King Willem Alexander and Queen Máxima welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron yesterday for a two-day state visit.
For their official welcome at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam, Queen Máxima repeated her draped toque hat in a green and yellow silk ikat print.
Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images
We’ve seen this hat and dress combination before – it’s a bold print and colour palate that Máxima carries well.
Designer: Fabienne Delvigne. Coat and dress by Natan
Previously Worn: Apr 27, 2021
Images from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
It surely is just the lighting and a visual illusion on my part, but this hat feels bigger and more goldenrod than the previous outing; I will assume that’s because of Máxima’s pulled back hairstyle (I preferred the style from the last time) and wearing the coat instead of simply draping it over the shoulders. The coat helps tame the pattern for sure (a good thing), but I still wish this ensemble had a plain/single colored hat (preferably in the green). Overall though it’s a lovely look and a nice contrast to Brigitte Macron’s French blue ensemble.
This is not a hat shape I’m at all fond of, but I have to say I think this is a great ensemble. Maxima can carry off a lot of pattern and look through her confidence and the exuberance of her personality (as well as her physical look), and to me, this is the sort of bold outfit that might overwhelm some people, but looks fantastic on Maxima. (Looking at the photos of the previous wearing, though, I have to say it looks better with the coat covering up most of the dress!)
I suppose part of my reaction comes from enjoying the fact that here is a royal who is making the most of her opportunities to embrace being the centre of attention (as she inevitably will, given her status). No-one looking at her would think her part of the furniture. In contrast, one sometimes gets the impression that some royal women are wearing hats on sufferance, and appear as though they’re trying to be just a nicely turned out woman of the people, as it were.
I totally agree with your 2nd paragraph: from the photos and videos, it seems QM enjoys her role and recognises the importance of using her clothes & jewellery to reinforce it; I would say Camilla does too. They convey a sort of glamorous exuberance which is very likeable.
Yes, I like the phrase “glamorous exuberance”!
A stellar appearance by Queen Maxima/
I’m so mesmerized by the stunning ikat that I can almost overlook the pattern overload, but not quite. How about a bandeau or a doughnut instead? I think either of these could improve the look by minimizing the amount of the print while carrying enough of it to tie in to the dress.
Mitten Mary, I am embarrassed to admit I had to look up “ikat” but I surely did NOT need to look up “bandeau” or “doughnut.” Today is a special day here at Royal Hats: correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t ever recall reading a comment promoting these two headpiece styles. (I hope you know I’m joking with you!) Max looks fantastical today – matchy and cohesive at the same time. I imagined the same concept using different color combinations, like peach/aqua, or red/black/grey.
The coat calms it all down, its a lot of pattern underneath. It’s a fab look for Max. She knows how to turn up the volume for big visits doesn’t she.
This hat design, fabric and colour combination suit her very well and the hat works better IMO with an up-do compared with the loose style she chose in April 2021. I would also second the comments on the blog related to that appearance, namely that using variations of the same fabric for hat, dress (or blouse & skirt) and clutch is over-kill and, even this time with the benefit of the single-colour coat, the matching clutch jars.