On December 11 local time, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands hosted a state banquet at the Royal Palace of Amsterdam in honor of visiting Finnish President Alexander Stubb and his wife Suzanne Innes-Stubb, who were on a two-day state visit to the Netherlands.
The 22-year-old Princess Amalia made a stunning appearance at the dinner in a brand-new evening gown, particularly radiant when adorned with family heirloom jewelry.
Princess Amalia, dressed in a Jenny Packham dress, was embellished with large diamonds. Both her tiara and necklace, composed of dozens of large diamonds, exuded an air of understated opulence.
It is reported that her bandeau tiara, inlaid with 27 large diamonds, once belonged to her great-grandmother Queen Juliana and was custom-made by Dutch jewelers for the queen.
Even older than the tiara is the necklace worn by Amalia, which was originally owned by Queen Emma, Queen Juliana’s great-grandmother—though the young princess has given it a fresh new look.
Queen Emma’s most famous jewelry set consists of a diamond necklace and a brooch inlaid with a 30-carat yellow diamond, and now Amalia has combined the two pieces into a single accessory.
The original jewelry was one of the wedding gifts received by Princess Emma when she married the elderly King William III in 1879. It is composed of a total of 214 round brilliant-cut diamonds of varying sizes, with the yellow diamond being the largest of them all.
From Queen Emma to Queen Wilhelmina and then to Queen Juliana, this jewelry set has been worn by generations of Dutch queens—but Queen Beatrix (who favored sapphires) never did. It was not until her daughter-in-law Máxima became queen that the brooch from the set was worn again.
Now, Amalia has brought this nearly 150-year-old heirloom back into the public eye, showcasing elegance and grandeur even more prominently than her mother. No wonder she is often hailed as “the most queenly princess.”
In fact, Amalia’s robust physique since childhood is a testament to the “Dutch queen” genes—reportedly, all past Dutch queens were tall and sturdy. The Netherlands is a country known for producing queens: King Willem-Alexander’s mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother were all queens, and after him, the Netherlands will welcome another queen, namely Amalia.
Amalia is the eldest daughter of Willem-Alexander and Máxima, and she has two younger sisters.
Although Amalia has hinted that she is not overly eager to inherit the throne, it is her innate destiny, and she has thus been fulfilling her royal duties. In recent months, she has kept a busy schedule, including meetings with NATO leaders, attendance at military ceremonies, participation in the United Nations General Assembly in New York, witnessing the inauguration of Luxembourg’s new head of state, and marking Amsterdam’s founding anniversary. Additionally, she frequently attends various state banquets.
Commentators note that her daily schedule has already reached “queenly standards,” far beyond that of princesses her age.
Queen Máxima also stood out at the state banquet. Unlike her daughter’s love for diamonds, she opted for pearls—her tiara, necklace, and the small brooch on her belt were all pearl jewelry.
The “Württemberg Pearl and Diamond Tiara” is named after Queen Sophie, King William III’s first wife, who held the title of “Princess of Württemberg” before her marriage. The tiara was a gift from her father and originally crafted in Germany. The five teardrop-shaped natural pearls at the top of the tiara are rare due to their large size.
