Breaking Tiara News of the Day: Queen Letizia Wears La Buena

We interrupt your regularly scheduled Thursday tiara programming (and also our usual posting time schedule) for this important news flash:

The King and Queen of Spain welcomed the President and First Lady of Argentina to Spain for a state visit today, and hosted a state banquet in their honor.

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CHECK. OUT. THAT. TIARA!!!!!!! Queen Letizia went all of 2016 without wearing a tiara, but she does wear tiaras at home when hosting state banquets, which gave her an opportunity to come back with a BANG  in 2017. The Fleur de Lys Tiara, known as La Buena, is the resident big gun diadem in the Spanish jewel vault. Made by Ansorena, it was a wedding present from King Alfonso XIII to Queen Victoria Eugenia in 1906. The fleur de lys symbol depicted in the tiara is a symbol of the House of Bourbon.

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This is Letizia's first time wearing the Fleur de Lys Tiara; it was last seen in 2014 on Queen Sofia for the last state visit of King Juan Carlos' reign. It's among those jewels designated to pass from queen to queen per Queen Victoria Eugenia's will (the "joyas de pasar"). The large diamond earrings and hefty double diamond bracelets are also part of that group, and this is also Letizia's first time wearing those. When she goes big, she GOES BIG.

House of HM the King

The simple black Felipe Varela dress was really a master stroke here. Not only does Queen Letizia need to let those diamonds take center stage, she doesn't want to compete with the extra wide sash of Argentina's Order of the Liberator General San Martín. (Some sashes have skinnier versions for the ladies - like Spain's Order of Isabella the Catholic, worn here by first lady Juliana Awada - but this one apparently doesn't.)

Video: The gala banquet

I don't know about you, but I'm SWOONING. She totally carries off this enormous tiara. Regal to the max.

Man, this week is trying so hard to break my keyboard.

Royal Outfit of the Day: January 30

Psst: No Tidbits today, but please do continue scrolling for a little comment policy refresher. And then...

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King Felipe and Queen Letizia hosted a reception for foreign ambassadors last week.

Another daytime long dress occasion, another repeat for Letizia. That tends to be the way she works these things. She wore this Felipe Varela dress to the same event back in 2013 with her hair down. I don't need to tell you that I celebrate the addition of an updo this time around. That's what I have my #TeamUpdo shirt for.

House of HM the King

You know what this dress reminds me of? Crown Princess Mary's recent Etro dress. (Sure, you nod, if by "reminds me of" you mean "is completely different from".) See, Mary's dress did the architectural thing with its print; Letizia's does it with its lace. It builds cornices across the top and trims out the sides and bottom, with a medallion plonked right in the center. My only hesitation here is that the variation between lace with and without the red fabric behind it is a little distracting. OR IS IT? You tell me.

Royal Outfit of the Day: January 10

On Friday, Queen Letizia closed out what I like to call Court Dress Week by attending Pascua Militar, a military ceremony. Similar to the two days of Danish New Year receptions, this event calls for a long skirt worn in the daytime.

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I think she might be in a bit of a slump with this dress code, honestly. She debuted this Felipe Varela dress in 2014 at a reception for foreign ambassadors, and then wore it again to this event in 2015. (And the outfit we saw in between - last year - was pretty meh.) I'll be the first to admit that outfits for these events are a specialized category these days, and repeating just makes sense. But there are still ways to mix it up within the land of repeats, you know?

House of HM the King

(On the other hand, I will never object to classing things even further up with a good updo.)

Royal State Visit of the Day: November 30

While the Belgians were arriving for a visit to their Dutch neighbors on Monday, the Spanish were doing the same with their Portuguese neighbors. Queen Letizia arrived in a repeat of an outfit first worn in 2012; we're going to skip right to the evening stuff, because we can.

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One of my favorite Letizia gowns - this divine black Carolina Herrera - made the trip, which is delightful. Alas, her tiara did not manage to make the trip. That's not at all surprising; everyone has their own rules for which kinds of events warrant what kinds of gems, and she's following in some more cautious footsteps when it comes to bringing out the full glitter. Doesn't mean the look doesn't still feel a bit unfinished to me, at a white tie event with orders where many would go full gala, though.

