Friday 26 May 2017

State Sparklers: Netherlands Diplomatic Corps Dinner


It wasn't just the glassware that was sparkling in Amsterdam on May 23rd 2017. The Dutch Royal Family hosted the annual Diplomatic Corps Dinner at the Royal Palace and brought out some of their grandest and glittery tiaras. Pearls, diamonds and emeralds were all on the menu - settle back and enjoy the sparklers worn by the royal women of the Netherlands at this important. yearly event.




Queen Maxima was wearing one of her country's most important diadems but perhaps for the first time in its existence, no one really noticed the Wurttemburg Pearl Tiara straight away because her husband appeared to have misread the dress code. Once we'd all got over the surprise of Willem-Alexander arriving in casual to change inside, it was time to focus on the sparkle. And this tiara really does sparkle.


The Wurttemburg Pearl Tiara is one of those really special diadems, really only for queens. Beatrix, queen in waiting, wore this to her wedding in 1966 and it was a real go to for her during her reign. She chose it for the gala event the night before her abdication making it the last tiara she wore whiel Queen of the Netherlands. Maxima first donned it in 2014 for the State Banquet held during her State Visit to Japan with Willem-Alexander and it was on sparkling form again for the 2017 Diplomatic Corps Dinner. 


It gets its name from Sophie of Wurttemberg who married the future King Willem III of the Netherlands in 1839 although this tiara was first seen on Queen Wilhelmina, Willem's daughter by his second wife, Emma. Complex past, complex tiara. It's made up of an intricate map of diamonds dotted with pearls. It comes with detachable pearls that can be used to make different shapes for the tiara. That aside, there's no missing this diadem. It packs a punch and then some.




It was pearls, too, for Princess Beatrix who went for the Pearl Button Tiara, another diadem said to have started its royal journey with Sophie of Wurttemberg before its story gets complex. It's a diamond base that's topped with five big pearls surrounded by smaller sparkling diamonds. The pearls are detachable and in 2002, Maxima swapped them for five diamond stars for her wedding tiara. It's mostly seen with the pearls buttons and it's really a rather pretty tiara which adds plenty of sparkle without overpowering.


As spring is well and truly in the air, we got some green shoots from Princess Margriet who chose the Dutch Emerald Tiara. Made around the turn of the 20th century, this tiara features a sparkling diamond base topped with three emerald and diamond clusters, the middle one featuring a double dose of the green gem. It's got a rather delicate air but is given real impact by the emeralds which are allowed to star through its simple design. And there's no denying that this diadem really suits a green frock, as Margriet proved all round. A sparkling night for the Dutch Royal Family.

Photo credit: Koninklijk Paleis Amsterdam Instagram.


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