On the evening of June 20, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium hosted a state banquet at the Castle of Laeken in honor of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima. Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz were present at the state banquet. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima are making a state visit to Belgium at the invitation of King Philippe.
This is what turns people into royal watchers.
ردحذفYes! Picture 5 of the two queens clasping each other and chatting earnestly is my favourite ever Royal picture. These 2 queens are divine and I challenge any queen to out-queen their perfectly queenly frocks, hair and jewels.
حذفWhat happy faces. These two ladies really like each other. The gowns are super nice, and the bling is fantastic. Would have been nice if Pss Elisabeth of Belgium and Pss Amalia of the Netherlands would have been there too. Well one can't have everything. css
حذف💯
حذفI agree!! They are both beautifully attired and bejewelled! What's not to like?
حذفThat picture is absolutely my favourite!!!
حذفDazzling diamonds everywhere.
ردحذفBoth queens look regal in two very different dress styles. Mathilde in more of an 'old world' traditional (and almost bridal), diaphanous-cape-with-train style, and Maxima in a modern, cap-sleeve, frothy evening gown with a train. The pale colours are perfect for an almost Summer evening state dinner.
But the stars have to be the jewels paraded by both queens. There are enough dazzlers there worth not one, but two, kings ransoms.
- Anon 9:13
Mathilde is exquisite. Wonderful serene color and some of the best jewels I’ve ever seen her wear in tandem.
ردحذفBoth queens look amazing!!!!
ردحذفNatan designer himself is in the house! (Pic 10)
ردحذفMust be feeling disappointed inside while greeting the Queens wearing other designs. Queen Mathilde's Elsa-like light blue dress is from Armani Privé. Queen Maxima's blush pink dress is from Jan Taminiau.
I don't think Edouard Vermeulen (Natan) feels disappointed. Queen Paola, Queen Mathilde, Queen Maxima are his clients. He can design for both Mathilde and Maxima every season at least 1 or 2 outfits. Occasionally he designs something new for Paola too. The state visit isn't over yet, maybe there will be some additional creations of Natan today or tomorrow.
حذفSo that's what he looks like.
حذفI don't normally like gowns with such embellishments and frills, but Queen Maxima's gown looks splendid. The color is sublime, suits her beautifully. Her up style hair looks stunning, accommodating her tiara well. Makeup is on point. Her jewels are a major swoon!. The tiara is magnificent. Her necklace, earrings and both bracelets, perfection. The complete package.
ردحذفQueen Mathilde looks equally beautiful. Her pale blue gown, equally gorgeous. Her jewels, another major swoon! Her hair is really well done, the side view, stunning! Again, her makeup, natural and enchasing.
This is how you like to see Queen's dress, beautifully attired, well gowned and magnificent jewels.
Well said, I agree!
حذفEXACTLY.
حذفYES! (V.M.)
حذفBoth queens look glorious! I prefer Queen Mathilde's gown, and her jewels are beautiful, but Queen Maxima's jewels are fabulous. Those Stuart diamonds are hard to beat. Both kings looks pretty good too:)
ردحذفWhat a tiara treat!! I was really looking forward to this state visit and it did not disappoint. Queen Mathilde and Queen Maxima are giving me Barbie: The Princess and the Pauper vibes with those colors. I am not a big fan of Queen Mathilde's cape. Maybe a different placement would have looked better cause it looks a little restricting, but besides that her tiara, jewels and icy blue gown are beautiful. The color and style of Queen Maxima's gown is lovely and looks very regal with the dark purple sash. Both families seem to have a close bond, so it is always nice to see them together. I may be getting ahead of myself but this might be one of the best royal state visit looks of this year. I would have loved to see the Duchess of Brabant join them but that's ok.
ردحذفCP Elisabeth's exams are maybe not finished yet. The 2 QM's are friends since they became 2 young princesses: Mathilde in Belgium and Maxima in The Netherlands. The bound between Belgium and The Netherlands exists since the late King Baudouin and his brother former King Albert II and their sister the late GD Joséphine Charlotte of Luxemburg were children. They passed their holidays in Noordwijk by the Sea in the Netherlands. They always stayed in contact with the Dutch Royal Family. Queen Mathilde is also the godmother of Princess Alexia of the Netherlands. Queen Maxima and other members of the Dutch royal family lived in Brussels in the past.
حذفBoth Queens look beautiful. Can't really say which one is best, they're both STUNNING!! The commenter who said these types of occasions turn people into royal watchers is so right!! Glamour on EPIC scale!!
ردحذفWow. When you look up Queen in the dictionary there should be a photo of Maxima. She's wears jewels and gowns so well. And at this event Queen Mathilde is rivaling Q Max. They both look so dreamy in the soft colors.
