No word from Lucien , I believe he is a guest and to-morrrow we will know more and more.
I was,thank you dearest Maria Olivia and it truly truly was amazing.What a night,what a fantastic concert from one of the top three Orchestra's in the world,and the virtuose soloist Daniel Barenboim,with several encores...Máxima's speech,just,you know,difficult to explain,but the audience was one vibe of love and support towards her.
Great speech,and a stunning Princess.With a devant de corsage on her hip,the size of a hip replacement...that looked to me the old frame of Queen Emma's devant de corsage,but this time set with a enormous citrine I believe it is,with diamonds dangling from it....New bracelet and the most beautifull diamond haircomb.She was as stunning as one could ever imagine.Querido Máxima stole our hearts,again.
ANP Beeldbank
Crown Princess Mary was stunning and cheeky in soft pink,and Martha Louise was her usual vibrant loveble self,and Ari Behn was with her btw.He wasn't mentioned in the guestlist issued yesterday.The Aga Khan was seated next to HM,and Guillaume next to him followed by Mary and Frederik.At HM's left hand was Princess Máxima with Alexander and Haakon,Laurentien & Constantijn and papa y mama Zorreguieta and brother Martin,if they didn't know before,then they know now how their daughter is respected,loved and cherished here in The Netherlands.As she entered the concert hall there was a thunderous long applaus,wonderfull!How proud they must be.The evening started with a Happy Birthday by the Orchestra and the audience,a speech by the managing director of the Concertgebouw Orchestra followed by the first piece of the evening: ouverture "Oberon" by Carl Maria von Weber followed by Liszts 2nd piano concerto in A Major,and a break....grin....
The third piece was Liszts 1st Piano concerto by Daniel Barenboim followed by Rossini's ouverture "Guillaume Tell".The audience was absolutely entranced by the musicians so a thunderoius applaus was theirs,absolutely well deserved.Oh really,I so wished you all could have been there this evening,it was just fantastic,if that is the correct word for it.And the Birthday girl came down to the stage to deliver a great speech,which no doubt will appear here later too,but she is so great in speeching,finding the right words,either while reading from a paper or off the cough,it doesn't matter,she touches you,she touched us all,so,another thunderous applaus was hers.The Princess then handed out white roses to the director and the soloists and then,as she was on the stage stairs already,Daniel Barenboim started a tango first,and then the Habanera bit from Carmen,Máxima was in a fit of laughter,as was the audience,and just as we all thought Barenboim finished,he started again on a Carmen piece,she couldn't leave...and she didn't,she waited on top of the stairs and later kissed the Director and Barenboim to thank them.I didn't mind,the Princess was very close,and the serious jewelry in full frontal view.It was so nice to see Máxima's parents and brother Martin as they were escorted into the Concertgebouw by a very kind Karim Aga Khan,a Prince every inch.
Oh,and the flower decorations,sublime,of such beauty,you will ,no doubt ,see pictures of that later too.But what an evening,and how gratefull everybody was to be part of that fairytale evening.Oh,and the encores by Daniel Barenboim,THE pianist of world class "had to " give two encores,what a joy for the ears to hear this man play the music as it was intended by the composer.Maestro Barenboim,what a gift.
One of the foyers was decorated with the same flowers as in the hall and the party and dancing as well as a buffet started right after the concert and everybody walked past.A beaming and clearly happy Queen Beatrix in dark blue,a rather lonely Haakon,no,nothing wrong between the couple,but he just was alone.a laughing and joking Ari Behn and the wonderfull Martha Louise.The tall and elegant Duchess of Brabant and Filip.Crown Prince Frederik and his Crown Princess Mary,in soft pink as I said,a dream with a sometimes cheeky grin,but loveble and friendly,in fact,they all were.The wonderfull youthfull and gorgious Princess Tatiana of Greece and her Nikolaos,what a stunning couple they make,and how they beam love.Princesses Margriet,Irene and Christina.So happy to see them all together again,and except for Princess Christina's children,the children of the other two were all there except Princess Margarita but then her husband Tjalling ten Cate was,an absolutely wonderfull man,a rock.Ofcourse TRH The Duke and Duchess of Parma were part of the large family too.
Maybe you might think I go in overdrive,ofcourse,maybe I do,but then it was such an unforgettable evening,I wouldn't know of anyone who wouldn't after tonight.I hope you're content with this little contribution for this wonderfull evening.It was fabulous.Black tie for most if not all but that didn't matter as they were also people who had had been in contact with our querido Máxima over the past 10 years since she was introduced here,something the Princess referred to in her own speech,and in which she also thanked Alexander for the man and support and love he was and is.And their three daughters.Then came a funny but heartwarming bit in which she started to thank her Mother-in_law...:"My Mother-In_Law...what can I say about my Mother-in-Law..and she looked up to the balcony where Alexander and HM were,teary-eyed really,and then continued to thank Her for all the support she had received from Her during all these years.A very moving and heartwarming speech,it really was,and she received a thunderous applaus for it.
