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The last day of the Dutch state visit to Britain didn’t include a glittering gala, but we did get to spot a few significant pieces of jewelry — including an outing from an heirloom British brooch!

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King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima’s schedule for the day was packed, including a meeting with the Lord Mayor of London at Mansion House (in lieu of, I suppose, the traditional Guildhall dinner), a visit to Brixton, a meeting with the Prime Minister, and a viewing of a joint water capability demonstration by the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps and the Royal Marines.

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The Earl and Countess of Wessex, plus the Duke of Kent, were the Dutch royal couple’s hosts for the day. Edward and Sophie may be a surprising choice for the role, but remember that the Wessexes have been the Queen’s go-to representatives at royal events for the past two decades, so they’ve developed genuine personal relationships with many foreign royals.

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Both Maxima and Sophie chose earrings for their highlight accessories for the day.

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Maxima paired her dangerous-looking dark pendant earrings with her vivid Oscar de la Renta dress.

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She also popped on a few diamonds, wearing her diamond wedding bracelet and the ring that King Willem-Alexander gave her to celebrate the birth of Princess Alexia. For years the stone in this ring was described as a citrine, but apparently it may actually be a padparadscha sapphire.

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The Countess of Wessex reached into her jewelry box for her modern gold and drusy earrings.

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Before they departed, the King and Queen popped back over to Buckingham Palace to bid farewell to Queen Elizabeth II. She chose one of her grandmother’s wedding gifts for the occasion, wearing the Women of Hampshire Brooch. Made by Garrard in 1893, the floral diamond and pearl brooch was given to Queen Mary as a wedding present by a committee of women chaired by the Duchess of Wellington.

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It’s been a completely delightful state visit, full of exciting jewels and enthusiastic royals. One of my favorite parts of any Dutch royal visit is how much King Willem-Alexander obviously enjoys his wife’s popularity.

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Just look at him! He knows he married a star, and he absolutely loves it. So endearing.

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Stop by anytime, Wax ‘n Max!

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We were hoping for some sparkle at tonight’s Buckingham Palace state banquet, and man alive, did the Dutch and British royals deliver! Here’s a look at what we saw sparkling away tonight at the palace.

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Queen Elizabeth II, the host of the evening, stuck to tried-and-true jewels for the banquet. She paired her very favorite sparkler, the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara, with her Diamond Festoon Necklace, diamond earrings, and a diamond and pearl bracelet. (More on the tiara over here, and the necklace over here!)

She also paid a sneaky bejeweled tribute to her guests by wearing the Cullinan III and IV Brooch to secure the sash of the Order of the Netherlands Lion. You may remember that the Cullinan Diamond was cut in Amsterdam by Joseph Asscher in 1908. When she visited the Netherlands in 1958, the Queen got to go with the Dutch royal family to the Asscher workshop to see where the brooch was born — and of course she wore it on that outing, too. (Much more over here!)

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The stunner of the night, of course, was Queen Maxima of the Netherlands wearing the full Stuart Tiara, including the magnificent Stuart Diamond. It was a sensible tribute to her host nation, as the diamond originally belonged to Britain’s King William III and Queen Mary II. (Much more on the tiara here and on the diamond over here!)

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She also wore the full devant de corsage from the Stuart Parure, as well as diamond earrings that belonged to Queen Juliana and one of the Dutch East Indies Bracelets.

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The Duchess of Cornwall glittered in the Greville Tiara for the banquet, paired with her pearl drop earrings and her pearl choker necklace with the wonderful diamond and pink topaz clasp. (See the tiara up close over here!)

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The Duchess of Cambridge wore two of her favorite pieces — Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara and the Collingwood Pearl Earrings that belonged to the late Diana, Princess of Wales — but her ensemble also included two notable additions. First, the necklace from Queen Alexandra’s Wedding Gift Parure, which was a great favorite of the late Queen Mother. It hasn’t been worn in public since her death in 2002. (Learn more about it here!)

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Second, (finally!) Kate’s got the Queen’s Royal Family Order. As she and William have campaigned against the use and trade of ivory, Kate’s RFO is made of glass. According to palace press info, she received the order in December 2017. (She wasn’t the only one wearing a new honor tonight — you’ll note at the top of the post that King Willem-Alexander is now a Knight of the Garter!)

