The countdown to the first royal wedding of 2002 is underway with the nuptials of Crown Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and his fiancée Maxima Zorreguieta to take place this weekend. Royal watchers all over the world are keeping a keen eye every detail of the celebrations as Amsterdam gears up for the special event.
The Dutch have been abuzz about Willem and Maxima’s big day since Queen Beatrix announced her eldest son’s engagement on March 30, 2001, and Amsterdam, with its bridges and canals, has been made even more beautiful in the run-up to the wedding. Mayor Job Cohen ordered: “Put out the flags” – and the public obeyed, covering the city with multicoloured fabrics which now adorn the ornate buildings of the capital city.
The happy couple recently received their official wedding stamp, based on one of their official portraits, which includes their names and the wedding date. More than two million of the stamps, designed by Mevis en Van Deursen, have been put into circulation as a tribute. And though the jewels she will wear on her wedding day are a secret, in January Maxima also received a gold and garnet crown designed by Dutch artist Jos Van Elzen from the Association of Goldsmiths.
On thing Maxima will surely be wearing the day she ties the knot is her wedding ring, one of two the couple recently had created. The his and hers bands of gold are of a quiet and elegant design, engraved on the interior simply with “Willem-Alexander” and “Maxima” in cursive script.
Since November, Nieuwe Kerk or “The New Church”, where the nuptials will be held, has exhibited gowns, jewellery and other treasures to offer a historic look at the most important royal weddings of Holland, including that of the queen.
History will once again be made in just a few days at the 15th century church, where Beatrix was inaugurated in 1980. Thousands are expected to gather outside Nieuwe Kerk, located near the royal palace in Dam Square in the centre of Amsterdam, hoping to catch a glimpse of Maxima and Willem-Alexander on the day of the wedding.
The official events will kick off on Thursday at 6:30pm with a private reception at the royal palace. The following day at noon, friends and family of the couple will attend a Royal Orchestra of Amsterdam concert, and that evening a public event is planned: a stadium party organised by the National Committee of Orange, expected to be attended by upwards of 50,000 people. There, the pair will receive a gift from the people: a statue that will be placed in the garden of the palace where they will live after the nuptials – the Eikenhorts villa in Wassenaar.
On February 2, the royal wedding will commence at 1pm. Though few other details are known, it is expected that, as Queen Beatrix did on her wedding day, the newlyweds will take a ride in a fairytale carriage drawn by eight horses after the ceremony, following a route that begins and ends in Dam Square. The coach, called the “carriage of gold” though it is in fact made of teak covered with gold leaf, was given to Queen Wilhelmina in 1898 as a gift from the city on the day of her coronation. Its design is rich with symbolism representing good wishes and blessings: suns that adorn the wheels refer to benevolence, dog and owls on the handles and hinges mean loyalty and vigilance.
Even as the big day rapidly approaches, many of the details – from the costs to the gown – remain closely guarded secrets. The name of the designer of Maxima’s gown will not be revealed until she emerges on February 2, but it is said that we can expect Maxima to be sporting a luxuriously long train. And where the happy couple will spend their honeymoon is also a mystery, though at least one source has speculated they might travel to the US, as the Olympics begin in Salt Lake on February 8 and the prince is a member of the international committee.
It is also not known what the budget for the nuptials is, but surely there will be no cutting corners on the crown prince’s special day: the Dutch royal family is the richest in Europe, with a fortune estimated at about $6.2 billion.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
