Queen Letizia welcomed Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron in a grey pearl Pertegaz dress. Readers of ¡HOLA! chose the design as the best royal look of 2019.
The Spanish Royal Household scheduled Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron's State Visit for 29 and 30 September 2026. The programme includes military honours, lunch at the Palacio de La Zarzuela and a gala dinner at the Palacio Real.
The welcome ceremony began at 13:15 before lunch at the Palacio de La Zarzuela. Letizia wore the fitted Pertegaz design at the Palacio Real de Madrid, where the Spanish and French delegations met for the formal reception. RTVE and other news organisations placed the ceremony in the palace's Patio de Armerías.
Emmanuel Macron's visit is the first State Visit by a French president to Spain since 2009, giving the Madrid ceremony a significance beyond its fashion and protocol details.
A large bow rises from the round neckline. Raised floral embroidery covers the grey pearl fabric and gives the otherwise restrained dress a sculptural finish. Letizia chose discreet accessories so the decoration stayed in focus.
The dress also carries a clear royal wardrobe reference.
Pertegaz made the dress. Its return brought another Spanish label into the spotlight. Manuel Pertegaz created the house and also designed the Queen's wedding dress.
The diplomatic programme extends beyond the palace ceremony. On the day after the welcome, King Felipe VI and Emmanuel Macron are scheduled to open the Spain–France Trade and Investment Forum, underlining the economic dimension of the State Visit alongside its ceremonial purpose.
The same dress has appeared at two other highly visible events. On 21 April 2022, Letizia wore it to a lunch at the Palacio Real for representatives of the literary world during the presentation of the Premio de Literatura en Lengua Castellana Miguel de Cervantes 2021. It was her first official look without a face mask after the COVID-19 health crisis.
She later chose the dress to receive the Sultan of Oman, Haitham Bin Tariq, at the start of his State Visit to Spain.
For the Madrid ceremony, Letizia wore Massimo Dutti slingback shoes first seen on her in 2023. She added small diamond button earrings and her two preferred rings by Karen Hallam and Coreterno. The jewellery stayed understated. The bow and raised floral work drew the eye.
Madrid recently hosted a very different public story in a housing protest report. This time, the capital's public stage belonged to diplomatic protocol and royal dress.
Brigitte Macron chose a French fashion house for the occasion. She wore a pink midi dress with clean lines from Louis Vuitton and added a matching coat priced at 27,000 euros. Caramel suede pumps and several rings completed the outfit.
The two choices pointed in different directions. Letizia wore a Spanish archive design already tied to major appearances. Brigitte Macron relied on one of her established French houses.
The gala dinner is still ahead, and a historic tiara is expected there. The Pertegaz dress has already supplied the State Visit's defining visual moment.
