Prinsjesdag 2003-2012

[princess olga]

It actually is the backside of Noordeinde Palace. I think the Queen is leaving for Huis ten Bosch Palace.

I'm not familiar with the back side of Noordeinde, I'd have thought they had some sort of private park in the back, not accessible to paparazzi?

 

[Henri M.]

A corset over a jacket? You wear a corset under your jacket or with your suspenders and nothing else - what a fashion disaster. I like the Queen's outfit and Princess Margriet's but which drag queen is Margriet taking make-up advice from? She's got it plastered on and her eye-liner is so thick I'm suprised she doesn't have to throw her head back to open her eyes.

I think Princess Magriet is ill and not feeling well today. I could see she tried to hide feelings of pain with a sort of grim. She was totally not her exuberant self. It speaks for her sense of duty that she was vast determined to accompany her sister.

I liked Princess Laurentien's fantasyful outfit. The train was very elegant too. It is no Holy Mass or a Coronation. Just the highday of democracy which is a very festive day in the whole of The Hague, with balls et al.

 

[TLLK]

Actually, I believe this was the "best-dressed" Prinsjesdag in recent memory.

 

[BeatrixFan]

Princess Margriet always seems to wear alot of make-up. In the picture of her leaving in that brown ensemble, she's taken it all off and still looks good so why go a la Dame Edna in the first place?

Princess Laurentien's outfit was perfect apart from the corset which was just too strange.

 

[Mandrake]

Anyone else heard the news about the Golden Coach? Apparently they are planning some drastic restaurations. According to my local newspaper three generations of royal behinds really left their mark to the fragile embroidery on the lining. The coach will need new booklet gold and the paintings on the sides have to be restored.
The paper also reported that the glass coach would be restored as well, but I suppose they mean the Gala Glas Berline that Margriet and Pieter used today.
Works to the Golden Coach will take three years to complete and will be done by personal of the Royal Mews. The director of the National Coach Museum will give advice so he told the newspaper Dagblad van het Noorden.

Here's the link to the newspaper article ( in dutch)
http://www.dvhn.nl/nieuws/noorden/article920142.ece

And for those of you who like to see the bad state of the interior of the coach: http://www.koninklijkhuis.nl/content.jsp?objectid=4602
you need quicktime for this.. and maybe the refresh button.

 

[Sister Morphine]

A corset over a jacket? You wear a corset under your jacket or with your suspenders and nothing else - what a fashion disaster. I like the Queen's outfit and Princess Margriet's but which drag queen is Margriet taking make-up advice from? She's got it plastered on and her eye-liner is so thick I'm suprised she doesn't have to throw her head back to open her eyes.

You know, for once we agree on something. Laurentien looked HORRENDOUS, which is really nothing new for her. The color was the only thing I liked. I liked that color. On anything that but that outfit, mind you. She's not exactly a 10, so when you add that to her inability to dress sometimes, it's a bit of a disaster.


Maxima looked nice. I liked the combination of black and white, but I could do without the flowers in her hair. Maybe one flower tucked in the chignon or french twist would have been fine, but that many is just overkill.


I hate the Queen's hat. It looks like a boat.....or a serving dish. I can't make up my mind which one.

 

[Henri M.]

Backside of Noordeinde Palace

I'm not familiar with the back side of Noordeinde, I'd have thought they had some sort of private park in the back, not accessible to paparazzi?

Noordeinde Palace is a great 17th C palace, but it lies in the middle of The Hague's city centre. It has a green park (the Princesses' Garden) but it is enclosed with royal buildings like the various wings of the palace itself, the Royal Archives, the Royal Stables, etc. That is also why since 1948 no any royal has actually lived in there.

Cour d'Honneur at the front: http://historie.denhaag.org/dhh374x.jpg

The palace at the backside: http://foto.denhaag.org/fotos/15/2/46/536.jpg

 

[Henri M.]

You know, for once we agree on something. Laurentien looked HORRENDOUS, which is really nothing new for her. The color was the only thing I liked. I liked that color. On anything that but that outfit, mind you. She's not exactly a 10, so when you add that to her inability to dress sometimes, it's a bit of a disaster.


