Members of the Dutch Royal family celebrated Prinsjesdag today, the start of a new session of Dutch parliament that takes place every year in The Hague on the third Tuesday of September.
King Willem-Alexander, who addressed a joint session of the Dutch Senate and House of Representatives, was joined in The Hague by Queen Máxima, Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien (along with this familiar cheerleader!). As per tradition, the women dressed in long gowns and hats according to the 18th century court dress code that remains in place for this event.
Queen Máxima wore a domed beret hat with teardrop point in deep claret velvet felt. The brimless design is trimmed with a double knotted bow with rolled tails on the side.
Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
First up, the colour is absolutely divine on Máxima. I wasn’t initially on board with the hat’s uniquely domed shape but I’ve come around- the pearl encrusted collar/capelet on Máxima’s gorgeous gown (LOVE her in Timinau designs!) makes a strong statement that needed some millinery oomph to counterpoint. A flatter percher would have been too little and a brimmed hat, too much against that collar. The luxuriously sleek lines and texture of this hat enable it to stand on its own while linking so amazingly well with the dress (and THAT diamond and ruby stomacher!). It’s grand, regal and all kinds of glamour.
Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Designer: Philip Treacy. It is OC933 from AW 2019. Gown by Jan Taminiau
Previously Worn: This hat is new
Princess Laurentien also topped her gown, in pink textured lace with underlayer of sequinned metallic voille, with a teardrop- shaped hat. The pink sinamay percher base is formed with a gently curving raised edge that gives dimension to the design, which is completed with a mass of hibiscus blooms made of pink feathers. The hat pairs with the gown to create a beautifully coordinated look with layered, textural contrast to break up the single colour. It’s a more subtle look for Laurentien but one she wears very well.
Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Designer: Eudia. Gown by Hardies Couture The Hague
Previously Worn: This hat is new
Prinsjesdag always brings statement royal looks and this year is no different- what do you think of this pair of hats today in The Hague?
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Photos from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
I agree with you, HatQueen, that this is a brilliant look on Queen Maxima – colour, hat, dress, cape, the lot.
Princess Laurentien’s hat – and indeed whole outfit – I found hard to focus on, as the bright yellow sash forces its way to the foreground. With such a stripe of bold colour, the tasteful pink is a bit of an also-ran.
A very nice hat…., but the material of the hat is a bit too heavy for this particular long dress. It would be nice if worn with a winter coat. The hat is also placed a bit too high and a bit too obliquely on the head….and a hat with loose hair is almost never a good combination!
Agree!
IMO, definitely the best dressed Prinsjesdag since 2016!
Máxima is so gorgeous in this color. I’m so happy for a different-shaped hat on her; it’s interesting how her recent percher hats are from Treacy. The velour felt is so sumptuous on this structured beret and the color is perfect; I do wish it was pushed a few centimeters more up on top of her head, but that’s a very minor complaint. I hope we see this hat again this fall/winter! Finally, at first I wasn’t sold on the capelet, but now I’m onboard. Brava!
P.S. Our own Wies has a cocktail hat that could’ve also worked quite well with this ensemble: https://www.laplusbelle-hoeden.nl/herfstwinter-collectie-1718/#!mg_ld=533.
Another win for Laurentien, who always loves to surprise us (whether she gets it right or wrong, I love her fearlessness with her fashions)! Two minor complaints though: I wish the shape of the cocktail base was less pointed on the right side and the color was more saturated to stand out better against her complexion/hair color, but also the background in many photos. Otherwise the dress is fabulous, and definitely one of her best ever.
Maxima: Taminiau and Treacy together – how heavenly! fabulosity guaranteed.
I’m awed by the styling of this look. To mention just one aspect — we know Maxima loves a huge earring, but with this particular hat, she has very rightly chosen more low-key earrings (more “Duchess of Cambridge” :)) – and she’s also eschewed multiple or chunky bracelets. So nuanced! just a quibble on the placement of the heirloom brooch: I’d prefer it right on the sash, (not just off it, as it currently is), so as not to break the diagonal sash line – perhaps lower down on the sash, more in line with the star?
Laurentien: sadly I feel the outfit colour is too pastel for her skin tone; and the hat mimics a tight offset turban shape, which I feel does not work well with the current version of her short hairstyle, or suit her face. Also, the length of those large pink earrings (worn by Maxima on her visit to the UK in 2018) would look more balanced with a wider hat and/or wider hairstyle.
Laurentien has worn other hat styles which are more harmonious in my view with her square face shape and linear features. Many women have long, rather than square, faces, so they suit hats that sit low or diagonally across the forehead — because those hats shorten a long face and create more balance. For Laurentien, placing a diagonal (or any straight line) on her forehead as this hat does, and many of her hats do, shortens her face and adds width to her lower face where she doesn’t need it, as her face is already even in its dimensions. Jackie Kennedy/Onassis also had a classic square face, and she looked fabulous in pillbox hats which sat back from her hairline and did not in any way visually cover her forehead area.
