time, Schaan, the biggest one of Liechtenstein's municipalities, was the country's religious centre. Today, however, it lies within the Principality's capital, Vaduz: The Cathedral of St. Florin, or Kathedrale St. Florin in German, is the centre of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vaduz, which was established not too long ago. As it is Liechtenstein's most famous church, it is occassionally mentioned here on Luxarazzi. High time to have a closer look...

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

On the site of today's cathedral, a chapel was once located. Also dedicated to Florinus of Remüs - a 9th century saint of the Catholic church -, this chapel was once the final resting place of the lords of the county of Vaduz, the Counts of Werdenberg, the Barons of Brandis as well as the Counts of Sulz and Hohenems. At this time, however, the chapel in Vaduz still belonged to the parish church of St. Peter located in aforementioned Schaan. When the Princely Family of Liechtenstein purchased the areas which later became Liechtenstein, they also gained the right of patronage for the church.

By 1842, a quasi-parish - a definite community of the Christian faithful in a particular church, entrusted to a priest as its proper pastor but not yet erected as a parish because of particular circumstances - was founded in Vaduz. In 1868, the decision was made that an actual parish should be established and a church would be build in the village. Prince Johann II, who was nicknamed "the Good" by his people and wished to gift the chief village of his Principality an own church, paid for three quarters of the costs.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Architect Friedrich von Schmidt, who constructed no less than 125 churches in his life and also worked on Vienna's town hall as well as  Cologne cathedral, was commissioned to come up with plans. They were carried out by Ignaz von Banko starting on August 17, 1869. The topping out ceremony of the three-aisled Neo-Gothic church was celebrated in June of the following year. The church's three altars were consecrated in October 1873.

Next to the church, the Princely Burial Crypt is located. Prior to the Second World War, members of the Princely Family were buried in what today is the Czech Republic. Due to the War, the following Cold War and the family generally making Liechtenstein their primary home, there was a need for a new crypt. And so the Princely Burial Crypt was erected in 1960. It is the final resting place of more than 30 members of the Liechtenstein family including Prince Franz Josef II, Princess Gina and Princess Elsa.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

St. Florin has also been the site of more happy princely occasions, like the weddings of Prince Hans-Adam and Princess Marie as well as Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie, for example.

Now you might have wondered by now, why we have mostly referred to St. Florin as a church instead of cathedral througout most of this post... Well, it did not become a cathedral until 1997. Prior to December of that year, Vaduz as well as the whole of Liechtenstein were part of the Swiss Diocese of Chur. On December 2, 1997, Pope John Paul II erected the Archdiocese of Vaduz (against the wish of the Prince, the parliament and a petition signed by about a third of all Catholics in Liechtenstein. For some 1,500 odd years, Vaduz had been part of the Diocese of Chur but the Vatican basically needed a new place for Bishop Wolfgang Haas, a Liechtensteiner by birth, to resolve tensions within the Swiss diocese.) In late December, the church was raised to the dignity of a cathedral and has since become known as the Kathedrale St. Florin.