Okay, with no introductions, tonight absolutely deserves some thumbs up, and only one thumb down!
Best in Queen
Queen Beatrix
Beatrix stayed true to herself in the last dinner she hosted as queen, I love that she wore the Wurttemberg pearl tiara she also wore the shorter version of Queen Sophie brooch with pearl pendants, simple but says Queen clearly!
Update: It’s by Birgit Hallstein.
Lalla Salma wore a tiara for the first time since her wedding, which comes as a huge surprise, although the tiara itself isn’t that pretty, but not bad for a start, no? Lalla Salma wore matching earrings. I love her hair, what do you think about it?
Best in Queen of Diamonds
Princess Maxima
Crown Princess Maxima (probably the last time to say it like that) chose to repeat an old Valentino gown, the red tiered silk organza gown is embroidered on the waist, I was quite disappointed that she chose to recycle an old dress, but I’d take this over the Benito Fernandez gown we discussed few days ago, specially as the designer was posing next to it for many magazines and I thought it was the IT gown!
Max brought the glam with Rose Cut Tiara, few bracelets, rings, and the Diamond Reviere with the pendant that made many people think it was from the Stuart Tiara while it was actually taken from a brooch that belonged to Queen Emma. Maxima’s hairdo and makeup made her look more refined than ever!
Best in Sister
Princess Christina and Princess Irene
Princess Christina and Princess Irene will there to celebrate their sister, Princess Margriet was there too, but I couldn’t find a good picture of her. Princess Christina wore the Ears of Wheat tiara while Irene wore the Antique Pearl Tiara.
Best in Alone
Princess Mabel
Prince Albert was alone because Charlene is in South Africa for her foundation (As we discussed here days ago), Princess Mabel was alone because her husband, Prince Friso is still in coma in a hospital in London, and that’s why she deserves this thumbs up, even with her horrible dress. She’s wearing the small setting of the Mellerio Sapphire Tiara, the same she wore for her wedding, and the fishnet diamond necklace.
Best in Blue
Princess Laurentien
![]() |
|
Right to left: Princess Stephanie, Elie Saab pre-fall 2012 dress, Princess Laurentien, Princess Sarvath, Princess Sarah of Brunei. |
Stephanie is wearing Elie Saab…. Stephanie is wearing Elie Saab in a bright colour… Stephanie is smiling…. Stephanie still looks dowdy! She’s wearing the Nassau Tiara for the first time and a necklace that hasn’t been seen before, from her family?
![]() |
Princess Stephanie wearing the Nassau Tiara and an unknown necklace |
Princess Laurentin looked surprisingly good in a mint blue gown, I really like it and I like the neckline with the big Stuart brooch in its smaller setting with an aquamarine pendant that echoed perfectly the Aquamarine tiara, for the first time, bravo Laurentin.
![]() |
Stuart brooch with an aquamarine pendant |
Princess sarvath wore a nice sari and one of her two tiaras, while Princess Sarah of Brunei wore a dress with a weird colour combination. Naturally, I like it. And that Tiara is so beautiful, it just needs hair!
![]() |
Left to right: Crown Princesses Mathilde of Belgium, Mary of Denmark and Sophie of Liechtenstein. |
Princess Mathilde looked gorgeous in her cream/off white gown, most probably by NATAN, the gown has a spectacular train, the whole design gives me a Déjà vu as it reminds me of Grace Kelly’s Oscars dress! Mathilde accessorized her gown with her one and only tiara, and a brooch borrowed from Queen Fabiola, she wore the same brooch for Prince Guillaume and Stephanie’s wedding last year.
Princess Mary wore a magnificent beige/baby pink gown with grey embroidery. This dress is going to be one of my absolute favorites of hers! So far we don’t know the designer, but below an Elie Saab gown in a similar style.
![]() |
|
The gown also resembles many of Elie’s couture designs, so it’s either a RTW costum made piece or a couture piece (unlikely) or a very clever knock off, anyways, She looks FAB with her wedding tiara and wedding earrings. P.S: Have you noticed her Bottega Venetta Knot clutch?
Update: It’s by Birgit Hallstein.
Crown Princess Sophie wore a nice dress in gold and cream, I love the pleats of the skirts, and the lace/embroidery style on the bodice gives a 60’s flair. She wore the Hapsburg Fringe Tiara, one of the best fringes if you ask me.
Best in Black
Princess Letizia
![]() |
Left to right: Princess Letizia of Asturias (Crown Princess of Spain) and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall |
Camilla wore a Bruce Oldfield gown, the patchwork on the bodice is exquisite. However, it many pictures it looks so unflattering with the two part connected at the middle of her breasts. Camilla looked so royal with the Boucheron Honeycomb Tiara and diamond earrings.
Letizia WOWed in her Felipe Varela gown, although it’s black, it highlighted Letizia’s statuesque figure, the embroidery kept it glamorous, while the lace made sure it’s still delicate and feminine as it should be, the lace also suited the Mellerio Floral Tiara perfectly.
Best in Purple
Princess Victoria
![]() |
Prince Daniel, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan |
Princess Victoria repeated an Elie Saab gown, she paired it with the Amethyst Demi-Parure, placing the brooch in the middle of the flower. Although she looks really great, I still feel like it’s not grand enough!
Best in New Tiara
Princess Lalla Salma
Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco looked AMAZING in her caftan, this caftan is kind of lighter than her usual caftans, no extensive embroideries in sight, but instead, some delicate flowers are placed making it look airy and fluffy, this caftan might be by either a local couturier or Valentino!
Lalla Salma wore a tiara for the first time since her wedding, which comes as a huge surprise, although the tiara itself isn’t that pretty, but not bad for a start, no? Lalla Salma wore matching earrings. I love her hair, what do you think about it?
Worst for The Night
Princess Mette-Marit
Sadly, Mette-Marit gets the thumbs down for today because while I really love the light, delicate colours of her Giambattista Valli gown and like how she wore that light blue bracelet for some color pop, I really hate how it fits her, MM seems to be dealing with some difficulties regarding her shape these days, and while dressing in something flowy like that might hide what you want to hide, adding a belt to exactly the place you wanna hide ruins it all, and make you look like you’re wearing a curtain! and empire waisted dress might have been more thoughtful. Something else I dislike is that she wore her go-to tiara, The diamond Daisy which is more like a small bandeau. It’s the night of an inauguration, is this how grand you want to look in photos in 50 years from now? in a tiny tiara?
Anyway it was a lovely night with lots of bling (Maxima’s alone is dazzling enough!), tomorrow is the big day with the abdication and investiture ceremonies and we do have an idea about who will wear what, check it out here if you still don’t!
Which is your favorite look?
Great. So what little democratic progress had been achieved in Ukraine, the Netherlands are undoing it: http://andreasmoser.wordpress.com/2013/04/30/orange-revolution-counterrevolution/
Letizia looks gorgeous. So very elegant! I love her hair and the dress is just beautiful. I also like Victoria's dress but I agree it's not fancy enough for the occasion.