ردحذفQueen Maxima. Knockout look. My favorite of hers. Elegant, modern and feminine.
ردحذف~Peonies
For me the last picture is the best: at last someone, princess Astrid who dares to wear a colour and something surprising!
ردحذفDonot like Máxima’s dress: too many frills, too bleak non- colour, neck line not good.
Her jewels are heavy, but are the nice?
Hairdo not really good with the a-symmetry.
Mathilde: better: more colour, simple strapless gown, better hairdo.
Mabel
Not agree with you Mabel
حذفalways negative about Maxima.I can't remember one positive remark lately written by you
حذفOf course Miss Mabel doesn’t like Máxima’s dress..what’s new.
حذفMajor royal fashion claps for both kings and queens…spectacular!!
ردحذفFrom afar, this is perfection! Love the gowns, the jewels, the effort these ladies put into their styling. It's the epitome of royalty & elegance! Up close Maxima is my winner. Leave it to her to wear such a busy dress & make it look like the perfect plain backdrop for even more busy jewellery & accessoires. Wow! While I love the ethereal look of Mathilde's cape from the distance, up close it's drifting into doily territory. It looks a bit stiff somehow. But the rest totally makes up for that, so I don't really care.
ردحذف-Nika-
And in addition, as I said recently, wouldn’t it be nice to see the table setting, floral arrangements etc. And the menu.
ردحذفMaybe one day.
I only can repeat what I've said so many times on this blog. Look at the Dutch website of the magazine called "Nouveau". Click "royalty" and there you have videos and also a picture about the table setting. Very classic by the way.
حذفYou can find the menu and pictures of the table setting on the twitter account of this Belgian royalty journalist: https://twitter.com/WDehandschutter?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
حذف@Anon 11:31.
حذفYou are a champion. Thanks a million.
Just going off topic for a short moment, the gala dinner in Denmark last week was quoted as a three course meal.
حذفHear again for the Belgium gala dinner, they mention a three course menu.
Question, have the days gone by when these events were composed of a meal of multiple courses? Maybe 8 or more.
@Anon 16:00
حذفThanks so much for the link.
This is what dreams are made of.
Three courses State Dinners (and sometimes four courses if a salad course or a fish course is included) are now the standard, according to all the research I've been following. A smaller meal cuts down on food waste, is faster and quicker to serve, and leaves time for post-meal entertainment such a small mini instrumental concert, or a singer giving a recital, located elsewhere than where the dinner is served.
حذفIn the case of this State dinner, the Kings and Queens and select guests moved to a beautiful candle-lit atrium where coffee and a buffet of finger desserts were served. It was less formal than preceding events, and an opportunity to have a proper chin wag between friends and familiar faces. Mathilde and Maxima made the most of this opportunity from the videos I've seen. You could not pry these close friends apart.
- Anon 9:13
@Anon 9:31. In Laeken the coffee and dessert buffet is always served in the famous Green houses where birds are flying around between the most beautiful trees and flowers from over the whole world. The dinner was as follows : first course shrimps of Zeebruges, second course Coucou de Malines (special race of chicken) with foie gras, third course Grand-Cru of chocolate and cherries
حذف@Deadeggs 20:22 Yes those days are gone. People don't eat so much anymore, especially people who have regularly receptions, dinner party's and buffet's, walking diners, etc... A family event in the old days was eating and drinking from about 12.30 until 20.00. Now they start later with a little reception first followed by a 3 course menu and coffee, that's it. If they wish to stay to talk or to listen to music or to dance eventually OK and they can still have a drink too but after that everybody is going back home at a respectable hour.
حذفPics 5 and 6 are hilarious. The jewels display is really great, but Mathilde's lace cape ruins the all-round impression she makes quite a bit. Her gown is for the most part hidden under this lace tent devoid of any form. I am always happy to see Máx' beautiful arms and her very attractive décolletée.
ردحذفGM
Wow Maxima nails it
ردحذفShe does
حذفBest dressed Europe Queen for me.
حذفLes deux reines sont vraiment éblouissantes tant au niveau de leur robe que de leurs bijoux même si j'ai une préférence pour Maxima avec les diamants Stuart qui se marient bien avec la couleur de sa robe ; très bien coiffée !