Maxima looked nice. I liked the combination of black and white, but I could do without the flowers in her hair. Maybe one flower tucked in the chignon or french twist would have been fine, but that many is just overkill.


I hate the Queen's hat. It looks like a boat.....or a serving dish. I can't make up my mind which one.

Princess Laurentien was fantastic. She had a very elegant train and her wonderful female silhouette was perfectly catched with this gown.

Princess Máxima was muy latina and very regal, like her spouse by the way.

On TV the Queen was sparkling: there is a golden glimmer over her lamé texture robe and together with the diamond earrings, broche, a diamond pin on her back, diamond bracelets and rings, she did look very glitzy on TV. Something the pictures did not chatch at all.

The music for the Entrata was heavenly and the restorated Ridderzaal was a lustre for the eye indeed.

 

[BeatrixFan]

I think that if the jacket had been allowed to go all the way down to where the corset finished, it would have been a brilliant outfit. But she hasn't got a good figure so what we got was her being chopped in half by some old boot laces and it wasn't flattering. She obviously thought that a corset would give her an hour glass figure and it might have done had she worn it properly. The skirt was actually quite nice but it's that corset that really let her down.

Henri M, the Queen's frock was definately not lamé, it didn't shimmer like lamé and it certainly didn't hang like lamé. The jewellery she wore was stunning but then diamonds can't be anything else can they? I liked the frock - the sleeves were quite funky but I think the whole thing needed colour. And the hat appeared to be picking up Sky.

 

[Henri M.]

The 'corset' does not distract me. I thought it was a very playful gown and very laurentienesque. This Princess should always wear this sort of outfits.

A mother of three, in her forties, with such a great figure. I like it.

See this picture: http://majesty.web-log.nl/photos/uncategorized/06091919.jpg

 

[Henri M.]

silk brodée façonnée of a goldcoloured lamé

Henri M, the Queen's frock was definately not lamé, it didn't shimmer like lamé and it certainly didn't hang like lamé.

From the Royal House website (translated by me):

Her Majesty The Queen
Stately robe with a round neckline and accents on the sleeves.
The robe is made of silk brodée façonnée of a goldcoloured lamé.
The Queen wore a matching hat.
The decoration worn by Her majesty were the riband and breast star belonging to the Grand Cross in the Order of the Netherlands Lion.

 

[soCal girl]

All the royal ladies looked wonderful today! As for Laurentien, I can safely say that is not her worst outfit so all is okay. I love it when Maxima has a headpiece instead of a hat for Prinsjesdag. You can actually see her face on the balcony! Thanks to everybody who posted pictures.

 

[BeatrixFan]

Hmmm. They may say lamé but it certainly doesn't look like any lamé I've seen and I've seen alot of lamé.

 

[Henri M.]

Today's textures

Hmmm. They may say lamé but it certainly doesn't look like any lamé I've seen and I've seen alot of lamé.

The ladies' textures:

The Queen's robe was made of silk brodée façonnée of a goldcoloured lamé.

Princess Máxima wore a skirt of black tule completed with a creamy white silk jacket.

Princess Laurentien wore a long bleu woollen crêpe de Paris cocarde-style gown with a split at the left foreleg. The backside ends in a train. The gown is finished with blue silk.

Princess Margriet wore a lilac ensemble made of silk.

 

[Maxie]

Hahahaha, Sam recognises a good lame when he sees it!
I'm with you on the corset though. It might be quite nice for Laurentien's standard, but I think it such a pity that she can't just pick something normal for once. But well, I'm just an old fashioned girl when it comes to fashion, I guess...

 

[BeatrixFan]

Thanks for the list Henri M. I use alot of material in my profession and most of my outfits have a hint of lamé. The Queen's dress is thicker and slightly more raised than normal lamé should be which makes me doubt that it is. I say my hair is naturally light brown - it's a bottle job. It's quite possible that the list given isn't 100% correct and I still say that that frock aint lamé.

