In Memoriam: Princess Christina of the Netherlands

We learned sad news from the Dutch court yesterday: Princess Christina — aunt of King Willem-Alexander, sister of Princess Beatrix, and daughter of Queen Juliana — passed away after a long struggle with bone cancer. Today, to honor her memory, we have a bejeweled look at her royal life.

Wearing pearls as a bridesmaid to her eldest sister, Princess Beatrix, and her new brother-in-law, Prince Claus, March 1966

Dancing in costume (including glitter tights!) during a masked ball aboard the Oranje Nassau in Amsterdam, December 1966

Wearing the family’s laurel wreath tiara (beside her new brother-in-law, Pieter van Vollenhoven, and her father, Prince Bernhard) during a state banquet for the King and Queen of Nepal, April 1967

Wearing the family’s ears of wheat tiara beside Princess Margriet (in the family’s aquamarines) and Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte of Luxembourg (in the grand Empire Tiara) during the Luxembourgish state visit to the Netherlands, September 1967

Gleaming in pearls on the balcony between Pieter van Vollenhoven and her elder sister, Princess Margriet, on Prinsjesdag, September 1967

A vivid yellow ensemble and button-style statement earrings for Prinsjesdag, September 1968

Wearing her mother’s turquoise heart necklace and pendant for the announcement of her engagement to Jorge Guillermo, February 1975

Windswept in fringe earrings with Jorge as they arrive for a dinner given by the government at Loevestein Castle ahead of their wedding, June 1975

Wearing a lace veil and cap (but no tiara) for her wedding to Jorge in Utrecht, June 1975

Wearing dangling earrings and stacked bracelets during the Swedish state visit, October 1976

Wearing groovy sunglasses and button earrings (and expecting her first child, Bernardo) at Soestdijk Palace on Koninginnedag, April 1977

With Jorge and baby Bernardo at Soestdijk Palace, May 1978

Wearing a long necklace (and expecting her second child, Nicolas) with her sister, Princess Irene, and brother-in-law, Pieter van Vollenhoven, at the Amsterdam premiere of a documentary about Queen Juliana, April 1979

Wearing pearl button earrings on the grounds of Soestdijk Palace, May 1980

Wearing pearl button earrings and a sparkling bracelet and ring (and expecting her third child, Juliana) at the opening of Christie’s in Amsterdam, September 1981

Pearl button earrings and bracelets for the official opening of the Paleis Het Loo Museum in Apeldoorn, June 1984

Pearls and layered jewels to watch the Prinsjesdag celebrations in The Hague with her mother, Queen Juliana, September 1987

Flower earrings and a charming bird brooch to watch the Prinsjesdag celebrations with Queen Juliana, September 1988

Pearls to attend the wedding of Prince Friso and Princess Mabel with her sisters, Princess Margriet and Princess Irene, April 2004

Golden jewels, including floral earrings, for the christening of Princess Amalia, June 2004

Wearing pearls (with her daughter, Juliana) for the wedding of her nephew, Prince Pieter Christiaan of Orange-Nassau, in Noordwijk, August 2005

Pairing the family’s laurel wreath tiara with pearls for a gala dinner held the night before the inauguration of her nephew, King Willem-Alexander, April 2013

Favorite pearl button earrings and a pearl necklace for the royal inauguration, April 2013

Wearing golden jewels (with her elder son, Bernardo) at the wedding of her nephew, Prince Jaime of Bourbon-Parma, October 2013

A final formal-but-casual royal portrait in turquoise and gold, 2015