On Wednesday, an outdoor sculpture exhibition celebrating 20 years of Dutch-Belgian cultural cooperation was officially opened in The Hague by Queen Máxima and Queen Mathilde. It’s not often that we see two Queens at work together and it seems that these two decided to mark this special engagement with a pair of coordinating NATAN frocks and two new and very vibrant hats.
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Queen Máxima topped her coral coat dress with a large straw saucer hat in the same hue. The hat was cheekily trimmed with a mass of vertically placed rainbow feathers in the center and a wide band of tan straw edged around the brim.
The shape of this saucer is a departure for Máxima and it balanced very well with her collarless coat and chic chignon. I suspect that most of us would go to great lengths to avoid wearing an orange saucer hat trimmed with feathers that look to be plucked straight from an Obsk but on Máxima, it just works. In fact, I think her coral coat dress works better with the hat than it would without it.
Previously Worn: This hat is new
Queen Mathilde topped her orange and royal blue printed dress with a ruched blue straw calot hat. The draping on this particular piece is beautifully done (amazing how the straw looks to have the same fluidity as fabric) and this shade of blue works well for Mathilde.. It is a shape we have seen on both queens numerous times and while I would love to see some more variety, this piece is so well done that it warrants a thumbs up.
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Previously Worn: This hat is new
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From all accounts, it seems that a wonderful day was had by Queen Máxima and Queen Mathilde in The Hague. What did you think of their vibrant hats?
Royal Hats 
Queen Mathilde is gorgeous. I love both her outfits. She is my favorite queen. Everything about her is perfect! Queen maxima is a delight. These two women are so nice together; they could be sisters. Their countries should be proud!
I am really behind on my royal blogs, but I had to chime in. Loved the coordination! ONLY Maxima could pull off that hat. I knew it looked very Seuss-esque, but couldn’t put my finger on character. 😉 I do like Mathilde’s hat best with the blue and white, but it still looks great with the other. Loved these looks.
I absolutely love the planned coordination of the queens! While Queen Mathilde looked absolutely wonderful, I do prefer the hat with her blue and white dress, which was stunning. Now, Queen Máxima was purely pulchretudinous in that dress! The hat was fun. Dr. Suess would be proud.
I think both Queen look like they are having a great time and they obviously colour matched their outfits. Queen Maxima’s hat is pretty Mad Hatter but it works for this fun event. There isn’t any way in the world ordinary people could wear it! It looks like a drink tray with the Doctor Seuss Obsk plume sticking up, and yet she still looks good in it! I don’t usually like coat-dresses, especially if they lack a collar, but she is tall enough and long necked enough to be able to get clean away with it. Her earrings and accessories look good too. Queen Mathilde looks good in both dresses, though I prefer the more colourful one with the orange. Her calot is just right on her. The colour brings out her blue eyes and the fabric is so deceptive, because it looks for all the world like silk from a distance, and up close the straw is a real surprise.
What a hoot! Love both the outfits. My least favourite of the whole kit and caboodle is Mathilde’s hat, I am not a fan of the calot style. It is the back view I dislike. I would be singing if it was a pillbox.
Oh I think both of them look terrific. Only Maxima could pull off wearing the hat that she did – good for her. Mathilde appears to be such a sweet, lovely queen. Her blue hat is gorgeous, and both dresses look wonderful.
If Maxima’s hat didn’t have the one long Doctor Seuss plume sticking up I wouldn’t mind her outfit.
I think Queen Mathilde looks absolutely wonderful in each outfit. Wearing the same hat with the two different outfits is brilliant, particularly since the hat goes absolutely perfectly with each outfit. I admit, though, that I too thought of Kat’s idea putting Queen Mathilde’s dress with Queen Máxima’s hat to see what the combination might bring!
Queen Máxima’s hat is so large and so colorful that is appears a bit costume-y, but the two queens together do stand out. This must have been coordinated, don’t you think?
A spectacular event!
I am not a lover of orange – it’s a very hard colour to wear but these Queens look fabulous! Top marks to whoever styles these women but especially to Mathilde’s – can’t help but LOVE the blue and cream dress more than the orange and blue. Just so elegant. Maxima’s hat is great, though I think the feathers sticking straight up look a bit silly. Almost as if she is saying “I’m taller than you are!”
I can’t decide which of Mathilde’s outfits I like better. They both are great for different reasons, and both look superb with the hat. Which I would never have guessed to be straw. As for Max, nothing but this dress would have worked for this particular outing, but I would love to see this hat repeated with a simple solid-color sheath dress.
I’m with you Gransgirl!