House of HM the King

(For the record, she did wear her diamond wedding earrings, diamond bracelet, and diamond brooch. Which is more diamonds than I'll ever have, right there.)

White tie did equal a tiara for someone else:

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The Duke and Duchess of Braganza were in attendance at the banquet, and the Duchess gave us the tiara we needed. This one is a convertible necklace, a nicely sized choice for the evening.

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Night two brought some more gems, yay! These emerald and diamond earrings are an interesting pick because they come from Queen Sofia's jewel collection. The earrings are part of a set that includes an emerald and diamond necklace, and Sofia wore these pieces to Felipe and Letizia's wedding. Letizia has borrowed the set in the past.

House HM the King

They were the perfect choice to complement her repeated Felipe Varela dress. She does look great in green, doesn't she? She should have an emerald tiara to not wear.

Royal Outfit Grab Bag of the Day: November 18

Yesterday was a busy day on the royal parade. Let's review:

King Felipe, Queen Letizia, the Princess of Asturias, and Infanta Sofia were present for the opening of the legislature.

House of HM the King

Queen Letizia's bringing this Felipe Varela dress back from her husband's first National Day as king, back in 2014. I feel obliged to remind you that:

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This is the dress that makes me spend most of my time wondering if they ran out of the front fabric.

The Countess of Wessex visited opened Portesbery School.

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Thing I love #1: a great blue coat. Thing I love #2: a cropped trouser with heels. #1 + #2 = SOLD. (And that's the only kind of math equation you'll get out of me.)

Prince Albert and Princess Charlene handed out parcels to refugees at the Red Cross.

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It's hard to tell what's dress and what's coat, which is not a problem except that some of the side views do look a bit like she rolled up in her hospital gown. I'll give her this, though: winter white with a red lip is a striking look, and she is rocking it.

Royal Outfit of the Day: October 25

The King and Queen of Spain have made their annual visit to Asturias for the Princess of Asturias Awards. So that's one new Felipe Varela outfit, coming right up...

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This year, we've got a nude dress with a tulle overlay embroidered in black and crystals. With a soft low ponytail-with-a-twist and her black diamond earrings from De Grisogono, it's a very detailed look. Honestly, it's too detailed to be leaving me as meh as it is.

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Maybe I am once again in need of a different shoe. Or maybe I just need to stop getting my hopes up for annual events that I think might produce a year's best. Yeah, it's probably the last one.

One more for the road, because this post needs some color:

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The couple also visited the Los Oscos Region.

Ahhh, there we go. Bonus points for this fab pink coat because it is from Asturian designer Marcos Luengo, and because it's nice to see her add another designer to the mix.

Royal National Day of the Week: October 14

King Felipe, Queen Letizia, the Princess of Asturias, and Infanta Sofia attended celebrations for Spain's National Day on Wednesday.
CasaReal

It was blue last year and teal the year before for Queen Letizia, but one thing never changes: Felipe Varela is her man for the National Day job. Leonor and Sofia wore Carolina Herrera coats, so the family covered all their favorite designer bases.

CasaReal

There's tons of detail on this new dress, beading and such on an already textured background, but it's saved from overload by the simple black and white color scheme. And it ended up being a bright spot in a rainy background outside, so bonus points for weather coordination (no matter how coincidental it might have been). This might be the rare occasion for which I would have preferred a black shoe, though.

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Other accessory quibbles aside, her styling from the shoulders up is divine as usual. Letizia turning into the queen of earrings and updos has to be one of the more delightful surprises in the past few years of royal looks, right?

Royal Style Twins of the Day: August 26

Crown Princess Mary is back to work and keeping busy, bless her splendiferous soul.

Crown Princess Mary opened a Monet exhibition this week.

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She pulled these pieces from the back of her closet (she debuted the Prada/Miu Miu dress/jacket combo back in 2012). Although I am wondering whether we couldn't do with a little more shoe interest here, the outfit is as fresh and lovely as ever.

It was this very combo that came to my mind last year, when we saw something along those same lines...

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Queen Letizia in Felipe Varela, 2015

Aqua with a white overlay does seem just the thing for a special occasion on a sunny day, no? And thus we arrive at the eternal question: Who wore it best? (I...might have to go with Letizia on this one.)

In other Mary news...

The Crown Princess opened an exhibition of works by photographer Marco Grob yesterday, including new portraits of herself and Crown Prince Frederik.

