Above, Queen Beatrix is wearing jewels (more
of the tiara of Queen Emma) and the same sapphire diamond-stomacher,
that looks like a large butterfly-shaped bow of diamond, with a big
central sapphire and then two sapphire pendants dangling under it ,
together with the bracelets of her great-grand-mother Wilhelmina (picture).
The Orange- Nassau family has lots of sapphires in their possesion even
one of 163 carats (to compare: the biggest saphire in the front of the
Tiara is 44 carats).
Several of these were originaly bought by Queen Anna-Pavlovna who loved
sapphires!
One of that sapphires, owned by the family, are set in diamond clusters
and are used as this very big broch ("devant-de-corsage") to be worn
on the middle of the evening-dress (like in the pictures above).
In the large picture Queen Wilhelmina wears her complete wedding-gift
parure, necklace, tiara and the two bracelets sketch
of the jewel parure.
After the death of Queen Wilhelmina, the tiara and the necklace are
broken up, the earrings of Queen Beatrix are parts of it.
The devant de corsage wasn't made from the weddinggift parure. As you
can see it was allready in existance.
Prince Hendrik, brother of King William III, inherited from his mother
her large collection of sapphires. After his death they were inherited
by King William III. He probably used the sapphires
for a parure for Queen Emma.
The devant de corsage that Queen Wilhelmina is wearing, must be dating
from the end of the 19th century or early 20th century. Perhaps making
use of some lose stones of the inheritance of prince Hendrik for matching
the new weddinggift parure.
The inauguration of princess Wilhelmina as Queen of the Netherlands
took place in 1898.
King Willem III was the father of princess Wilhelmina. At the age of
62 he married the German princess Emma van Waldeck Pyrmont, who gave
him his only daughter.
Willem III had difficulty with his position as a constitutional monarch.
His protracted sickbed also contributed to the royal family's loss of
authority by the end of his reign.
She was the youngest queen in history - just eighteen years old - as
well as being the first female monarch.
The royal family had lost a lot of support among the population during
the reign of her father, king Willem III. Wilhelmina was able to restore
faith in the monarchy and grew into a well-respected 'Mother of the
People'.
Queen Wilhelmina's reign spanned half a century. The final years in
particular established her reputation, as she guided the kingdom through
the difficult years of World War II during her exile in England.
Queen Wilhelmina is known as a steadfast, self-willed woman who regarded
kingship as something close to a divine calling.
Queen Wilhelmina married the German prince Hendrik van Mecklenburg-Schwerin
in 1901. They had one child: princess Juliana (1909-2004). source:Memory
of the netherlands