Week in Review: Crown Princess Mette-Marit, 22-28 January

1. a and b) Attending the Digital Life Design Conference in Munich, 22 January.
2. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, 25 January.
3. Day 2 of the forum, 26 January.

Photos: Zimbio/Getty Images/Lehtikuva

Week in Review: Crown Princess Victoria, 22-28 January

1. Visiting EKN, 23 January.
2. Attending a concert for the Royal Palace Youth Music Festival, 23 January.
3. Visiting the Ministry of Education and Research, 25 January.
4. At Members' Day for the Institute of Internal Affairs, 26 January.
5. Commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day, 27 January.

Photos: Lehtikuva/Svenskdam

Tiara Thursday: The Pearl Button Tiara

Our mini-celebration in honor of the 10th wedding anniversary of Willem-Alexander and Máxima concludes today with the tiara worn by dear Máx on her wedding day - or, to be more accurate, the tiara that was made into the tiara she wore that day: the Pearl Button Tiara.

 

The tiara is made of a diamond base swagged to support 5 upright pearl brooches (the buttons). Some say the base belonged to Queen Sophie of the Netherlands (wife of King Willem III; she lived from 1818-1877). But while the basic form of today's Pearl Button Tiara matches the tiara once worn by Sophie, the details are quite different. I would say it is either a new piece inspired by the old, or it's had quite the facelift.

Left, the tiara in question; right, some of the buttons from the set used as brooches

The "buttons" the base supports are small brooches which are part of a set that belonged to Queen Sophie and were also worn in brooch form by Queen Wilhelmina. Each one consists of a pearl button surrounded by diamond petals, and there are more in existence than are currently in use in the tiara.

Princess Margriet on her wedding day

Any which way you want to explain how the tiara came to its current form, the tiara that we know today was put on the map when Queen Juliana's daughter Margriet married Pieter van Vollenhoven in 1967 and chose to anchor her large updo with the pearl piece.

Queen Juliana, Princess Margriet, and Queen Beatrix have all worn this piece for regular tiara use, and Juliana loaned it to an in-law or two (her mother-in-law wore it prior to Margriet's wedding) but Margriet seems to have kicked off a tradition of using it for important events too.

Queen Beatrix at her investiture

Queen Beatrix chose the Pearl Button Tiara for her investiture as queen in 1980, and the base of the tiara was used by the court jeweler to make a new tiara for the 2002 wedding of Willem-Alexander and Máxima Zorreguieta.

Máxima on her wedding day

For this occasion, the pearl buttons were swapped out for one of the royal house's sets of diamond stars, 5 ten-point numbers that can also be worn as brooches or hair ornaments, and once belonged to Queen Emma. Máxima wore the newly created tiara on her wedding day and for the weddings of Princess Märtha Louise (2002) and Crown Prince Frederik (2004) after that, but we haven't seen the star version since.

More star tiara appearances

Star tiaras are tricky business (as, for that matter, are button tiaras). It's awfully easy to dip into hokey territory, and I'm sure there are those that find Máxima's adaptation here to be a tad too Las Vegas. But I love it. It's what you call an exceptional tiara-to-personality match, according to me.

Which version do you prefer: buttons or stars?

Photos: ANP/Corbis

Week in Review: Princess Mathilde, 22-28 January

1. Attending a lunch for members of the Belgian government, 24 January.
2. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, 25 January.
3. The opening concert of Denmark's takeover of the EU presidency, 26 January. I have to say I was surprised to see how many of you picked Mathilde's outfit over Mary's for this event. I felt like Mary brought something special, and this was more typical. Not bad in any way, just typical.

Photos: Reuters/Daylife/Lehtikuva/Purepeople/Abaca

Wedding Wednesday: Willem-Alexander and Máxima's Wedding Guests

And the celebrations for Prince Willem-Alexader and Princess Máxima's 10th wedding anniversary continue with a look at some of the fashions sported by the guests at their wedding, on February 2, 2002, and a little retroactive fashion awarding...

Best in Fur

Princess Marie-Chantal

Left to Right: Queen Margrethe of Denmark, Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg, Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece, Princess Mathilde of Belgium, Grand Duchess Joséphine Charlotte of Luxembourg

I suppose that's what you get with a wedding in chilly February: loads and loads of ladies with fur accents. I have to give this one to good old M-C. She stuck with prints after making such an impression at the pre-wedding party, and despite the slightly overgrown animal on her head, that's a gorgeous outfit.

Worst in Fur

Princess Margriet

L to R: Queen Sonja of Norway, Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece

Where there's good, there's always bad, be it in the form of mismatched accessories or overly long lengths. But none quite tops Margriet's technicolor fur number. I know it's a wedding, and it's certainly a loved up affair, but it's held on February 2nd, not 14th.

Best in Spring

Princess Caroline

L to R: Queen Noor of Jordan, Queen Silvia of Sweden, Queen Paola of the Belgians, the Countess of Wessex, Princess Caroline of Monaco, Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Princess Irene of the Netherlands

Or, you could go the other way and ditch the February timeline for a spot of wishful thinking in springtime colors. Caroline's take on this works best for me - that oh-so-nonchalant look works perfectly with her gray hat. And she's still in winter fabrics, so you can tell she's not totally confused.

Best in Purple

Queen Beatrix

L to R: Princess Christina of the Netherlands, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, Infanta Cristina of Spain

You know I love any event with a purple category, and the mother of the groom runs away with this one. Perfectly dressed and adorably delighted is always a winning combo.

Best in Gold and Such

Princess Marilène

L to R: Queen Sofia of Spain, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Princess Marilène of Orange-Nassau, Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands

I like the gold-ish take on these warm colors; it fancies the whole affair up a bit (something Victoria could have used, in her plain Jane brown suit). Marilène gets this one, as Laurentien was lovely but a little bit olive and I wish Sofia didn't have such a fear of hats.

Worst Dressed

A Tie

L to R: Princess Astrid of Belgium, Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway

Mette-Marit's take on wedding attire is so terribly depressing here she ended up on my list of worst dressed royal wedding guests. And yet, when looking at this wedding alone, she has steep competition for the Worst Dressed Prize: WHAT is HAPPENING on Astrid's HEAD? Just one hat, dear. JUST ONE. (Maybe she brought an extra for Queen Sofia and Sofia told her where to stick it?)

Who makes your best and worst dressed lists here?

Photos: ANP/Getty Images/Hola/The Royal Forums