Queen Maxima dazzles in historic sapphires at lavish banquet during state visit
By Natalie Oliveri|
Queen Maxima brought out some of the Dutch royal family's most spectacular jewels to wear during an evening gala in Kenya.
The Queen and her husband, King Willem-Alexander, were the guests of honour at the dinner hosted by Kenya's president President William Ruto and his wife, First Lady Rachel Ruth.
It was a colourful, and glittering, end to the first day of their state visit which was marred by calls for the royal couple to cancel their tour.
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Kenya's government has been accused of arresting and detaining critics, especially after the June anti-government protests, during which demonstrators stormed parliament and torched a section of the building because they were angry over new taxes passed by legislators.
Along with cracking down on demonstrators and curbing free speech, the country also saw state-linked abductions of young men for social media posts deemed offensive to the president.
In December, during protests against widespread kidnappings and abductions, dozens of peaceful protesters were arrested.
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More than 20,000 Kenyans signed the petition on Change.org asking King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima to reconsider their visit.
Last month, the government in the Netherlands said that it had received more than 300 emails asking for the cancellation.
But the tour went ahead as planned and the King and Queen carried out a full day of engagements, including meetings with Kenyan youth on Tuesday.
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A highlight of any state visit – the highest level of an international tour and one that is held at the request of a government foreign office – is the evening state banquet when the dress code requires formal wear and, for the women, tiaras.
On Tuesday night, Queen Maxima wore an historic piece of jewellery known as the Dutch sapphire necklace tiara.
It came into the Dutch royal family in 1879 when the piece was gifted to Queen Emma of the Netherlands.
The necklace was transformed into a tiara in 2009 by Dutch jewellers Steltmann, with additional sapphires taken from from Queen Wilhelmina's dismantled Sapphire Parure (or 'set').
Then-Crown Princess Maxima wore the newly-created tiara for the first time in 2010 to attend a 70th birthday gala for Denmark's Queen Margrethe II at Fredensborg Palace, north of Copenhagen.
More recently, Princess Amalia – heir to the Dutch throne– wore the tiara to the 18th birthday party of Crown Prince Christian, at Christiansborg Palace in October 2023.
Overnight Queen Maxima wore the tiara, and a number of other impressive sapphires, for the banquet which matched her two-piece outfit: a blue silk top and a gold skirt featuring blue embroidery.
Pinned to the waistband of the skirt and worn like a belt was the Dutch sapphire bow brooch, which features a large emerald-cut sapphire surrounded by white diamonds.
Maxima also wore the sapphire figure-eight earrings (named due to their shape) which, along with the brooch, were both owned by Queen Wilhelmina who ruled the Netherlands through both the First and Second world wars and is the longest-reigning monarch in Dutch history at nearly 58 years on the throne.
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Queen Maxima accessorised with other sapphire jewels, including a bracelet and ring.
Earlier in the day, the 53-year-old stood out in a bold red cape dress by Natan with a matching wide-brimmed hat, mirroring the red from the flags of Kenya and the Netherlands. Her jewels included rubies from the Dutch royal vaults.
Within hours of touching down, King Willem-Alexander addressed the controversy that met the couple in Kenya, referencing the "concerns that exist in these areas".
"I'm pleased that our countries' strong and mature relationship allows us to devote attention during this visit to issues like human rights, good governance and accountability," he said.
"We are grateful to have the opportunity to discuss the concerns that exist in these areas," he said.
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