As many of you might know from reading my 'What's Happening' segments we have been lucky enough over the last two days to see a meeting of royals. I love it when the Royals meet up because it's like a big party. In particular I enjoy seeing royals who enjoy spending time with the colleagues.
Between the 28th-30th November King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium made a state visit to The Netherlands. They have of course been spending the majority of their time with their counterparts, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima. As two of the young royal couples in the world (the others being King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain and Prince Albert II & Princess Charlene of Monaco, but as Prince Albert has been ruling since 2005 I often forget about him) they seem to really enjoy each others' company. I imagine they have a lot in common, the first as I mentioned being young royals. Both King Albert II of Belgium and Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands abdicated in 2013. Both couple have the challenge of keeping their young families out of the spotlight and raising them as leaders of the world. Not to mention that both couples have as their heirs, a Little Princess. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima's heir is their eldest daugher Princess of Orange, Catharina-Amalia and King Philippe and Queen Mathilde's is their elder daughter Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant.
On the 28th of November, to welcome the Belgian Royals a state dinner was held. It was attended not only by the two couples, but we saw Princess Beatrix as well as Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien of The Netherlands and Princess Margriet. Tiaras were worn by all five royal ladies much to my excitement. Let's take a look at what they wore;
Here they all are in an official photo from the state banquet. At the back we have Pieter van Vollenhoven (the wife of Princess Margriet), Princess Margriet, Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien. In the front we have Queen Mathilde, King Philippe, King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and Princess Beatrix. I just wanted to point out the difference in dress between Mathilde and Maxima. Maxima stands out in that beautiful red and gold ensemble. She's all about the flare. Mathilde reminds me of a Disney princess. She looks beautiful, pretty in pink, but it's a simple taste. Now on to the tiaras.
We'll start with the hostess, Queen Maxima of The Netherlands. She's chosen a very regal look for the evening with all the rubies and red. There's no mistaking that she is The Queen. Maxima is wearing The Mellerio Ruby Tiara. It's an interesting choice as it's one of the oldest and most important tiaras in the very extensive collection of tiaras owned by the House of Orange. It dates back to 1889 and was first worn by Queen Emma. It's a tiara set aside solely for use by the Queen. I've only ever seen her wear it at weddings. I think it's a big compliment to Philippe and Mathilde that she chose such an important tiara (or she's showing them who's boss).
Our other leading lady of the night, Queen Mathilde of Belgium. Unlike Maxima, Mathilde has chosen a very clean, pure look. The only jewellery other than her tiara are those lovely pearl eaarings and her brooch. Mathilde doesn't have as many tiaras to choose from as Maxima, but like her counterpart she has opted with one of the most important in her collection. Queen Mathilde is wearing the Nine Provinces Tiara. It dates back to 1926 and like Maxima's tiara is only worn by the Queen or wife of the King (Princess Lilian). It was first worn by Queen Astrid of Belgium. What's special is, when Mathilde does wear it she usually only wears the base. For example earlier this year in May she wore it to a gala dinner with King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan, but wore only the base. For this state dinner in The Netherlands she has worn the whole tiara and it looks amazing. Tiara's talk, and this says a lot as with Queen Maxima's choice. It shows a lot of respect for their hosts and how close their friendship really is (or she's trying to one up Maxima).
Next on our list is Princess Margriet's tiara. For those who are unaware, Princess Margriet is the aunt of King Willem-Alexander and younger sister of Queen Beatrix. Margriet's dress is so classy and really pretty. Some of the older royals, Queen Silvia for example have a great sense of style and Margriet is included high on that list. Princess Margriet chose to wear the Pearl Button Tiara. It's a very special choice for her as it was her wedding tiara. The tiara belongs to King Willem-Alexander, but he's obviously lent it to his aunt on this occasion. I like that she chose this and not the Emerald Parure as she only just wore that last week whilst she was in New York. It's nice to mix it up a bit. For Margriet to wear the Pearl Button is a huge compliment to the Belgian guests. Whilst it's not one of the more important tiaras it was also Queen Maxima's wedding tiara and has been worn at a number of royal weddings. The tiara has a lot of sentimental value and I think it's a good choice and speaks volumes of the close relationship between The Netherlands and Belgium.
Here we have Princess Laurentien of The Netherlands. Laurentien is the wife of Prince Constantijn, brother of The King. Laurentien chose to wear the Queen Emma Diamond Tiara. It's quite a special piece as it's an old one. It also gets shared around a lot which means it's got a lot of sentimental importance.
Lastly we have Princess Beatrix, the matriarch of the group and former Queen of The Netherlands. I like that Beatrix chose a small tiara so as not to draw attention to herself. I think it's a beautiful message allowing the next generation to have the lime light. Beatrix chose the Dutch Diamond Bandeau tiara. I really expected something a bit more from her since everyone else wore something with meaning. This tiara isn't very old, dating back just to 1937. It's also been worn by many royals from Beatrix to Maxima to Beatrix's sister Princess Cristina. I think Beatrix should've gone possibly with The Antique Pearl Tiara or perhaps The Ruby Peacock.
I hope you've enjoyed Tiara Time this time round. I look forward to the next one. Stay turned because in about 11 days we'll see the Swedish Royal family break out their tiara for the Nobel Prize dinner!!!