Earlier today HRH Crown Princess Mary attended the opening of the new exhibition "Marco Grob. Iconic Portraits". Here she and @marcogrob is looking at his brand new portrait of her. 📸 @mewdk . #frederiksborgcastle #frederiksborgslot #museumofnationalhistory

A photo posted by Det Nationalhistoriske Museum (@dnm_frederiksborg) on Aug 25, 2016 at 9:08am PDT

Keep the new portraits and the TIARAS coming, because when it's Danish Ruby Parure time, it's jumpy claps time. Of particular interest here is the use of the complete necklace from the Ruby Parure. Since Mary altered the parure for added flexibility, we haven't seen her wear the whole thing together - even here, she's using a pared down version of the earrings - and the necklace seems to get even fewer outings than the rest. (Or maybe it just feels that way to me, because I luuurve it. So grand!) Rest it right on that glam golden dress, Mary. (For the full portraits and more, click here.)

VIDEO Kronprinsparret portrætteret af superfotograf: Hans talent er unikt https://t.co/S21WOnqyqD pic.twitter.com/byOAyxywOL

— DR Nyheder (@DRNyheder) August 25, 2016

This outfit is also a little bit of a twin moment, by the way: Crown Princess Victoria owns a different take on the black floral Dolce & Gabbana dress. Just to bring our theme full circle.

Royal Outfits of the Day: July 12

Here's a lesson from Letizia to you, kids:

Queen Letizia, along with King Felipe, attended the Iberdrola 2016 Scholarships last week.

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Never miss an opportunity to pose like a shampoo commercial come to life. The right amount of carefree hair flip can elevate any basic floral dress to a summertime delight, you see?

Dress from Zara

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(Bonus life lesson from Letizia: Also never miss an opportunity to pair anything with a pink purse.)

Queen Letizia welcomed Michelle Obama to Spain at the end of last month.

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But wait, she's not done with the teachable moments! She'd also like to demonstrate that the potential cuteness of hanging out with your new BFF can occasionally override all fashion choices.

Dress by Nina Ricci

I like - nay, love - Letizia in red and in Nina Ricci, but this dress leaves me feeling a bit meh. It does not matter, however, because she and FLOTUS together give me the warm fuzzies. 

Queen Letizia presented the Queen Letizia Awards 2015 on Friday.

House of HM the King

The previous two examples were a little older, but we've already learned our lesson on the smartness of pairing textured blue jackets with bright white basics. Bears repeating, I suppose.

Royal Outfits of the Day: June 29

We're going to check in with a couple of Queen Letizia outfits real quick. Don't worry, I won't take us back as far as those leather culottes she won't let die.

June 22: Queen Letizia attended a ceremony to mark the 30th anniversary of the Foundation for Help Against Drug Addiction, and to pay tribute to Queen Sofia's work with the foundation.

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This is a real handy appearance because it basically sums up the style differences from one queen to the next - from brocade suits to summer separates, from adherence to the classic queen uniform to flexibility for trends - in one easy image. Just in case you need that. For academic purposes.

June 28: Queen Letizia attended a conference for the Food and Agriculture Organization.

House of HM the King

Could she be the opening to an HBO show in this blazer, or have I been watching too much Game of Thrones? Could go either way.

Repeated blazer from Felipe Varela

I do love this jacket with a crisp white trouser. Excellent conference attire, and one of many examples of a Letizia outfit that falls partway between those aforementioned queenly styles.

Royal Outfits of the Day: June 14

Even during a Very British Month, I'm not going to forget everyone else. (But if you'd like to hang out with the Windsors today anyway, you can find my full thoughts on yesterday's Garter Service here at the Vault.)

Two other royal ladies had two rather formal royal events yesterday. And they went with two rather frilly outfits:

Queen Letizia presented a new National Flag to Speciality of Engineers Regiment Number 11
House of HM the King

I didn't exactly think that the British had the market cornered on the pastels with froofy trim, but Letizia wouldn't have been my first guess to jump on board this week. Yet here she is, baby pink and embellished up. It's almost like she caught herself and added the sharp collar at the last minute to tip it back towards her usual clean, modern aesthetic. I think I would have preferred it without the collar course correction.

