Gleaming Pearls and Sapphires for Queen Maxima and Princess Beatrix

On Thursday, the Dutch royals headed to Middelburg for an awards ceremony, bringing along some splendid pearls, diamonds, and sapphires for the occasion.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands traveled to Middelburg to attend the Four Freedoms Awards Ceremony at the city’s Nieuwe Kirk. The awards, established in 1982, are named for a speech delivered by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1941. Recipients of the awards demonstrate a commitment to freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.

The prizes were created to celebrate the bicentennial anniversary of Dutch-American diplomatic relations, and they’re handed out annually in a ceremony that alternates between Middelburg (the capital city of the region where the Roosevelt family is believed to have originated) and New York City. This year’s winner are the organization Save Ukraine (Freedom Medal), Bellingcat (Freedom of Speech), Zumretay Arkin (Freedom of Worship), Sonia Guajajara (Freedom from Want), and Grace Forrest (Freedom from Fear).

Willem-Alexander and Maxima were joined at the awards ceremony by his mother, Princess Beatrix.

For the ceremony, Maxima wore a cream-colored ensemble from Natan with an interesting straw beret. Beatrix was an elegant contrast in head-to-toe navy blue, including one of her famous cake-shaped hats.

Maxima played off the cream tones of her outfit with her jewelry, wearing large pearls. Her earrings feature a large pearl stud and pendant with a single diamond placed between them.

She also wore a single-stranded pearl necklace with a pavé-set diamond bead. The pieces have been staples in Maxima’s jewelry collection for years.

Beatrix also wore favorite pieces of jewelry for the occasion, including a double-stranded necklace made of mixed metals.

She also brought out pieces from her personal collection of diamond and sapphire jewelry, wearing a sapphire and diamond cluster ring and a pair of sapphire and diamond earrings.