Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary earlier this month, a milestone which warrants a look back at their nuptials.

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Constantijn and Laurentien’s circles overlapped years before they decided to marry, Laurentien’s mother Jantien a school friend of Queen Beatrix and her father,  Laurens Jan Brinkhorst, a prominent Dutch politician and diplomat (and, ironically, vocal proponent of a smaller Royal House and reduced political role of the Head of State). The couple, who then resided in Brussels, returned to The Hague for their three day wedding celebration: civil marriage on May 17, 2001,  gala dinner dance at Palace Noordeindeon May 18 and religious ceremony on May 19. Laurentien turned to Edouard Vermeulen of fashion house NATAN for all of her wedding attire.

She arrived at Oude Raadzaal (Old Town Hall) for the civil ceremony in a watermelon pink belted coat and dress topped by a lavender-grey hat with upfolded halo brim. Trimmed simply with a hatband in the same straw, the hat’s focal point was a pronounced brim pleat over Laurentien’s left eyebrow.

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It’s always hard to regard past looks objectively- at the time, I was awed by the dramatic shape of this hat and thought the look to be bold and confident.

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Designer: Fabienne Delvigne

Queen Beatrix wore an ivory straw flat crowned hat with wide layered pink and ivory folded straw hatbands and a pink upturned Breton style brim that beautifully set off her ivory coat and pink accessories.

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Laurentien’s mother Jantien topped her pale cornflower blue suit in a matching hat in the most unique shape – a sort of pillbox with pointed crown over which lay a slanted downturned brim – trimmed with a long quill. The hat’s scale and shape worked so well with the open collar on her jacket.

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Máxima Zorreguita, who would marry Prince Willem-Alexander nine months later, wore a grey straw hat with jauntily upturned brim on the right side. The hat was trimmed in a dark taupe hatband and bound brim (notice the matching clutch!) and an oversize grey flower with lime leaves and curled feather staments that curved around the left side of the design. Interestingly, the hat would reappear two years later on a visit to Brazil with smaller brim and trimming. I prefer this original version.

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Princess Margriet topped her blush suit with a wide brimmed black sinamay hat with tall ruched hatband around the shallow, rounded crown and a relaxed, fluted brim.

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Princess Annette wore a cream hat with straight-sided, domed crown and mushroom shaped brim with side embellishment. I’ve not been able to locate a photo of Princess Marilene.