As many had hoped, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands was finally seen wearing the full Stuart Tiara last night during the state banquet. She wore a version of the Stuart Tiara in May 2018 during a state visit to Luxembourg but the elusive Stuart Diamond of a whopping 40 carats was missing from the tiara.
The Stuart Tiara was perhaps the perfect tiara to wear for a state visit to the United Kingdom as its first recorded owner was Queen Mary II, who was co-ruler with the Dutch-born King William III. The full tiara had not been seen in public for around 40 years. They had purchased the diamond and it was originally set in a brooch. Queen Máxima also wore the full devant de corsage from the Stuart Parure.
The host of the evening, Her Majesty The Queen, paired one of her favourite tiaras, the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara, with the Diamond Festoon Necklace, diamond earrings, and a diamond and pearl bracelet. She wore the Cullinan III and IV Brooch to secure the sash of the Order of the Netherlands Lion. The Cullinan Diamond was cut in Amsterdam in 1908.
The Duchess of Cornwall wore the Greville Tiara, with pearl drop earrings and a pearl choker necklace with a diamond and pink topaz clasp.
The Duchess of Cambridge wore the Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara, one of her favourites, and the Collingwood Pearl Earrings that once belonged to Diana, Princess of Wales. Her necklace was from Queen Alexandra’s wedding to the future King Edward VII and she was wearing the Queen’s Royal Family Order in public for the first time. She received the order in December 2017 and choose to have made it of glass instead of ivory.
King Willem-Alexander was also seen with a new honor. He was appointed a supernumerary Knight of the Garter by Her Majesty The Queen.