 

[BeatrixFan]

Right. This is lamé - it shines, it's slippery and won't hang to a body shape, it has to be carefully pinned. What the Queen is wearing seems to be a softer gold coloured tweed, almost like a pressed gold tweed.

So, lamé;



As you can see, it isn't at all like the Queen's outfit.

(Pic from LDfashions.com)

 

[carlota]

every year i love more and more the prinsjesdag... it really has nothing to envy to the most sparkling gala royal events!

maxima really looked gorgeous, feminine and elegant. she really had a nice collection of outfits for this event over the years!

 

[JessRulz]

Maxima - 10 out of 10!! Beautiful outfit, and a stunning hairpiece! Very elegant and classy
Beatrix - 6 out of 10...would have been better in a different colour
Laurentien - 6 out of 10....the corset on the outside ruined it for me
Margriet - 9 out of 10, lovely colour and design, very nice

Thanks everyone for the pictures links...Henri, I love the picture you posted!!

 

[Henri M.]

No corset

According to experts on Dutch TV Princess Laurentien wore no corset at all. It was a jacket which ingeniously ended in a sort of corset.

 

[Sister Morphine]

Princess Laurentien was fantastic. She had a very elegant train and her wonderful female silhouette was perfectly catched with this gown.

Princess Máxima was muy latina and very regal, like her spouse by the way.

On TV the Queen was sparkling: there is a golden glimmer over her lamé texture robe and together with the diamond earrings, broche, a diamond pin on her back, diamond bracelets and rings, she did look very glitzy on TV. Something the pictures did not chatch at all.

The music for the Entrata was heavenly and the restorated Ridderzaal was a lustre for the eye indeed.

Question....must you always talk like you're writing a collegiate term paper? That's one of my biggest internet pet peeves.


And no, Laurentien didn't look fantastic. She looked ridiculous, like she usually does.

 

[Henri M.]

The gowns and hats are of second importance

Let us not forget what Prinsjesdag is all about: The Queen giving an outline for the coming parliamentary year and the offering of the Budget 2007.

In between Princess Laurentien's bustière and Princess Máxima's flowery hairdo the real thing The Queen had to say was: the economy is doing better than in the surrounding countries, the unemployment rate is the lowest in the EU, the inflation is very limited, the Budget 2007 even has a surplus instead of huge deficits as is the case in many countries.

Thát was what Prinsjesdag is all about, indeed done in old and traditional rituals but discussing the pro and cons of The Queen's 'UFO' is still always better than the Danish monarch sitting in a daily suit on the public loge or the Belgian monarch who glitters by his total absence.

Picture: Harry van Reeken, The Hague, foto.denhaag.org

 

[Sister Morphine]

Let us not forget what Prinsjesdag is all about: The Queen giving an outline for the coming parliamentary year and the offering of the Budget 2007.

In between Princess Laurentien's bustière and Princess Máxima's flowery hairdo the real thing The Queen had to say was: the economy is doing better than in the surrounding countries, the unemployment rate is the lowest in the EU, the inflation is very limited, the Budget 2007 even has a surplus instead of huge deficits as is the case in many countries.

Thát was what Prinsjesdag is all about, indeed done in old and traditional rituals but discussing the pro and cons of The Queen's 'UFO' is still always better than the Danish monarch sitting in a daily suit on the public loge or the Belgian monarch who glitters by his total absence.

I don't think anyone here forgot about the real purpose of the day. I enjoy coming to these boards because I learn a lot about the different cultures, traditions and people in these various monarchies. I can always count on people here to know what's going on.

 

[Maxie]

Henri, I agree with you that the flowers and hats are of second importance, but well, I actually come here to have some fun (and I think most of us do). I think that if we just would go on about the Dutch economy, TRF would definitely loose a lot of flair. And don't get too exited on the Dutch economy and on how well our country is doing. There are still a lot of problems in education and health care (two fields I worked in myself). At work (a health care related business which is payed with government expenses) the Troonrede was all over the place yesterday. So after a day full of reflections on these thing that indeed do matter, I just wanted to come here, log in and scream about Laurentien's corset. Shallow? Well yeah, but one can't go to the opera every night, read literature all day and come up with comments that do show a great insight in the constitution of a small and unimportant country at the other side of the ocean.