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(By the way, Letizia's small blue bow brooch is the miniature version of her Order of Charles III, a sure sign that this is a VIP event for her.)

Mary, on the other hand, was more than willing to go all in with the froof.

A photo posted by The Danish Royal Family (@crownprincessmary_denmark) on Jun 13, 2016 at 6:23am PDT

Crown Princess Mary named the ship "Stenaweco Impulse"

This is suuuper feminine to me. Like, Steel Magnolias-level feminine. (If only it were full-on blush and bashful.) Beyond being in absolute awe of the sorcery she must have applied to keep all this in order outdoors in the wind, I really like it. And I think she may also be using that sorcery to get me to make that Bring Mary To Ascot petition of mine official. Three cheers for ginormous hats. (Update: Success! In a hilarious coincidence, Mary will be attending Day 2 of Royal Ascot!)

Crown Princess Mary christened a new chemical tanker cargo, "Stenaweco Impulse" today in Copenhagen. pic.twitter.com/oNEIQw9KBT

— Scandinavian Royals. (@crownprincely) June 13, 2016

Royal Outfits of the Day: June 3

Time for a Queen Letizia check in!

Princess Beatrix visited Spain to open an exhibition on Hieronymus Bosch at the Prado Museum, along with King Felipe and Queen Letizia.
House of HM the King

Okay, so, really this is supposed to be a Letizia Day and all, but that's not going to stop me from noting how fantastic it is that Princess Beatrix wore the brooch version of Spain's Order of the Golden Fleece. She was the first woman to be awarded that top honor, and if I were her, I'd point that out as often as possible. (King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima have been wearing their mini orders too, when visiting other countries. A nice touch when many leave the orders for the state banquets.) Anyhoo, Letizia wore a jacket and skirt from Hugo Boss with a printed top and statement earrings from Zara. Some people have Royal Coat Museums, Letizia has a Royal Suit Museum.

The trio also joined King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia for lunch at Zarzuela Palace.
House of HM the King

I'm also going to have to note how great their Dutch visitor looks here, too, Trix with her sneaky clothes change. Wait, maybe this is a Beatrix Day. (There's a video of them greeting Princess Beatrix here. They're speaking English together, for those of you always curious about the languages spoken at international royal gatherings.)

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The King and Queen attended Armed Forces Day on Saturday.

I love a sharp black and white combo almost as much as Letizia does and there is no doubt that this is another superbly tailored and neatly put together Felipe Varela look...but all I have here is, well, buts. But I wish there wasn't any lace under the jacket to interrupt the strong lines. But I wish - and this is a pretty rare thing for me to say - we had a black shoe instead. But I can't stop picturing this jacket as a marching band uniform in the world's most boring school colors. BUT.

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Presenting the National Culture Awards this week.

Ending on a high note, this Varela dress is and forever will be a good choice - which she absolutely knows, because she's worn it many times. And I am always here for a pale pink shoe, let it be known.

Royal Outfits of the Day: April 27

A sampler platter of recent choices out of Spain, shall we?

Queen Letizia closed a conference on rare diseases last week
House of HM the King

My absolute favorite take on this collar? Nah. But it is flippy, as is her hair, and I like a bit of flip with an otherwise prim neckline.

Magrit shoes

I'm also unreasonably happy that she didn't just go with a plain old nude pump here. It's the little things, you know.

Lunch for the Miguel de Cervantes Prize, with this year's honoree, Fernando del Paso
House of HM the King

This is very monochrome, from her lips to her toes. Verging on too monochrome for me, but saved by the fact the fact that more Letizia in red (red Carolina Herrera, at that) can't be a bad thing.

Presentation of the Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the highest literary honor in the Spanish-speaking world, on Saturday
House of HM the King

I can say only what I said last time around: lose the jacket to this Felipe Varela ensemble. Also, lose the Bulgari aquamarine earrings. (So that you can give them to me. I need them. For reasons.)

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Royal Flashback of the Day: April 12

As we continue our look back at some of the guests at the 2011 wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, here's a frequently requested installment: Queen Letizia! She was still in her Princess of Asturias days, and she wore two memorable ensembles for the occasion. Naturally, her main man Felipe Varela was the designer of choice for both.

