Queen Maxima’s Royal Aquamarines for an Extraordinary Council Meeting in The Hague

Last week, the King and Queen of the Netherlands were joined by the Princess of Orange for a special meeting of the Council of State, and both ladies wore blue with interesting jewels for the occasion.

King Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima, and Princess Amalia are all members of the Raad van State. The King serves as the council’s president, but the de facto leader of the body is its Vice-President, who is also the person who would theoretically become head of state if there was no monarch to hold that role. On June 30, the council said farewell to Thom de Graaf, who had been Vice-President since 2018. The new Vice-President, Sybrand van Haersma Buma, began serving the following day.

For Thom de Graaf’s final meeting as Vice-President, both Queen Máxima and Princess Amalia wore blue. Máxima paired a blue and green floral dress (from Natan, per UFO No More) with a green headpiece and a pair of fabulous diamond and aquamarine earrings from the royal collection.

The earrings originally belonged to the King’s grandmother, Queen Juliana, who reigned in the Netherlands from 1948 until her abdication in 1980. She had an extensive collection of aquamarines. These briolette-cut aquamarine drops were wedding gifts from her mother-in-law, Princess Armgard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, in 1937.

Princess Amalia also wore blue for the meeting, selecting a floral printed version of a classic Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress for the occasion. She accessorized with one of her go-to pairs of bright, shiny yellow gold earrings, as well as a gold necklace.

Over at ModeKoninginMaxima, Josine Droogendijk was able to figure out what’s engraved on the necklace: the name “Sien.” She speculates that it could be the name or nickname of a close friend. What do you think?

Oh, and before I finish up here today, a reminder that the free mid-week edition of Hidden Gems will be dropping in subscribers’ inboxes in just a few hours. We’re chatting about some fascinating jewels, including the makeover of Lady Marina Macauley’s heirloom sapphire engagement ring. See you then!