Cameras also snapped the Duchess of Gloucester (wearing the Cartier Indian Tiara) and Princess Michael of Kent (wearing the Kent Pearl Festoon Tiara) as they arrived at the palace for the banquet.

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Here’s quite a clear view of Princess Michael’s jewels as she arrived with the royal family for the banquet.

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There were a few other royal ladies in attendance, too. Princess Mabel of Orange-Nassau (who lives in London) was present, walking on the arm of the Archbishop of Canterbury. She wore the family’s Sapphire Necklace Tiara and additional sapphire pieces from the family’s collection.

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Thanks to the photos of the entire banquet table, we can play “Where’s Waldo” and find a few more members of the family. You’ll spot the Princess Royal here wearing one of her low-profile tiaras, either Princess Andrew’s Meander Tiara or her own Aquamarine Pineflower Tiara.

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The Countess of Wessex is visible in the center of this photo. She wore the aquamarine tiara loaned to her by the Queen.

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Here’s another look at the Duchess of Gloucester in the center of this photo.

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And a royal cousin was also present at the banquet: Lady Elizabeth Anson, a great-niece of the Queen Mother and a cousin by marriage of the Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Belgian, and Luxembourgish royal families. (Her mother, Anne Bowes-Lyon, was first married to Lady Elizabeth’s father, Viscount Anson, and then, after their divorce, married again to Prince George Valdemar of Denmark, the son of Prince Axel of Denmark and Princess Margaretha of Sweden. George’s aunts were Crown Princess Martha of Norway and Queen Astrid of Belgium.)

As she did in 2017 for the Norwegian royal birthday celebrations, Lady Elizabeth wore her diamond wedding tiara, a legacy from her mother.

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The visitors have officially arrived! Today marks the start of the first Dutch state visit to the United Kingdom since 1982, and King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima were welcomed to Britain with all the usual pomp and circumstance.

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The day began at the Dutch Ambassador’s Residence in London, where the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall greeted the royal couple and escorted them to the official welcome ceremony.

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The occasion gave us a view of Camilla’s very formal curtsey to Queen Maxima. Although Charles and Camilla are senior to the Dutch royals in terms of age, they still rank below them, hence the deferential greeting.

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The two couples took a moment to pose in front of portraits of King William III and Queen Mary II, Britain’s monarchs from the House of Orange. William and Mary were the first owners of the fabulous Stuart Diamond, which I’m hoping comes out to play later this evening!

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After the official welcome by Charles and Camilla, the four royals traveled to Horse Guards Parade, where Queen Elizabeth II was waiting with representatives of the military and the government.

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Both King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima greeted Queen Elizabeth II warmly, something which required a little maneuvering on the part of the tall Dutch royals.

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The royals watched a ceremonial welcome presentation before King Willem-Alexander and Prince Charles reviewed the troops.

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And then a carriage procession ferried the royals to Buckingham Palace, where Wax ‘n Max will be staying during their two-day visit.

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All three of the royal ladies brought along substantial jewels for the start of the state visit. Queen Elizabeth II highlighted the vivid purple color of her outfit by wearing one of her amethyst floral brooches with her usual daytime pearls.

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Here’s another look at the brooch, which is one of a pair of nearly identical floral brooches.

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Queen Maxima wore pieces from her collection of jewels set with pink gems, coordinating with her head-to-toe blush pink ensemble.

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Her jewelry for the morning events includes modern earrings and a classic brooch with a pendant drop.

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We also got a glimpse of the ring that matches the brooch, plus her double floral bangle.

Queen Maxima wears the jewels in 2013 (Bart Maat – Pool/Getty Images)

We recently saw Maxima wear the earrings, brooch, and ring during the Willemsorde ceremony. (We’ve got jewelry close-ups in our post from that event!) But the brooch, bracelet, and ring have even more significance. Maxima wore the three pieces with a different pair of earrings in 2013 during her mother-in-law’s abdication ceremony — the moment that made her Queen of the Netherlands.

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Camilla reached for familiar pieces for the morning’s events, wearing her pearl choker necklace with the round diamond clasp and her usual pearl drop earrings. She sensibly decided not to wear a brooch, which would have distracted from the beautiful embroidery on her coat.

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After the official welcome was finished, the royals had lunch at Buckingham Palace and then viewed a selection of historical items from the Royal Collection. Now, we wait for the glitter of tonight’s state banquet!