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Attending the pre-wedding dinner

Is this her most princess-y outfit ever, or her second most princess-y outfit ever? These are the only two options. Not counting her wedding gown, of course, because that's a given. (And yes, I mean this in the most imaginary Cinderella/Disney/happily ever after sense possible.) I figure when this is the outfit they chose for your Barbie, you must have neared the top of your princessing potential.

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At the wedding

The Spanish royal ladies don't wear hats for most occasions at home - just for the occasional royal wedding, pretty much; otherwise, it's just not a thing they do - but they'll hat up when attending events abroad. You can count the number of fancy hats we've seen Letizia wear so far on one hand. When she does do the hat thing, though? She goes ALL IN. No weeny fascinators or wimpy headbands here, no sir. Feathers! Netting! Fabric galore and more! (Here's another look at the back, there's a rosette of some sort and heaven knows what else.) This Pablo y Mayaya hat cleans out all the bits at the bottom of the millinery drawer.

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The 1920s vibe and the soft rose pink color help cover the over embellishment. Still, I found that I appreciated the dress much more when we saw it repeated without the hat. (Where I also opined on Letizia's hat style, because one of my favorite pet royal theories is that she's secretly repressing her millinery mania, just waiting for the day when she can unleash her true self upon Ascot week.)

Photos: via Getty Images

Royal Outfit of the Day: March 7

King Felipe and Queen Letizia opened a Miguel de Cervantes exhibit in Madrid on Friday.

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This outfit surprised me, this loose open coat and loosely tied scarf on our most tailored queen. But it surprised me in a good way. That scarf gives some much-needed color to a sea of gray and the whole coat arrangement gives some much-needed freshness to the dress underneath, a Felipe Varela design we've seen many times before.

Photo: House of HM the King

What I liked most, though? The hair. Those curls! Perfect choice for this outfit, and definitely one of my favorite styles to come out of her hair experimentation.

Royal Queens of the Day: February 17

Two of our queens were out and about yesterday. Let's check in:

The King and Queen of the Netherlands visited West Brabant.

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Have I said something was Peak Máx yet? (Yes. Entirely too often.) Well, ignore all those other times. This is Peak Máx, I mean it this time. Big hat, cape-y coat-y thing, big printed dress, you know the drill. And - you know the drill here too - big facial expressions. No one else has quite this much fun while on the royal rounds, and this is the true hallmark of a Peak Queen Máxima appearance. (Here's a gallery.)

The King and Queen of Spain visited the Prado Museum.

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Queen Letizia has worn this suit before, usually with something showing underneath (like this, or this), but I love this cleaner look. That flowery, twisty thing on her lapel is subtle, but it benefits from a little room to breathe. Plus, her choice of a swinging red coat when outdoors gave a little life to her accessory choices, and you know I approve of that. (Here's a gallery.)

Photos: via Getty Images

Royal Outfits of the Day: January 8

I regret to inform you that Court Dress Week went out with a whimper.

The King and Queen of Spain suited up for Pascua Militar, a military ceremony, for which Queen Letizia will wear something with a floor-length skirt each year.

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And this year's version is....fine? Serviceable and such, I suppose. It's from Felipe Varela, obviously. I think it's the jacket that I want to tweak the most. Maybe?

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She doesn't know either.

Crown Princess Mary also brought the mehs on the third day of the New Year's Court receptions.

Princess Mary dazzles in her third ballgown in one week https://t.co/43jPz2KM0b pic.twitter.com/0oZ5iKGtL5

— Daily Mail Femail (@Femail) January 7, 2016

This blue dress - reportedly from Prada - was worn last year with a sparkly collar, which has been exchanged for a repeated pearl Marianne Dulong necklace. With these moody shades of blue and gray, maybe what we need here is the Midnight Tiara to bring some interest. (Okay, and then a totally different event, I suppose...)

Last year's appearance of the dress

Photos: via Getty Images, Twitter, Billed-Bladet video screencap

Year in Review: Queen Letizia's Best of 2015

I've gone back and forth and back and forth between two Letizia ensembles as serious contenders for her best of the year So, for the first and only time in this 2015 review, I'm calling it a tie. Two bests of the year for our Spanish queen:

2015 was the year of the CHOP! Queen Letizia took her sassy new haircut and used it as an excuse to play with her hairstyles even more. My first pick for her best of the year takes full advantage of that new 'do.

