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Spanish State Visit to Belgium, 2000

The Belgian Royal Family hosted King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain on their magnificent State Visit to Belgium on this day in 2000, 25 years ago, which came after the Spanish State Visit to Belgium in 1923, the Belgian State Visit to Spain in 1978, and the Belgian State Visit to Spain in 1994.

King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain were received by the Belgian Royal Family in an Official Welcome Ceremony at the Royal Palace in Brussels.

In the evening, King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium held a State Banquet for King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain at the Royal Chateau of Laeken.

Queen Sofia wore the Spanish Fleur-de-Lys Tiara and the Order of Leopold.

Queen Paola was in the Nine Provinces Tiara, her Half-Moon Earrings and Diamond Necklace.

Queen Fabiola wore her Spanish Wedding Gift Tiara and her Diamond Sautoir.

Crown Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde (wearing her Laurel Wreath Tiara for the first time and her Wedding Earrings)

Princess Astrid (in the Savoy-Aosta Tiara) and Prince Lorenz, Archduke of Austria-Este

 

Spanish Fleur-de-Lys Tiara

Prussian Diamond Tiara

Spanish Floral Tiara

Mellerio Shell Tiara

Queen Victoria Eugenie’s Cartier Pearl Tiara

Queen Maria Christina’s Loop Tiara

Niarchos Ruby Parure

Joyas de Pasar

Queen Elisabeth’s Diamond Bandeau

Nine Provinces Tiara

Diamond Necklace Tiara

Diamond Necklace

LP Staff Writers

Writers at Lord’s Press come from a range of professional backgrounds, including history, diplomacy, heraldry, and public administration. Many publish anonymously or under initials—a practice that reflects the publication’s long-standing emphasis on discretion and editorial objectivity. While they bring expertise in European nobility, protocol, and archival research, their role is not to opine, but to document. Their focus remains on accuracy, historical integrity, and the preservation of events and individuals whose significance might otherwise go unrecorded.

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