Twenty-two years ago, an exciting day awaited Máxima.
While Amalia will attend a state banquet for the first time in two weeks, it was an exciting day for Máxima in 2002. As the new bride of then-Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, she attended Queen’s Day for the first time. How did her first Queen’s Birthday go? We will look back on it with you.
Queen’s Day 2002
Two decades ago, Princess Máxima attended Queen’s Day for the first time. In fact, she should have made her debut in Hoogeveen and Meppel in 2001, as the fiancée of the crown prince. However, the foot and mouth epidemic threw a spanner in the works, and the royal visit was postponed for a year. On April 30, 2002, a few months after the spectacular royal wedding, she was finally able to experience the holiday herself. She is not the only one who is participating for the first time that year: a pregnant Princess Laurentien is also part of the royal company for the very first time.
In yellow
In a throwback video from RTV Drenthe, Máxima’s first Queen’s Birthday can be clearly seen. The future queen stands out in a yellow, Jackie Kennedy-esque ensemble, made by a couturier who is still a great favorite of Máx in 2024: Edouard Vermeulen from Natan.
We learn from Fashion Queen Máxima that the hat was also made by a still well-known name from Brussels: Fabienne Delvigne. A lot has changed in the past twenty years, but not that outfit choice. The combination of Vermeulen and Delvigne has now become pretty much the standard uniform for Queen’s Day/King’s Day.
‘Not in the foreground’
That first Queen’s Birthday for Máxima was one with ‘overcast weather conditions’, NU.nl wrote at the time. But could the always radiant Máxima add some sparkle to the day? “Princess Máxima did not seem to want to be too much in the foreground. Maybe because so much has happened lately, maybe because she gave her new family all the attention as usual,” the online newspaper wrote about it. The one who, against all expectations, stole the show was Princess Laurentien. “She shook hands, hands and more hands and took pictures with various Orange fans. She was never too bad for anything. And that was appreciated in Meppel and Hoogeveen, it was visible.”
This year we have a nice full circle moment: 22 years after Máxima’s first Queen’s Birthday, she returns to the province of Drenthe. The city of Emmen is celebrating King’s Day this year. Let’s hope the weather cooperates this time…
Source: RTV Drenthe, Nu.nl, Modekoningin Máxima | Image: NL Image, RTV Drenthe