The most flattering hat styles that I’ve seen Laurentien wear are all clear of her forehead — loose floating dangly trim aside!(fascinator) and may sit back behind her hairline (pillbox), or are of an “open” and” light” design (percher/cocktail) with lines more likely irregular, loosely structured or intricate. Her best short hairstyle to support a hat is, I feel one with more volume at the sides than her current one.
I adore this color on Max! I have the same problem with this one that I did with Meg’s very similar one, it’s very bulbous. I want the knot to be positioned slightly differently as it looks to be poking her in the eye at times. Having said that, it is growing on me the more I look at it and it was great to see Max in a different hat shape than the giant slice, which I think would not have worked well with this dress. I realllllllly like the feather hibiscuses on Laurentien’s hat. Pink doesn’t seem to be a color she wears all that often and it looks lovely on her! I’m wondering what it would look like positioned a bit further back on her head, almost like a calot, just so she can have some versatility. But that’s probably not a concern! I’ll join the contingent that was glad Wax kept the beard. Someone mentioned elsewhere that he and Constantjin look even more like brothers now that they both have beards and I can’t argue with that!
I’m with you on Max’s hat. Love the colour, but not so keen on the way the trim appears to poke her in the eye from some angles.
I really liked Laurentien’s hat.
Both hats complimented their outfits beautifully.
Wowsa! What a spectacular look! I love everything – that sleek but memorable hat ! the encrusted capelet ! the perfect dress ! but most of all that rich, striking colour. And the King’s beard is just right and I hope he keeps it.
This is a hat I want to try on and see how it looks on me, the rich colour the bow my guess it looks great from all angles
I am amazed that Maxima was able to color coordinate the capelet, dress, hat, gloves, and shoes without glaring differences! I like both hats, but wish Laurentian’s hair was styled a bit better.
Considering they were all custom made, It would be a shame if they weren’t colour coordinated!
The dress and capelet are by Jan Taminiau, who is the best couturier in the country (my country that is). The hat is by Philip Treacy, who is GB’s best milliner (IMO); I suppose colour swaps were sent from one side of the canal to another. As to the gloves and shoes, they must be available in a large range of colours, or they were custom dyed.
Prinsjesdag is an important event and usually Queen Máxima launches a fantastic new gown that day. The gown will later on serve as an evening dress and is clearly designed to serve different purposes, as Shannon M Conley rightly supposed.
It wasn’t always so. In the 19th century day dress was also long, yet there was a clear difference between day and evening wear. Queen Emma was the first Queen to attend the opening of Parliament, as a regent for Queen Wilhelmina, who was still a minor when her father died. Before that, royal women simply weren’t present. Queen Emma wore a long (day) dress and a hat, as was the fashion of the time. The custom of combining a long dress and a hat has remained, but the character of the outfit has become more festive.
Is it not the same shape DoS wore at Xmass 2017
It’s similar- not surprising as they are from the same milliner.
Very polished looks from both ladies today. That claret on Máxima is divine, and the look quite a fashion forward one with the capelet. Shame that the sash has to break the line of the outfit, but that’s unavoidable. The hat rightly lets the dress be the star.
And Laurentien looks fab too, which you can’t always say. A glam look in a great colour, with the hat as well letting the outfit do the singing.
I am not in the habit of using the word “devine”, but when I saw Queen Máxima appear on the King’s side this afternoon, that was my first thought. The dress, with it’s beaded capelet, is fantastic and the colour gorgeous. The hat is simple but effective, and works especially well when seen from a distance. The whole look is perfectly styled and modern, which is not easy to achieve for court dress.
I like Princess Laurentien’s hat, with the soft feather flower, but wonder if a slightly less coordinated colour might not have been more interesting.
Much wagers were laid on the question wether the King would or would not have kept the short beard he grew over the holidays. I think it suits him!
I agree about the King’s beard! And you make an interesting point about how hard it is to style court dress to look modern.
Well said Wies! Queen Maxima does look amazing. The dress and capelet is wonderful on her, and the hat pairs well with it. It’s simple, and lets the outfit shine. The color is so gorgeous! I can’t wait to see what she pairs with the hat in the future, and if course, which glamorous evening event she’ll bring out this incredible outfit to (hopefully paired with the mellerio ruby tiara!).
Princess Laurentian looks nice, but, yes, maybe a different color to balance the hat more.
I also agree with the King’s beard! He looks great!
Absolutely love both these hats. Max has to be my all-time favourite hat wearer , she has such pzazz! Her look as a whole is fabulous
Max looks fabulous here, and the hat really is the perfect shape for the dress. I hope we see this dress with a tiara at some sort of gala event in future.
This gown with the Mellerio ruby and diamond tiara will be a killer combination!
Yes! And I bet that’s her plan.