The wedding of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima seventeen years ago was a grand, major state occasion for certain, but a personal, family one as well.  After looking at the attire and headwear of the couple and their attendants yesterday, we now turn our attention to the hats worn by members of their families.

Embed from Getty Images

We start with a hat that is on my list of all-time favourites. Queen Beatrix wore a violet purple straw hat with domed crown and double sideswept brim, the top of which was in a darker eggplant purple that linked with her deeply hued coat. The hat, designed by Suzanne Moulijn, was completed with a violet straw hatband and dark purple silk rose on the side. The sweeping lines of the design and the glorious colour combination made it a fantastic mother-of-the-groom look for Beatrix.

Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images

Princess Laurentien, who had been a member of the Dutch royal family less than a year at the time and was expecting her first child, wore a dramatic, wide brimmed hat. The design’s flared, angular crown was covered in the same golden ochre velvet as her dress and trimmed in a wide hatband in the same bubble printed jacquard as her coat. The brim was finished in a wide binding of ochre silk and while the use of straw might have seemed a little odd for a winter event, IT was a brilliant choice, allowing light to filter around Laurentien’s face and lending some much needed lift to the rather heavy (and, dare I say, clunky) design.

Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images

Princess Margriet’s hat was made of the same red and white woven fabric as her cape with a tall, rounded, red faux fur bumper brim.

 

Princess Marilene, wore an streamlined almond felt hat with asymmetrical angular crown, simply trimmed with a slim hatband. Try as I might, I’ve not been able to find any photos of Princess Annette (Princess Margriet’s other daughter-in-law at the time, wife of Prince Bernhard).

Princess Irene wore a vibrant blue felt design with sloped crown, lavishly trimmed with a hatband of black ostrich feathers that spilled over the brim. Princess Christina’s magenta felt hat was trimmed in brim binding and a hatband in the same crushed eggplant purple velvet as her coat and featured a saucy upturn on one side of the brim. Unfortunately, I can’t locate photographs of Princess Irene’s daughter Princess Maria Carolina (Princess Margarita did not attend) but we saw Princess Christina’s daughter, Juliana Guillermo, who was one of the adult attendants, in yesterday’s post.

Embed from Getty Images

The bride’s maternal aunt and godmother, Marcela Cerruti Carricart, who acted as one of the witnesses, wore a dove grey velvet felt hat with cloche-shaped crown and upfolded Kettle brim, trimmed with silk ribbon. 

Máxima’s half sister Delores wore a chocolate pillbox; her half sister María wore a gray-green brimmed hat with silk hatband; and her half sister Ángeles wore a chocolate brimless hat trimmed with a burgundy silk bow.

  

Sister-in-law, Mariana Zorreguieta, wife of Máxima’s brother Martin, wore a grey felt hat with rolled brim, trimmed with a silk ribbon bow.

Embed from Getty Images

I always feel empathy toward the non-royal family at these sorts of events, and the challenges they must face when making decisions about attire. Hats in shades of brown and grey are certainly safe bets, and I wish they had felt comfortable to make some bolder choices. Aside from this, and the the bittersweet notes added by the absence of Máxima’s parents, it’s a good lineup of hats, some of which could be fashionably worn today. Which designs here stand out to you most?

Photos from Getty as indicated; Sihon Touhig via Getty; Scanpix; NOS