Just my two cents...

 

[Marengo]

As it is the solemn opening of parlament, like Henri said, some poeple might have the respect towards the country not to appear like clowns in the Hall of Knights.

I am especially refering to some ghastly hats of an SP member of parlament and one from Labour. The first was wearing a hat with small aeroplanes and the second one a hat with a fan on top which says ´Grunnen´ (dialect for the name of the province Groningen). These ladies have to remember that this is NOT ascot and Prinsjesdag is not about who wears the most rediculous hat.

On that note I would like to continue with the royals. I am getting a bit tired of Laurentiens style. Always trying to wear something rediculous. If she was a private person she could wear whatever she wanted but as a woman representing the Netherlands one could expect SOME decency (I am referring to her SM-corset). She did not learn from the Copenhagen disaster and should start wearing a bra. And she could take some lessons from Princess Margriet to as Laurentien was sitting on her chair like a folded bag of potatoes.

Maxima´s outfit was ok, but not to special IMO. I didn´t care for the hairstyle that much, but it wasn´t ugly either (just to barbie IMO). I think the outfit would have had more grandeur if she would have worn a nice har with it.

Now the Queen.... her worst prinsjesdag outfit ever! It looked incredibly plumb. The dress was to wide and the colour did nothing for her. As she had wide sleeves one could see most of her arms while she was waving to. By now we are used to the rediculous hats, but this enormous flying saucer/pyramid is one of the worst she ever wore IMO. Sadly it resembles her hat of Queensday so she must like the style & will repeat it.

Princess Margriet was the best dressed lady IMO, though her fluffy hat seems to be the same every year (just in another colour).

 

[Henri M.]

I thought the Queen was sparkling. On TV her gold gown did look like there were numerous little glimmers in the texture, a detail which went totally lost in pictures.

The Queen did fit very well with the modernized Ridderzaal, her colour coming back in the tapestries and the carpets, with this probably linking to the glorious come-back of a medieaval festive Hall.

Princess Máxima was as classy as ever.

Princess Laurentien was as laurentienesque as ever.

Princess Margriet was as boring as ever.

I think posters are forgetting how disastrous the Queen and the Princesses did look in the Seventies, with those strange and ugly coloured kaftans and turban-style 'hats' and the parliamentarians just wearing smelly cheap nylon suits and no lady to be spotted with a hat. Year after year Prinsjesdag is improving. I have liked it very much.

Leve de Koningin! (Hoera! Hoera! Hoera!)

 

[Sister Morphine]

I think posters are forgetting how disastrous the Queen and the Princesses did look in the Seventies, with those strange and ugly coloured kaftans and turban-style 'hats' and the parliamentarians just wearing smelly cheap nylon suits and no lady to be spotted with a hat. Year after year Prinsjesdag is improving. I have liked it very much.

I was born in 1982 and in Chicago, Illinois. I would not have known what people wore to Prinsjesdag back in the 1970s or what they didn't wear. You may think that it's improving in style year after year and that's cool.......but we are still allowed to comment on what people are wearing because otherwise, this site would be very droll.

 

[Madame Royale]

HRH the Princess of Oranje was perfectly dressed. Such a beautiful two piece and what flattering shades.

And her hair of late has been the best I've ever seen it.

 

[Sister Morphine]

HRH the Princess of Oranje was perfectly dressed. Such a beautiful two piece and what flattering shades.

And her hair of late has been the best I've ever seen it.

I also thought Maxima looked nice, my only thing was with all the flowers in her hair. As I said earlier, one would have been nicer than however many she had.

 

[Henri M.]

Princess Máxima's hairpiece was worn before

I also thought Maxima looked nice, my only thing was with all the flowers in her hair. As I said earlier, one would have been nicer than however many she had.

See 1982:
http://www.beneluxpress.nl/downloadpicturepreview.pp?id=1841795

See 1986:
http://www.beneluxpress.nl/downloadpicturepreview.pp?id=894591