stuart tiara
Royal Jewels

The Stuart Tiara

The Stuart Tiara is perhaps the Dutch royal family’s showstopper. Its central diamond is almost a whopping 40 carats. The central diamond is called The Stuart Diamond, and its first recorded owner was Queen Mary II of England, who reigned jointly with her husband, King William III, also Prince of Orange. Mary purchased the diamond [read more]

prinsjesdag
Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont

Queen Wilhelmina – Her first speech from the throne

Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands’ first official act after all the inauguration celebrations was her speech from the throne on Prinsjesdag (Literal translation: Little Prince’s Day) on 20 September 1898. During Queen Wilhelmina’s minority, her mother had handled the speech from the throne. Queen Wilhelmina had attended the 1897 speech from the throne with her [read more]

wilhelmina regent
Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont

Queen Emma’s regency law

After the death of Alexander, Prince of Orange, it became clear that it would be Wilhelmina who would succeed her father, and she would probably be a minor too. A regent would be required, and the Dutch Constitution demanded that a situation like that should be dealt with in a new law. The last time [read more]

Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont

The young Queen meets the old Queen

In the early morning of 27 April 1895, the royal yacht De Valk brought two Countesses van Buren from Vlissingen to Queenborough. The Countesses were, in fact, Queen Emma and the 14-year-old Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. From Queenborough, the Queens took the train to London where they were received by the Prince of Wales [read more]