Royal National Day (and Tiara Watch!) of the Day: June 24

Royal National Day (and Tiara Watch!) of the Day: June 24

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Let's spend a little quality time with the Luxembourg grand ducal clan. They've been celebrating National Day with big hats (lucky us) and plentiful tiaras (even luckier us). The festivities kicked off the day before with a surprise balcony appearance and some visits, including the traditional trip for Prince Guillaume and Princess Stéphanie to Esch-sur-Alzette.

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Their outfits were pretty tame (as usual) but also they were pretty cute (as usual).

The whole family - the Grand Duke, Grand Duchess, and all five kids plus assorted spouses - kicked National Day itself off with a ceremony at the Philharmonie Luxembourg.

@CourGrandDucale

Some basic outfits here, but I think they were saving themselves up for the Te Deum.

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The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess

Maria Teresa elevated her Armani suit with a sculptural black topper, and Henri clearly approved of the addition (speaking of cute, ahem).

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 Prince Sébastien and Princess Alexandra

I did not know that there was such a thing as a costume Te Deum, but I'm here for Alexandra's flapper flair.

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Prince Louis and Princess Tessy

Tessy got the memo, apparently, carrying us forward in time to the glamour of the 30s and 40s with her red lip and saucy 'do.

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Prince Félix and Princess Claire

A big hat and swinging earrings and polka dots and a Dolce & Gabbana dress with a flippy skirt? That's, like, 75% of my favorite things. Don't distract me, Claire, I'm determined to give my jumpy claps to someone else this time.

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The Hereditary Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duchess

Jumpy claps for Stéphanie! Finally, finally, I have some jumpy claps for Stéphanie, and they are long overdue. A truly classic appearance with a cheery color to keep it interesting and a little personality courtesy of the hat. Fab-u-lous.

And just to add an extra fabulous cap to the day: the National Day gala, featuring more tiaras in one shot than some countries pull together in a whole year.

Palais grand ducal/Tageblatt

Maria Teresa in the Belgian Scroll Tiara, Stéphanie in Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde's Tiara, Claire in what I believe is a new little bandeau piece (with an impressive set of ruby or red stone earrings and necklace to go with, and an elegant red dress), Tessy in what looks like the amethyst and pearl bandeau, and Alexandra (wearing, if I'm not mistaken, the Elie Saab that Stéphanie wore to Princess Madeleine's pre-wedding dinner) in the Topaz/Citrine and Pearl Tiara. And that's how you do a tiara appearance, folks.

For more on National Day, here's a huge gallery including a few more gala pics, and you can always turn to Luxarazzi.

Royal Outfits of the (National) Day: June 24

Royal Outfits of the (National) Day: June 24

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National Day in Luxembourg was celebrated yesterday with a military parade, a Te Deum, and a gala reception drawing multiple members of the grand ducal family.

National Day began with a tense debate between the two leading ladies over the rights to wear dodgy hot pink outfits. Or so I like to think it did, at least.

The Hereditary Grand Duchess won out at the military parade, with a Libélula coat that I like on the whole (the Duchess of Cambridge wore the same style in black once upon a time) and a hat that seriously looked like a fuchsia peppermint candy from afar. (Which would have been kind of awesome, to be honest.)

And the Grand Duchess won out for the Te Deum later, repeating the Armani outfit she wore to Prince Félix's wedding last year. Dodgy based on excessive levels of shine alone, though I will give her that it looks less shiny on video.

And then the pink was long gone and it was time for tiaras! Maria Teresa repeated the exact same dress and aquamarine tiara we saw from her the last time she got tiara'd up, but you can always count on Stéphanie to bring something new. In this case, her tiara's a bit like the other floral tiaras in the family, but maybe not quite, so it might be something we haven't seen before. (Update: This is a never-before-seen tiara, with a butterfly motif, likely a modern piece.) I often have quibbles with Stéphanie's styling, but she's been on a mission to try new tiaras since she got married and I do love her little magpie soul for that.

For more: Luxarazzi's got everything you need, plus there's a gala reception gallery and a Te Deum gallery at Wort.lu, and an earlier Zimbio gallery.

Photos: Wort.lu video, and Anouk Antony/Wort.lu