Get excited everyone: we’ve got new state visit tiaras and jewels to enjoy! Here’s a look at the jewels worn in Amsterdam for the first day of the Indian state visit to the Netherlands.
On Wednesday, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands welcomed President Ram Nath Kovind of India and his wife, Savita, to Amsterdam for a state visit.
For the official welcome ceremony outside the Royal Palace, Queen Máxima wore an ensemble in shades of gray and royal blue. She accessorized with a pair of amethyst girandole earrings that have been in her collection for several years.
Princess Beatrix was also spotted arriving at the Royal Palace ahead of Wednesday evening’s state banquet. She wore a pair of turquoise and silver earrings.
The banquet was held on Wednesday night in the Citizens’ Hall at the Royal Palace. The royal and presidential couples posed for an official portrait before the dinner. Note the sunflowers flanking the fireplace behind them—a tribute to the people of Ukraine.
Here, Queen Máxima and President and Mrs. Kovind look on as King Willem-Alexander delivers a speech at the banquet.
Máxima wore an evening gown appropriate for spring at the banquet, featuring panels of fabric in different shades of pastel colors. She also wore the sash and star of the Order of the Netherlands Lion. (Willem-Alexander is wearing the star and sash of the Military Order of Willem, as well as the star of the Order of the Netherlands Lion.)
Máxima has worn this particular gown on previous occasions. Here, in September 2018, she wears it during the traditional balcony appearance on Prinsjesdag in The Hague. (More on her jewels from this appearance here!)
For Wednesday’s state banquet, Máxima wore pieces from the family’s married parure of diamond and aquamarine jewels. The set was assembled by Queen Juliana, King Willem-Alexander’s grandmother, during the first half of the twentieth century. Various pieces were given to her by relatives over the years. The tiara, for example, was Juliana’s 18th birthday gift from her parents, Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Hendrik, in 1927. Ten years later, she received the earrings as a wedding present from her new mother-in-law, Princess Armgard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. Both the tiara and the earrings feature gorgeous briolette-cut aquamarines.
Queen Máxima also wore two of Queen Juliana’s aquamarine brooches for the banquet. The larger of the two, an Edwardian diamond and aquamarine jewel, was used to secure her order sash near her shoulder. The brooch was Prince Bernhard’s present to Queen Juliana for their silver wedding anniversary in 1962. The rectangular brooch, pinned at Máxima’s waist, was Bernhard’s wedding gift to Juliana in January 1937.
Princess Beatrix chose diamonds and pearls for the banquet, wearing the complete setting of the Antique Pearl Tiara with pearl and diamond cluster earrings and a classic single-stranded pearl necklace.
The evening gown that Beatrix wore for Wednesday’s banquet has been a favorite for years. Above, she wears the dress with the same pearl necklace, plus the Pearl Button Tiara and pearl drop earrings, for the Turkish state banquet in April 2012, almost exactly a decade ago.
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