Prince Maurits and Princess Marilène of Orange-Nassau celebrate their 16th wedding anniversary today. Their wedding celebrations were rather low key as Prince Maurits is the nephew of a monarch and, at the time of his marriage, was fifth in line to the throne. He is, however, the son of a much loved Dutch princess and was the first of his generation to marry so the event was certainly not to be missed. In honor of Prince Maurits and Princess Marilène’s anniversary, today, let’s look back at the hats from their civil and religious weddings.

Prince Maurits met Marie-Hélène van den Broek (she is known as Marilène), daughter of the former Dutch foreign minister Hans van den Broek, when they were both students at the University of Groningen. For their civil wedding on May 29, 1998 in Apeldoorn, Marilène wore a scarlet and orange silk suit topped with a classic, pale beige straw hat. The hat featured a sash around the crown in the same hues as her vibrant suit and the brim was covered in an overlay of translucent chocolate brown net. The cartwheel brim of the hat was an excellent proportion for this tall bride and allowed Marilène’s radiant smile to take center stage.  I thought it was particularly adorable that Marilène choose orange as the accent colour for her ensemble to marry her Prince of Orange (also, in a coordinating orange tie).

Princess Margriet wore a royal blue bumper style hat with wide, rolled brim which featured a woven ‘v’ pattern.

Marilène’s mother, José van den Broek-van Schendel, wore a dark blue hat with rounded crown and upturned brim. The hat was without embellishment and she wore it tilted fairly far back, off her face.

Stay tuned later today, when we will look at the hats from Prince Maurits and Princess Marilène’s religious wedding.

Photos from Getty as indicated and the Royal Forums