The King and Queen of the Netherlands welcomed the President of Germany to Amsterdam for a state visit today, and the first day of the program culminated in a sparkling state banquet, complete with tiaras.
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima were joined by Princess Amalia and Prince Constantijn as they hosted a state banquet this evening for President Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany and his wife, Elke Büdenbender.
Steinmeier and Büdenbender wore the Dutch decorations—the Order of the Netherlands Lion for him, the Order of the Crown for her—that they received when the Dutch royals visited them in 2021. All four of the Dutch royals wore the insignia of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. Amalia and Constantijn received theirs as part of the visit today.
Queen Máxima was elegant in a spectacular Jan Taminiau gown that’s been in her closet for over a decade. The embroidered and beaded dress was inspired by wallpaper in Huis Ten Boch Palace in The Hague.
Máxima wore diamonds and sapphires with the dress, just as she did almost ten years ago for the big royal birthday bash in Oslo. The tiara, a Gothic cathedral of diamonds and sapphires, was made in the 1880s for Queen Emma, the wife of King Willem III. Máxima paired it with the figure-eight shaped diamond and sapphire earrings made using stones from another sapphire tiara that belonged to Willem and Emma’s daughter, Queen Wilhelmina.
Máxima also wore two more glittering pieces from Emma’s sapphire parure: the matching diamond and sapphire bracelets.
The magnificent sapphire and diamond bow brooch that she pinned to the waist of her dress is also from Queen Emma’s sapphire parure.
Per UFO No More, Princess Amalia was elegant in the Maria gown by the designer Rachel Gilbert. The gown comes with sparkling embellishments of its own, but Amalia added more diamonds: the Dutch Star Tiara, which was assembled for her mother to wear on her wedding day in 2002, and a pair of dazzling diamond earrings that belonged to Queen Juliana.
Amalia finished off the look with rings on both hands and another royal heirloom, Queen Wilhelmina’s Diamond Trellis Bracelet, on her left wrist. Amalia has been an enthusiastic wearer of Wilhelmina’s Trellis Necklace in recent years, so it’s fun to see her bring out the bracelet as well.
I’m putting this post up early in place of our usually-scheduled Wednesday article. (I didn’t think any of you would mind!) But there will be more sparkle coming your way tomorrow morning as well: the free mid-week edition of Hidden Gems. We’ll be chatting about a major tiara story on the horizon in Belgium, as well as a sparkling gala moment in Sweden. Subscribe now to make sure it drops in your inbox on Wednesday!
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