Tag: State Visit to the Netherlands

State Visit

2024 – Spanish State Visit to the Netherlands

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In only a few days King Felipe VI of Spain in the company of his wife Queen Letizia will pay a State Visit to the Netherlands. They will be welcomed by King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima on 17th April. The first day of the visit will conclude with a grand State Banquet and it has already been reported that both the Princess of Orange and the former Queen of the Netherlands Princess Beatrix will attend the banquet. It will be the very first State Banquet attended by the Princess of Orange and Royal watchers are naturally very excited. The Princess has already attended a couple of tiara events but these have taken place abroad including Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway’s 18th birthday, the wedding of Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan and Crown Prince Christian’s 18th birthday.

Although the Dutch Royal Family hosts splendid banquets for most State Visits they are not always attended by many of the members of the Royal Family apart from the King and Queen. But we are in for a treat this time around. Because not only are the King and Queen joined by the Princess of Orange and former Queen Beatrix but it has also been reported that the King’s aunt Princess Margriet are attending too. So this means that we will have at least five tiaras on display. Speculations are already running high as to what tiara will be worn by who. Luckily the Dutch Royal Family has quite a large collection to choose from.

But in addition to the tiaras and all the other glittering jewels we will also see many donning shining new Orders. From the Spanish Royal Court it has already been announced that both King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima will receive the Order of Carlos III. His Majesty will be awarded the Grand Cross with Collar while the Queen will receive the Grand Cross. Both were awarded the Order of Isabel the Catholic in connection with King Juan Carlos I’s State Visit to the Netherlands in 2001.

At the time of this announcement no mention was made to the Princess of Orange or any other awards which one would expect during a State Visit. It was only some time later that it was finally made public that the Princess of Orange will be awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabel the Catholic. It will be interesting to see how the Princess will combine the yellow colour of the Sash with her gown and jewels. With the colours of the Spanish flag being red and yellow we might see some rubies or even a red gown.

Having paid a State Visit to Spain herself and hosted King Juan Carlos I’s State Visit to the Netherlands in 2001 as well as attending King Juan Carlos’s first State Visit to the Netherlands in 1980 former Queen Beatrix has been awarded both the Order of Isabel the Catholic (1980) and the Order of the Golden Fleece (1985). It is not certain that the former Queen will wear any of them to the State Banquet though. She has already attended a few State Banquets after her abdication where she has not worn any Orders from the visiting country even though we know that she had been awarded one during her reign. Princess Beatrix has been seen wearing the red Bow of the Order of the Golden Fleece after her abdication though. When she visited Spain in 2016 to open the exhibition of Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch athe Prado Museum she was joined by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia and pinned to her dress was the insignia of the Order of the Golden Fleece. So it should not come as a great surprise if we see Princess Beatrix wear the red Bow of this ancient Order to the banquet.

Both Princess Margriet and her husband Professor Pieter van Vollenhoven have also been awarded a Spanish decoration in the past. In connection with King Juan Carlos I’s first State Visit to the Netherlands back in 1980 they received the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabel the Catholic.

No announcement has been made by the Dutch Royal Court concerning any Orders awarded. But it is expected that both King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia will be awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion. King Felipe VI was already awarded a lower ranked Dutch Order in connection with Queen Beatrix’s State Visit to Spain in 1985 when he received the Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau. Queen Letizia received the Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown in 2014, a few months after King Felipe VI’s accession.

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Weekly Reviews

My thoughts on Royal events week 14/22

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For the first time since November 2019 Their Majesties the King and Queen of Sweden invited to a splendid official dinner at the Royal Palace on April 6th. Usually such a dinner is held at least once each year in Sweden. But due to the exceptional situation with Covid, lock-down and several waves of the virus made such gatherings impossible until now. An official dinner had in fact been planned for March 4th in 2020, but it had to be cancelled at the very last minute.

The guests, who numbered about 150, were welcomed by the Royal Family in the Vita Havet. Unlike previous years, due to the Covid pandemic that hit Sweden hard, there was no handshaking between the Royal Family and the guests. Among the guests were politicians, members from the Diplomatic Corps, representatives from various authorities, science, sport, business and culture, as well as people the Royal Family had met on their visits. Many of them had been invited to the dinner which had been planned in 2020. A list of the guests can be found here.

After all the guests had been welcomed the party moved into the Karl XI Gallery which had been converted to a magnificent dining room. The 48 meter long table had been covered with white table linen – a gift to King Gustaf VI Adolf in 1959. The plates where from a set gifted to King Carl XVI Gustaf in 1996 for his 50th birthday by the Riksdag and the Swedish Government. It had been designed by Karin Björgquist and made by Hackman-Rörstrand Gustafsberg. Another gift to the King and Queen – this time in connection with their wedding in 1976 – from the Riksdag and the Swedish Government was the crystal used. Kosta had used the design by Sigurd Persson to create this wonderful set.

Adding to the beauty of the table was the Brazilian Silver Service, an heirloom from Queen Josephine’s sister Empress Amalia of Brazil. It ended up in Sweden after the Empress death in 1873.

Her Majesty combined her stunning Sapphire parure with a cornflower blue dress by Georg et Arend, a German Fashion House. On her right wrist could also be seen a Diamond bracelet. With this the Queen wore the pale blue Sash and the Breast Star of the Order of the Seraphim. Pinned to her gorgeous gown she also wore the King’s portrait in a Diamond frame.

The honour of escorting Her Majesty to the table had been bestowed on the Minister of Justice, Mr Morgan Johansson. He would in fact only a few days later cause a minor clash with the Royal Court when he published a Government proposal to remove several official flagging days; including the one on Her Majesty’s birthday once Crown Princess Victoria succeeds her father to the throne. His Excellency the Ambassador to Ukraine to Sweden Andrii Plakhotniuk was seated to the Queen’s right at the table.