ردحذفLa reine Maxima a plus de choix en ce qui concerne des bijoux et des diadèmes en particulier. Vous oubliez que des bijoux et des diadèmes qui ont été portés par les reines des Belges beaucoup ont disparus . Il circulent plusieurs théories, mais une chose est certaine, les bijoux et diadèmes qui ont été achetés pour ou donnés comme cadeau aux différentes reines dans le passé, appartenaient à la reine en question et elle pouvait en faire ce qu'elle voulait. Aux Pays-Bas et dans d'autres Royaumes ces bijoux appartiennent à l'état ou à la nation si vous voulez. En Grande-Bretagne c'était la reine Elizabeth II qui, selon les coutumes et les ciconstances, décidait qui pouvait porté quoi et quand.
حذفBeautiful ladies, beautiful dresses and jewellery. But I can't resist from thinking, why on earth did Mathilde put on that summer curtain over the shoulders.....think it would have been super without that.....could it be lace from the region.....still looks like a summer curtain. Ca
ردحذفThe dress is designed by Armani Privé. Maybe you should complain there and ask him. "lace from the region" ? Maybe her wedding veil was made in Brussels lace but these days there are no lace workers any more. All the real lace is in the museum. The lace that is sold in the shops for tourists in Brussels is not made by hand anymore but by machines. And often (I don't know if it is true but it wouldn't surprise me) made in China.
حذفI wish to say something about Princess Astrid too. In the past she always had very classic and beautiful evening gowns. Lately she is experimenting with her daydresses going for more up-to-date fashion. Also in this evening dress one can see the difference with her older gala dresses. Orange, pink, fuchsia, red a whole range of colors that can be mixed now. I admire her for her creativity. A pity we cannot see her tiara very well. I think I remember I saw her one day with a tiara coming from the House of Habsburg. A stunning piece of jewelry.
ردحذفLove her out-of-the-box attitude (PA).
حذفSparkling colours matching each ofter in a fiery way.
And adds some opera-drama!
-Anna-
QMax seems to be really fond of the Stuart Tiara. QMat wears two (one could even say three) tiaras at the same time: The Nine Provinces in full setting (Bandeau and Arches) plus the Wolfers Necklace Tiara as - well, you guessed it - a necklace. I like the colour of QMat's gown but not so much the style. Kudos to Pss Astrid for her bold colour choice. Made her truly pop out.
ردحذفThe “candid” photos are delightful.
ردحذفThey look like two women meeting in the powder room to gossip. I love it.
ردحذفThank you Maxima. Everyone else seems to be hiding the Crown Jewels, but she takes them out for a stroll regularly. Royallty needs to step it up. We need to see the treasures of these kingdoms.
ردحذفI am late to the show and can only agree with all the superlatives used by previous posts. Both queens are gorgeous in their gala dresses and jewellery.
ردحذفLadyofthemanor
For me this is 'double wow' event. I don't particularly like any of the dresses, plus your comments are much richer than what I could add, however the jewelry!! What a treat!!
ردحذفAnd the friendship between the queens is so fun to see! I wonder which language do they speak,? Maxima is fluent in all, Mathilde not so strong in Dutch.
Matilde took Maxima under her wing, when she first moved to Europe, before the engagement and before she finally moved to The Netherlands, of course they have lots to chat!
No botox in either Queen, love it
Luna
Queen Mathilde speaks good Dutch and English by now. The only problem is the French accent but her vocabulary has much improved since she became queen.
حذفThese ladies’ outfits go to show that they take themselves too seriously.
ردحذف@ Anonymous 17:05 Therefore it is a state visit. During their daily activities they both are rather dressed simple, elegant but simple. When you look at older pictures of state visits during the 50thees and the 60thees the queens were dressed much more glamourous in very expensive gowns with even more jewels than now. I think of queen Juliana and queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, the late queen Elizabeth II of the U.K., queen Fabiola of the Belgians, Farah Diba of Persia, etc...
حذفI don’t see how.
حذفAbsolutely fabulous and dazzling!!! Both Queens are perfect and I love all the diamonds. Both gowns are gorgeous.
ردحذفJanet
The royals invite each other so the Kings can wear their medals, and the Queens can wear their many jewels, tiaras, necklaces, earrings, etc. Very ostentatious.
ردحذفMaxima’s dress is a tale of two parts. I love the top part of the dress, and would have loved it to carry through onto the bodice.Bottom part of the dress had me in mind of the white dress Catherine wore to the Trump State visit dinner.Too fluffy! The jewellery is breathtaking! The Stuart tiara is on another level with other tiaras,(as are the matching diamonds!)I think the Dutch RF must have one of the best jewellery collections amongst all the European RF’s!
ردحذفMathilde dress, I love the colour. But the cape detail was too fussy, unnecessary. The dress underneath was beautiful on its own. Matched with the complimentary jewellery, the look was sublime. Bea
Thanks to Helen for including some photos of the table setting and the room in which the state dinner was held.
ردحذفMaxima and the Stuart diadem, perfection.
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