On 5th June Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima hosted this year’s banquet for the Diplomatic Corps stationed in the Netherlands. This has been an annual event for quite a few years and luckily for those who enjoy these splendid occasions the Dutch Royal Court still adhere to the elegant dress code of white-tie.
In addition to members of the Diplomatic Corps invitations had also been sent out to leaders of important Dutch companies operating internationally.
The grand Citizen’s Hall had been converted into a splendid Dining Room with long tables, beautiful decorations and floral arrangements. Their Majesties were seated opposite each other at the main table. King Willem-Alexander looked very smart in his tailcoat and white bow tie. He wore the Sash and Breast Star of the highest decoration of the Netherlands, the Military Order of William (Militaire Willems-Orde). This is one of the very few occasions that the King wears this Order as for State Banquets in connection with State Visits he wears either the incoming country’s highest decoration or the Sash and Breast Star of the Order of the Netherlands Lion. His Majesty was also seen wearing a row of miniature medals pinned to his tailcoat. The first one belongs to the Order of the Netherlands Lion and he also wore the Breast Star of this Order. Next in the row of miniatures could be seen the insignia of the Order of Orange-Nassau, then the insignias of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau, the Order of the House of Orange and the Officer Long Service Cross followed by the miniature of the Order of St. John in the Netherlands, Queen Beatrix Inauguration Medal and the Eleven Cities Cross.
Queen Máxima looked magnificent in a red evening gown which she combined with Diamond and Ruby jewels from the fabulous collection of the Dutch Royal Family:
- Tiara from the Ruby Peacock parure
- Necklace from the Ruby Peacock parure
- Pending Ruby cluster earrings from the Mellerio Ruby parure
- Bracelet from the Ruby Peacock parure
- Ruby cluster ring
Seated to the right of His Majesty was Ambassador Sahar Ghanem, the Yemen Ambassador to the Netherlands and currently the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps stationed in the Netherlands. Like the King the Ambassador also gave a speech during the banquet.
On her Twitter account the Ambassador provided some more details on the beautiful gown she wore. It was made by the Yemeni brand Saba Soul and the embellishment was not only decorative but had in fact a deeper meaning. It was Yemeni letters and they read a part of the text of the poem “And I Came from Sheba” by the Yemeni poet, Abdul Karim Al-Afeiri.
Other guests at the banquet included Ambassadors from neighbouring Belgium and also the Nordic countries:
Ambassador Anick Van Calster (Belgium) can be seen wearing the Sash and Breast Star of the Order of Orange-Nassau just like Ambassador Jarl Frijs-Madsen who can be seen in the middle of the photo in the twitter post by the Belgian Embassy above. He also wearing the insignia of the Order of Dannebrog pinned to his lapel as a Knight 1st Class of the Order (2011). The Swedish Ambassador Johannes Oljelund can also be seen in the photo wearing the Neck-tie and Breast Star of the Order of Orange-Nassau indicating that he has been awarded the grade of Grand Officer in the Order by His Majesty.
Other guests at the banquet also posted on Twitter:
REGAL EVENTS 
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