Her Royal Highness had chosen an elegant red evening gown created by Pär Engsheden. The Crown Princess has worn this at several occasions already and it suits her perfectly. With this she wore the Laurel Wreath tiara and the Queen Josephine Corsage necklace she inherited from the late Princess Lilian. In her ears the impressive Diamond Floral earrings from the Swedish Royal Jewel Collection glittered and the Ruby brooch pinned to the pale blue Sash of the Order of the Seraphim. Rubies seem to feature in the bracelet on the Crown Princess’ right wrist too, a row of them being bordered by a row of of Diamonds on each side. Another Diamond brooch was pinned to the Sash at the back and like the Queen the Crown Princess also wore the portrait of her father the King in a Diamond frame.

The honour of escorting Her Royal Highness to the table befell the Minister for Financial Markets Mr Max Elger. The Minister of Justice was placed to her right at the table.

Princess Sofia wore an emerald green silk gown created by the house of Dagmar. It is not a new purchase as the Princess also wore this to the Nobel Ceremony back in 2018. The rich colour of the creation was a perfect match to the Emeralds worn in her Palmette Wedding tiara and the dark green stones (Emeralds also?) in her earrings. A slim Diamond bracelet graced the Princess’ left wrist. Additionally Her Royal Highness wore an antique Pearl and Diamond brooch with a Pearl pendant and a small Diamond brooch at the back. The brooches were used to fasten the Sash of the Order of the Seraphim that she wore together with the Order’s Breast Star. Pinned to her gown was also the portrait of King Carl XVI Gustaf in Diamonds.

The Ukrainian Ambassador escorted the Princess to the table while the Ambassador of Iceland was seated to her right hand side.

A very nice surprise was to see His Majesty’s sister Princess Christina Mrs Magnuson attend the dinner. Wearing a purple chiffon gown with sequin embroidery and see-through sleeves. She combined the outfit with the Six-Button Diamond tiara, two strings of sizeable Pearls with a Pearl pendant and a Pearl button brooch. Even in her ears she wore Pearl pendant earrings. Crossing over from her right shoulder to her left hip was the pale blue Sash of the Order of the Seraphim with the corresponding Breast Star pinned to her gown. Like all the other Royal ladies she wore the portrait of the King in a Diamond frame. She even wore another honour bestowed upon her by His Majesty and that was the King’s Medal in Brilliants Size 18 on a chain.

Princess Christina was escorted to the table by the Ambassador of Iceland.

The Royal gentlemen all looked very smart in their white-tie and orders. His Majesty and Their Royal Highnesses Prince Daniel and Prince Carl Philip wore the Sash and Breast Star of the Order of the Seraphim and the black Neck-tie of the Order of the Polar Star. The King also wore the Breast Star of the Order of Vasa pinned to his jacket. The other main difference was the medals worn by all three. His Majesty wore five commemorative medals marking: the 90th anniversary of King Gustav V (1948), the 85th anniversary of King Gustav VI Adolf (1967), the 100th anniversary of the birth of King Haakon VII of Norway (1972), the Silver Jubilee of King Olav V of Norway (1982) and the Silver Jubilee of King Harald of Norway (2016). Prince Daniel only wore two medals on his lapel: the Ruby Jubilee (40 years reign) of King Carl XVI Gustaf (2013) and the 70th anniversary of King Carl XVI Gustaf (2016). Five medals were also worn by Prince Carl Philip: 70th anniversary of King Carl XVI Gustaf (2016), the Ruby Jubilee of King Carl XVI Gustaf (2013), the 50th anniversary of King Carl XVI Gustaf (1996), the Wedding of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel (2010) and finally the Uppland Medal of Merit (2008).

The King escorted the Second Deputy Speaker Lotta Johnsson Fornarve to the table. Prime Minster Magdalena Andersson was seated to His Majesty’s left. Prince Daniel lead the Ambassador of Finland Maimo Henriksson to the table and Second Deputy Speaker Lotta Johnsson Fornarve was seated to his left. Prince Carl Philip had the Prime Minster to his right while seated to his left was the Ambassador of Denmark Vibeke Lauritzen.

Mr Tord Magnuson was also in white-tie and could be seen wearing a few orders too. Although no Swedish Orders have been awarded to Swedish citizens since 1975 Mr Magnuson was created an officer in the Order of Vasa in 1972 and thus wears the badge around the neck in the Order’s green ribbon. In addition he wore the King’s Medal in the 12th Size in a ribbon around his neck in the same pale blue colour as the Order of the Seraphim. Pinned to his jacket could also be seen the badge as an Officer in the Order of the Legion of Honour (France). 

Menu

Steamed Norwegian king crab, marinated rutabaga, grapefruit and aromatic herbs

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Baked Icelandic monkfish, fresh lumpfish roe, butter-baked white asparagus, Sandefjord sauce and chives

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Braised spring lamb from Mälardalen, lamb gravy with wild garlic and glazed celeriac

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Lemon meringue, citrus sorbet, juniper berry oil, last year's elderflower, fennel pollen and French meringue

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Wines

Château Coucheroy 2015 Pessac-Léognan
Château Mancèdre 2010 Pessac-Léognan
Château du Juge 2011 Cadillac

The official dinner in Stockholm was not the only tiara event this week. In the Netherlands the King and Queen welcomed the President of India for a State Visit. As is usual the first day ended with a State Banquet at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam. Luckily it was a white-tie event, which meant tiara sightings, and not the rather low-key suit and tie dresscode which was observed in Belgium two weeks ago when the President of Austria visited Brussels.

To read more about the State Visit, you can press here. It will bring you to the page created on this blog on the Indian State Visit.

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