Our look back at the jewels worn for the royal wedding celebrations of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands continues with two events held 20 years ago today: a pair of concert celebrations in Amsterdam.
On February 1, 2002, the day before the royal wedding, Prince Willem-Alexander and Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti joined their royal guests in attending a special luncheon concert in their honor at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. The selections played included Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet and, in honor of the bride’s heritage, an Argentine tango.
Many of the royals who had attended the dinner at the Royal Palace the previous evening were also in attendance at the luncheon concert. You’ll recognize a whole lot of familiar faces in this balcony photo from the event.
For the luncheon concert, Máxima wore a pair of button-style earrings featuring a cluster of semi-precious gemstones, plus rings on both hands (including her engagement ring) and a gold bracelet with gemstone accents.
Máxima still wears these earrings regularly. Here’s a clearer look at one of them, taken during an outing in 2019.
For the luncheon concert, Queen Beatrix was proud in pearls, including her fantastic five-stranded necklace.
This time around, we got to see more members of the family arriving at the venue for the event. Here, Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien, who wore a choker made of velvet for the occasion, arrive for the concert.
King Albert II and Queen Paola of the Belgians were present as well. She wore pearls for the event. Unfortunately, she also wore a jewel that most would now understand is culturally insensitive: a Moretto brooch by Venetian jeweler Giulio Nardi.
The Duke and Duchess of Brabant were present for the concert, with Mathilde wearing a pair of gold earrings.
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark attended the concert with her son, Crown Prince Frederik. Here, she’s pictured arriving for the event, wearing a favorite pair of diamond earrings with a purple dress.
Queen Sonja led the contingent of Norwegian royals at the luncheon concert. She wore jewels from one of her favorite categories: modern metallic pieces. Her earrings, necklace, and bracelet were all made of textured silver.
The metal jewels often take on different colors in varied lighting. Here, in a glimpse of the royal audience during the concert, Sonja’s jewels look more golden in tone. (She’s sitting beside her husband’s first cousin, Belgium’s King Albert.)
Crown Princess Mette-Marit arrived for the concert with Crown Prince Haakon at her side. The resolution of the 20-year-old pictures can make it difficult to discern the details, but to my eye, I don’t think she wore jewels at all for the concert.
Princess Märtha Louise of Norway attended the concert with her fiancé, Ari Behn. She wore gem-set earrings and a small pendant necklace.
I was able to track down one image of the Swedish royals at the concert. (I think that Queen Silvia’s eyes may have been the victims of digital retouching by the photographer.) She wore pearls for the event.
Queen Sofia of Spain attended the concert with her son, Prince Felipe. She wore pearls, including the top portion of the Countess of Barcelona’s Pearl Drop Brooch.
Infanta Cristina of Spain wore small pearl earrings for the concert, which she attended with her then-husband, Iñaki Urdangarin. (Last week, the couple announced that they have separated.)
Queen Noor of Jordan wore pink for the luncheon concert and accessorized with colorful jewels.
Alongside her husband, Prince Ernst August of Hanover, Princess Caroline of Monaco attended the concert in dark button-style earrings that matched her dress and coat.
Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece wore a gray and blue tweed suit with a fur scarf, plus statement earrings that picked up the blue shades in her outfit.
Behind the Earl of Wessex, you’ll spot Princess Miriam of Bulgaria with her husband, Prince Kardam. She wore a long pin brooch on her jacket for the concert.
Later that day, the royals gathered for an evening event: an enormous show and concert at Amsterdam’s football arena, with 50,000 people in attendance.
The Dutch royals attended with the rest of their guests, watching music and dance performances during the event.
Royals from around the world were bused from their hotel accommodations to the arena. Here’s the Prince of Wales and Queen Noor of Jordan with Prince Ernst August of Hanover on the way to the event.
Máxima wore red for the arena concert, coordinating beautifully with the bouquet of roses she received on the stage. She accessorized with a red beaded choker necklace and matching earrings.
Here’s Queen Beatrix at the concert, greeting Nelson Mandela, who had recently ended his term as President of South Africa. The Netherlands and South Africa share a complicated colonial past together and an important present relationship, and Beatrix and Mandela had many chances to meet while they were both serving as heads of state (and even before that, as Mandela and Beatrix had a meeting in the Netherlands in 1990, just four months after he was released from prison).
Mandela attended the celebrations with his wife, Graça Machel.
President Mandela was also photographed enjoying the performances in the arena with Prince Charles.
Charles was one of the royals photographed on his way to the event. Here, he’s pictured with Queen Noor of Jordan and Queen Sofia of Spain (wearing pearls) as they depart for the arena.
Queen Sonja of Norway, pictured with King Harald, wore more metallic jewelry for the arena concert, this time in shades of gold.
Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway wore a very important pair of earrings for the occasion: Crown Princess Märtha’s Silver Wedding Earrings.
Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, pictured here with Ari Behn, wore a red choker necklace with a heart pendant for the concert. Behind her, you’ll also spot Count Jefferson von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth, then-husband of Princess Alexandra of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg.
Queen Paola of the Belgians wore pearl earrings and a diamond floral brooch for the evening concert.
Here, with Albert and Paola, you’ll spot King Constantine, Queen Anne-Marie (wearing pearls), and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark (wearing the earrings from the Golden Poppies Suite).
Queen Silvia of Sweden wore sparkling earrings with pendant drops and a golden necklace for the occasion.
You’ll spot several royals in this photo, but sadly no major jewelry of note: the Earl and Countess of Wessex, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine of Sweden, and Princess Benedikte and Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg. (Benedikte does appear to be wearing lovely diamond earrings.)
All of these events were just preludes to the big moment: Willem-Alexander and Máxima’s royal wedding. We’ll be celebrating the 20th anniversary of that wedding tomorrow!
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