The European royal scene is hosting a double gala dinner tonight. While Sweden celebrates the final event tied to the 2025 Nobel Prize ceremonies, the Netherlands is hosting its own to honor Finland’s president, Alexander Stubb, and his wife, Suzanne Innes Stubb, who are on a state visit. This morning, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima welcomed them with a ceremony in Amsterdam’s Dam Square, after which their busy schedule of official events began, ending tonight with a banquet at the Royal Palace.
A high-impact gala dress for Queen Máxima of the Netherlands
The queen consistently astonishes us with her impeccable style, and while we adore her daily ensembles, we have a particular fondness for her grandiose gowns, showcasing breathtaking long gowns and breathtaking jewels. Today she did not disappoint, and even though she repeated a dress, she gave it a twist so it would feel new. She debuted it in 2023, but it could easily pass for a new design since it features on-trend details like the Bardot neckline, which leaves the collarbone and shoulders completely bare, and the dramatic oversized puff sleeves.
As if the bold details and the corseted silhouette were not enough, the dress comes in an intense red that is impossible to miss. It is by Danish designer Claes Iversen, one of the queen’s favorites. As he explained on his social media at the time, this model is called Princess Amor and has an intriguing detail. Claes makes one design in each collection, and this is the one he chose to craft with his team's help.
To give the dress a different feel, she swapped the wide matching belt she wore two years ago for a much slimmer one and pinned a diamond and pearl brooch to it. She also added another floral-shaped brooch at the waist.
A priceless royal tiara
As expected for an occasion like this, she finished her look with an impressive pearl parure. The undeniable star was the Württemberg pearl and diamond tiara, named after the belief that it once belonged to Queen Sophie, the first wife of King William III of the Netherlands, who was born a Princess of Württemberg and supposedly received it as a wedding gift from her father in 1839. It was said to have been made in Germany and later altered almost sixty years later by the Dutch jeweler Royal Begeer in 1897, although it was eventually revealed that it had actually been created for Queen Wilhelmina.
Whatever its exact history, the truth is that the piece is a priceless treasure, a magnificent work of jewelry made of old-cut diamonds in a design of scrolls and interlaced fleur-de-lis topped with five pure natural teardrop pearls of an exceptionally rare size. Princess Beatrix, granddaughter of Queen Wilhelmina, chose it for her wedding on March 10, 1966, wearing the full version with the diamonds, more than fifty round pearls, and eleven pear-shaped pearls.
Máxima embraced a more-is-more approach and finished the look with an impressive five-strand pearl necklace along with matching earrings and rings.
Princess Amalia’s look
Although we had not seen her at the day’s earlier events, it had been announced that Amalia of the Netherlands would join her parents at this dinner, something that is no surprise given her growing presence at major institutional engagements. The heir to the Dutch throne has shown many times that she inherited her mother’s eye for fashion, but she has gradually shaped her own style: youthful yet sophisticated, minimalist but with distinctive touches, and timeless with hints of trend.
The future queen of the Netherlands shone in a beautiful tiara we saw just a week ago when her mother wore it in Suriname. It is the bandeau tiara, one of those pieces that without large volumes or extravagant ornamentation, still delivers major impact. Its linear design perfectly captures the late nineteenth-century shift toward a more modern aesthetic, as it is made of twenty-seven old-cut diamonds set almost ethereally in a minimal platinum structure that makes it appear to float above the wearer’s head.
We could say it is the most minimalist tiara Máxima owns, yet it is spectacular in its simplicity, and those qualities pair perfectly with this new dress. The princess adorned it with diamond earrings that illuminated her face and a stunning necklace featuring a prominent diamond that commanded everyone's attention.
To allow the necklace to take center stage, she chose a gown with a deep V-shaped front and a double neckline that includes a tulle inset, creating a sense of depth while maintaining the design's integrity and preventing any unwanted reveals. The dress, designed by Jenny Packham—one of Kate Middleton’s preferred fashion houses for major events—exudes a romantic, delicate aura that is fitting for a young princess like Amalia.
The dress is made of vanilla-toned tulle and is decorated with fine beaded embroidery that flows from the shoulders and fades around the hips. The dress features wide straps, a fitted waist, and a floor-length A-line skirt, which she completed with a matching stole worn at the elbows.