Queen Maxima and Princess Amalia wear their finest tiaras and gowns for state banquet

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima have hosted a lavish state banquet in honour of Portugal's visiting president.

The King and Queen were joined by their eldest daughter, and heir to the Dutch throne, Princess Amalia, for the gala inside Royal Palace in Amsterdam.

The event was white tie, meaning the Queen and her daughter wore two of the royal family's most incredible tiaras.

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President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa of Portugal is on a two-day visit to the Netherlands and his first stop on Tuesday was at the palace.

"Seven years after our state visit to Portugal, the Queen and I are finally able to welcome you to the Netherlands," the King said.

"We are pleased and honoured to have you here with us. And in December no less: not exactly the most pleasant month for a trip so far north," he said, referring to the wintry weather.

"But your home country is closer than it might seem. You may not have noticed, but you walked over a piece of Portugal today as you entered the Royal Palace. The cobblestones on Dam Square, just outside, come from a quarry near Porto.

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"They say there are two-and-a-half million of them – though I admit I haven't actually counted them myself."

Queen Maxima wore the Mellerio ruby tiara, which is also known as Queen Emma's Ruby tiara, and is usually reserved for Dutch Queens only.

The grand headpiece features rows of suspended diamonds between three large ruby and diamond 'scrolls' and was made by French jewellery house Mellerio dits Meller in 1888.

The Queen also wore a three-strand diamond necklace with a diamond and ruby clasp, a bracelet and earrings, all of which are part of the Mellerio ruby parure (or 'set').

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The set was originally a Christmas present from King Willem III to Queen Emma in 1888.

Her striking gown is by Dutch designer Jan Taminiau.

Princess Amalia, whose official title is the Princess of Orange, was photographed wearing the Mellerio ruby tiara when she was around eight-years-old while playing inside her mother's large dressing room in 2012.

The photo was published in a book to celebrate Amalia's 18th birthday in 2021 and at the time the young royal said: "I love tiaras".

"Show me a tiara, and I'll know where it came from," she told author Claudia de Breij in the biography Amalia.

"I can recognise all the tiaras of Europe. I used to put them on from my mother. Then there would be one on her make-up table and I would have it directly on my head."

For the state banquet on Tuesday, Princess Amalia wore her mother's wedding tiara, known as the Dutch Star tiara.

The 21-year-old wore the headpiece in Oslo, Norway, in 2022 for Princess Ingrid Alexandra's 18th birthday, which was the first time she had worn a tiara in public.

The tiara can also be worn with pearls. Maxima wore the tiara when she married then-Crown Prince Willem-Alexander in 2002.

She also wore the tiara for the wedding of Denmark's then-Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary in 2004.

Princess Amalia's diamond necklace, earrings and bracelet are from the Dutch royal family's vault.

Her purple cape gown is by Tadashi Shoji.

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