Well where shall I begin!! My excitement is high because yesterday I watched a 5 min video on the days events and I have to say Maxima is just incredible. I have never really seen her walk and talk as it were and she was an absolute delight- totally engaged, gracious, effervescent, gregarious, polite, sensitive, exuberant….I have always sensed such charisma but to see it on film was wonderful. Mathilde was not outdone at all, she was gracious, friendly, thoughtful and quietly engaged too…and the ladies worked so comfortably and companionably together. It really was fab to watch. And the outfits, well, win win win. What a riot of colour it was and whether planned or not, so pleasing to the eye without being matchy matchy. Blue and orange, wow. Mathildes hat is great- awesome colour, well positioned, lovely fluid design and it provided a nice foil to Max’s exuberance!! One thing I particularly noticed, even though Max’s hat looks precariously balanced and the upright feathers surely prone to wind and sudden changes of direction (she is very animated too!) she moved with complete surety and confidence. I’m impressed! That feather stack is just awesome! Well as you can see I loved it, deep breath sigh. Who says Royal Watching is boring! Thanks all.
I agree with you Louise E. These Queens look anything but boring!
Love both hats – Max’s for it’s sheer sauciness and sense of fun. It doesn’t happen often but I find myself disagreeing with Jake about the feathers. Standing up just seems so right for Max and that blast of blue at the base of the feathers is all that’s saving Max’s outfit from monochrome (which we’d all be mocking and pecking at). Laying flat would be the safe choice and that’s not our gal.
The calot is not one of my favourite styles, but this one I like and it’s the choice of cobalt. It looks fantastic on Mattie and it goes well with both outfits, although zings when paired with the orange-and-blue dress. I like her co-ordinating accessories with this latter outfit, after all what was she going to wear? Nude shoes? The blue is bold, like the whole outfit. I hope we see both (or even all three) ensembles worn again.
What a wonderful time these two look like they’re having. Both young queens look wonderful in their coordinating outfits. Only Maxima could carry off this hat with the feathers, but it looks great on her. The calot on Mathilde is such a beautiful color on her. All in all, I think that Maxima and Mathilde look great in their coordinating outfits. As someone else said, it will be one for the memory books!
Orange is a hard color to wear, but these two queens rocked it superbly. Their hairdos were fabulous and worked well with their hats. I don’t think anyone but Maxima could get away with that hat, but on her it looked sublime. Thanks for these wonderful pictures. They really cheered me up on a day when I needed it. There is just something about Max and Marhilde that can always make me smile. They always look like they have a wonderful time, and it is a treat to see them together. I was amazed that Mathilde’s hat was straw: I never would have guessed that. Not loving her dress, but it looked fine on her. It was just so, vibrant. Alright so I don’t like it, but she looked her usual lovely self, so it was a success. I liked Max’s outfit better.
LOVE both hats. In response to your question, I liked the ruched blue straw calot hat best with Queen Mathilde’s orange & royal blue printed dress. It makes the “blue” stand out.
This might sound crazy but I would like to see Queen Mathilda’s dress combined with Queen Maxima’s hat – no idea if it would work but worth a try! Maybe on their next outing together. And it must be said – both Queens rock great hairstyles to go with their hats.
It’s a fun outing theres no doubt there, but I think there’s just slightly too much going on for me. Max is over volumed (loose some of the bulk on that frock) and Mathilde is over coordinated (the shoes and gloves, argh!) but they coordinate with each other which I think is just hilarious! And it looks like the best day out ever! So all good!
Well don’t they look festive – on anyone else, these outfits and hats would look like they were ready for carnival in New Orleans – but they both look in the spirit and in their prime having a great time! Good for them! This will be a photo for their personal albums they will laugh over 30-40 years from now!
Wonderful day for both queens! Here is Max wearing something ONLY Max could wear, and doing so beautifully. Love the hat, the feathers, the earrings, the dress! And she still coordinates without overshadowing Mathilda. Love Mat’s blue hat. The color is great on her. She has such poise and elegance. I love her posture. I really like both choices today. Well done, Queens!
Nice both Queens are perfect. I like the Orange and blue dress the best of the two.
I don’t care for Max’s hat but it totally suits her and the outfit. I am surprised to say I actually like Mathilde’s hat very much. I cannot believe her hat is made of straw – beautiful work!
I was wondering when this post was gonna come out! These royal ladies looked like they were having a blast, and it’s amazing to see such bold and vibrant colors on them both! First, Mathilde: I actually don’t mind this calot hat for once (definitely one of my least favorite hat styles in general), but I think that’s because the cobalt blue is such a fantastic color on Mathilde. I like it with both dresses, although the second one is a bit more subdued; orange and blue is one of my favorite color combos! Second, Maxima: this is a wonderful departure for her, and I would like to see more disc/saucer pieces tried out. My only dislike is the feathers; if they were laying flat against this hat, I think they would look much better, but they seem a bit too much just sticking up as they are. Also, I don’t know how I feel about the blue feathers as they tie in with Mathilde’s outfit more than Maxima’s. Overall this is a fun win for me, especially because they did not stick with their usual beige!