Princess Catharina

Princess Catharina–Amalia of the Netherlands paid a sweet homage to her mother and grandmother this week by stepping out in a dress first worn more than four decades ago.

The future Queen, who has become known for her style prowess, looked stunning in a green feathered dress at an event in Amsterdam to celebrate the city’s 750th birthday.

In keeping with the historical nature of the festivities, Amalia gave a sartorial nod to her family’s past in the gown previously worn by both her mother, Queen Maxima54, and her grandmother, Princess Beatrix, 87.

Beatrix wore the dress, created by her inauguration robe designer Theresia Vreugdenhil, during a state visit to Belgium in 1981 when she was still Queen.

The silhouette of the piece appeared slightly different for its first outing: the green dress, featuring a feathered skirt, abstract design across the top, thin silver belt, high neck and long sleeves, was full-length.

As it was a formal event, Beatrix wore the piece with a purple sash and tiara.

She carried a metallic clutch bag, which coordinated with the frock’s silver belt, and the abstract bodice design featuring black and silver details

When Maxima stepped out in the frock in 2014, to attend the Freedom Concert in Amsterdam, in May – around a year after becoming queen – she made a small tweak as she is reportedly several inches taller than her mother-in-law, the dress looked shorter, boasting a midi silhouette.

She completed the look by pairing the dress with silver-coloured heeled pumps and a small grey clutch bag – with complemented the piece’s metallic belt.

When Princess Catharina-Amalia donned the frock, she too made some small tweaks, making the look her own.

She replaced the silver belt with a black one, and coordinated it with heeled sling backs and small clutch bag in the same colour.

Due to the bracing October weather, the young royal also donned a black coat, which she removed once the royal trio went inside the venue on their arrival – upon which, they received a standing ovation, according to Amsterdam’s daily newspaper Het Paroolwhich described the evening as a triumph.

According to the outlet, the city ‘couldn’t have wished for a better finale to the 750th anniversary year’. It added: ‘The national celebration of the capital’s birthday turned out to be a spectacular show’.

It added: ‘The national celebration of the capital’s birthday turned out to be a spectacular show’.

Among the festivities ahead of Monday night’s big finale was a summer festival held on the city’s ring road in June, The Op de Ring (On the Ring) party shut the road to traffic for 24 hours, and opened it to people who danced along it.

Food and drink were on offer, a temporary forest featuring 750 trees was planted, and 75 couples tied the knot as part of the celebrations, which reportedly cost the city some €27 million in total.

Early on Monday morning, crowds started gathering at the city’s main plaza, Dam Square, where a tent protected them from a drizzle.

There, a 75 metre-long cake decorated with Amsterdam’s coat of arms was cut into 7,500 pieces – with the first slice being made by the mayor, Femke Halsema, and pieces being given to locals and sent out to all the city’s districts.

Throughout the day, 750 candles were blew out across the city, and there were music and art exhibitions before the evening concert, which was held in a huge tent that had been specially put up in front of the museum.

Like her daughter, Argentinian-born Maxima looked typically stylish for the engagement, wearing a maroon jumpsuit, under a cape in a similar hue but a darker shade.

She paired the ensemble with matching coloured pointed-toe shoes and accessorised with a clutch bag in a similar shade, reported to be from the high street brand Zara.

The royal wore coordinating statement jewellery, including a large necklace fashioned from petal-shaped beads in brown and maroon shades, and matching drop earrings.

King Willem-Alexander was also dapper in a navy two-piece suit, white shirt and pink tie. He opted for patent black leather shoes to complete his classic ensemble.

During the engagement, the trio smiled as they posed together for photos while arriving at the venue, before watching high-profile Dutch performers including Bente, Roxeanne Hazes, Yves Berendse, Remy van Kesteren, Karsu, Kris Kross Amsterdam, Maan, Willeke Alberti, and Wibi Soerjadi.

Before the concert started, the royal trio also met a number of invited guests, according to organisers.

They included ‘amateur dancers from the project Heel Amsterdam Danst, youth football players who participated in the street football tournament Cruyff Street League, Amsterdam-based scientists involved in the facial reconstruction of the oldest known Amsterdammer, and the designer of the Birthday Forest that was displayed on the A10 during the Op de Ring festival’.

Amsterdam’s official founding date is October 27, 1275, because that is when Count Floris V granted the right to residents to transport their goods through Dutch waterways, without having to pay tolls.

Monday’s outing came just weeks after the royals appeared together as a family to attend the opening of Dutch parliament in the Hague on September 16. The event, which is held on the third Tuesday of September every year, is one of the Netherlands’ most ceremonious celebrations, and is known as Prince’s Day (Prinsjesdag).

Queen Maxima and King Willem-Alexander were joined by all three of their daughters for that event, with Princess Ariane, 18 and Princess Alexia, 20, attending alongside Princess Catharina-Amalia.

Royal fashion fans noted that on that occasion too, Princess Catharina-Amalia took sartorial inspiration from her mother: Maxima and Amalia appeared to have coordinated their ensembles, wearing subtle neutral tones. The mother-of-three donning a chic long-sleeved grey scoop neck gown with a matching clutch bag and fascinator.

Meanwhile, Princess Amalia followed in her mother’s fashion footsteps by donning a cream satin caped gown with a similar wide-brimmed headpiece.