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During the state visit from Peru in July

LIKE A BOSS. My love for a Little White Dress (little white skirt and Hugo Boss top, in this case) and my love for #TeamShades, united in one glorious ensemble. This one stood out as such a great example of the new hair, the trademark sleek silhouette, and the swagger she's using to redefine "dressing like a queen". A Peak Letizia moment, if you will, and I couldn't resist.

But! That same state visit gave us another moment that can't be ignored.

 At the Peru state banquet

That was Peak Letizia and this is Peak Cinderella, and you know there will always be love for that here. I love it when Felipe Varela thinks big, and I love it when Queen Letizia surprises me. Best #2 of 2, done.

With dual picks for my top spot, my honorable mentions list is very slim indeed:

• She had a big tiara moment this year, but I'm going to focus on the dresses here and handle that one in our forthcoming tiara post.
• So that leaves us with one sleek lady tux for the road.

What's your pick for Queen Letizia's Best of 2015?

Photos: via Getty Images and House of HM the King

Royal Duo of the Day: November 23

Jordan's King Abdullah II and Queen Rania were in Spain last week for a working visit with King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia. A style showdown is inevitable, isn't it? Particularly between these two queens, who have each brought their own twist on queenly dressing to the job. Rania stuck to her more adventurous (well, adventurous in comparison) combinations of luxury designers, and Letizia stuck to her carefully selected favorite designers and her clean silhouettes. In fact, Letizia played it even safer than usual, adding to the contrast between the two queens consort. The result has something for everyone, and I like a game where everyone wins.

King Abdullah and Queen Rania arrived in Spain on Thursday, and were given an official welcome by King Felipe and Queen Letizia.

Queen Letizia wore a Felipe Varela dress, and Queen Rania wore a Fendi coat.

Photo: Royal Hashemite Court Twitter

Right off the bat, see? A red dress is peak Letizia, and I can't think of another royal lady that could pull off Rania's coat. But since that's a whole lotta whatever happening on one coat, I'm calling this one for the host country.

Thursday evening, the Spanish royal family hosted a dinner for their guests.

Queen Letizia wore a Felipe Varela dress, and Queen Rania wore an Agnona ensemble and Balenciaga shoes.

Photo: House of HM the King

Everybody should have a good superhero belt at their disposal, don't you think? I think I like it enough to leap it over a standard LBD, Barbie Feet Syndrome and all.

Queen Rania made a solo visit to the Prado Media Lab cultural center.

View image | gettyimages.com

She wore a Derek Lam blouse, leather skirt, and Christian Louboutin shoes.

On the other hand, I'm not sure my affection for a windowpane print is enough to leap me over the sideways version of Barbie feet.

On Friday, Queen Letizia and Queen Rania visited Molecular Biology Center 'Severo Ochoa' at Autonoma University.

View image | gettyimages.com

Queen Letizia: Carolina Herrera suit, Prada shoes. Queen Rania: Alexander McQueen blouse, Azzedine Alaïa belt, Proenza Schouler skirt, Christian Louboutin shoes.

I never say no to Carolina Herrera, but I also never say no to something twirly (and what is Rania's skirt for if not for twirling, eh? Double the swoopy fun with those sleeves). And so we end on a draw, and hearty thanks to Their Majesties for playing along.

Royal Outfits of the Day: November 18

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King Felipe, Queen Letizia, King Juan Carlos, and Queen Sofia presented the National Sports Awards at El Pardo Palace yesterday.

Look at this family of blues and grays. Harmonious, but in a coincidental way, not a Von Trappian way. They even go well with the carpet. Well played, Spains.

Click here for a video.

I'm quite partial to Queen Sofia and her sophisticated gray suit, but Letizia's dress is growing on me. It's still a whole Magic Eye thing, don't get me wrong, but every time she wears it, I feel like I get that much closer to seeing the image within. Oh, puzzles.

Speaking of blues...

View image | gettyimages.com

The Duchess of Cambridge attended the Fostering Excellence Awards yesterday.

No one loves a blue dress like Kate loves a blue dress, man.

Saloni, via Matches

This is from a new label for her, Saloni, whose designer (Saloni Lodha) is of Indian heritage. You'll recall, of course, that the Cambridges have just announced their upcoming spring tour of India. Did somebody say...designer tryouts?