A couple of weeks back was the Inauguration/Crowing of Willem-Alexander and Máxima of the Netherlands. Queen Beatrix abdicated her throne to her oldest son and became Princess Beatrix and now Europe has a fabulous South American-born Queen! But lots of attention went to Crown Princess Masako of Japan. Why?


Well, for starters, this was her first official trip abroad in nearly 11 years! After marrying the Crown Prince in 1993, Masako has been quite of a mystery and much-discussed royal. HIH Crown Princess Masako graduated from Harvard University and she came from a diplomatic family. After the marriage, HIH Crown Princess Masako found a lot of difficulty adjusting herself to her own position as a crown princess of Japan.  In December 2003, she came down with shingles and spent weeks in hospital. In July 2004 the palace announced an official diagnosis of “stress-induced adjustment disorder.”, saying that Masako suffered from a mental illness. She refrained from doing almost all the official duties of crown princess. She has been undergoing treatment for a stress-induced illness for many years which has restricted her travel and her workload to almost nothing. Oh, and did I mention she has "failed to produce" a male heir. Mon Diue!

Princess Máxima of the Netherlands, wife of Willem-Alexander Prince of Orange heir-apparent to the throne of the Netherlands will become queen consort in less than a week--on April 30th. In case you haven't been keeping up with all things Euro-Royal, Queen Beatrix is going to abdicate on that date and her oldest son, Willem-Alexander--husband to Crown Princess Máxima--will become King.




Máxima's new title as of April 30th will be HM Queen Máxima, Princess of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau, queen consort. Born Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti in Buenos Argentina--she will become the first Latina queen consort in Europe or so royal historians say. Now, what I am more interested in (naturally!) is her FASHION! There's much speculation as to what she will wear during the coronation day. So...let's take a look at her Fashion/Style Choices from the last few years, as well as her Top Three Designers. We know that A) She loves COLOR, a Good--and FABULOUS--hat, Couture (over $50,000 per gown PLEASE!), and she's NOT a Fashion Wallflower...

Máxima Loves a Good Hat:

The Dutch queen was accompanied by her son and heir-to-the-throne, Prince Willem-Alexander of Orange and his wife, Argentinian-born Princess Máxima as well as a trade delegation of Dutch companies. Oil giant Shell is part of a consortium operating in Brunei's extensive oil and gas fields. In other words, the Dutch and Brunei and Shell...are economically tied. It behooves all parties to smile and look fabulous, that is. By the way, this was the Queen's 53rd official state outing (!). On a selfish note: I am so jealous of her frequent flyer miles. Seriously.



HM Queen Beatirx began the visit in one of her typical flower printed dresses--a fuchsia colored one) with a ruffled collar and sleeves--and yes, her iconic hat (photos at top of this post), but it was at the State Visit Dinner where she really "brought it". Darlings, that above IS A QUEEN. 



Bell Day Two: On Day Two of her Brunei State Visit, HM Queen Beatrix wore this ensemble above for another Gala event. It was a blue, gold and violet colored silk shantung coat and gown with yes, you guessed it--bell-shaped sleeves. She loves that sleeve silhouette I guess.



Red Carpet Fab: At the "Day One" State Visit Gala Dinner, HRH Princess Maxima looked radiant in a silver-putty colored gown with multi-seams, a cowl-draped shawl, long sleeves, fitted waist and slight train. It was exquisite.



Day Two Princess: On the "Day Two" evening event, the Princess wore this nude-colored beaded column gown with matching satin jacket with three-quarter sleeves and French Cuff detail. It's a bit 1990's for my taste but I still think she looked elegant and appropriate for the event. The jacket, however, is very "Mother-of-the-Bride".

Canary Sport: On a "Day Outing" with her husband while on the 2-day Brunei State Visit, the Princess also gave some stylish "Day Looks", including this canary yellow Capri pant and matching tunic-shirt ensemble. Love the bright on-trend neon color, the sensible camel-colored flats, matching color gloves (a lady ALWAYS has gloves!) and...



The print on this body-con peplum dress was FANTASTIC--and so was that diamond pin! This is one of my favorite "Brunei Outfits" on the Princess. She is GIVING Fashion, very on-trend and very ready to be photographed! Lastly...