Queen Maxima’s Ravishing Ruby Peacock Tiara

In November 2018, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima welcomed President Halimah Yacob of Singapore and her husband, Mohamed Abdullah Alhabshee, to the Netherlands for a state visit. On the first night of the visit, the royals held a grand state banquet for their guests at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam.

Queen Máxima wore a red evening gown with a one-shoulder neckline and a long medieval-esque sleeve. Interestingly, she didn’t wear any orders or decorations with her outfit, even though King Willem-Alexander and President Yacob both wore orders. (He wore the insignia of two Dutch orders, the Military Order of William and the Order of the Netherlands Lion, while she wore Singapore’s Order of Temasek.) Perhaps Máxima’s decision not to wear decorations was a gesture toward her counterpart, Mohamed Abdullah Alhabshee, who didn’t have any orders to wear for the banquet?

The lack of order insignia didn’t mean that Máxima lacked sparkle, though! She accessorized with diamond and ruby jewels from the family vaults, as well as at least one piece from her personal collection.

The tiara and brooch that Máxima chose for this state banquet are from the family’s Ruby Peacock Parure. The whimsical, interesting set of jewelry was made in 1897, the year before Queen Wilhelmina’s inauguration. Her earrings come from the second major ruby parure in the Dutch vaults, the suite made for Queen Emma by Mellerio in 1889.

Máxima added even more sparkle with a pair of ruby and diamond bracelets. The bracelet on her right wrist also comes from Queen Emma’s Mellerio Ruby Parure. The diamond and ruby bangle on her left wrist also comes from the Dutch royal vaults.

She finished off the look with rings on both hands. Her engagement and wedding rings were worn on the left hand, and on her right hand, she wore two ruby and diamond rings. The smaller of the two was a gift from King Willem-Alexander to mark the birth of Princess Amalia in 2003.