She’s usually impeccably dressed, but the Netherlands’ Queen Maxima committed a rare fashion faux pas yesterday, donning a bizarre puffy-sleeved dress to welcome French President Francois Holland.
The 42-year-old royal stood in the welcoming committee alongside her husband, King Willem-Alexander, in a fitted teal satin dress with dramatically oversized cuffed sleeves.
The uncharacteristically outlandish ensemble was made stranger still by the nude satin gloves and pill box hat the Queen chose to accessorise with.
The mother-of-three, who is normally known for her sophisticated elegance, is not the first royal to commit a fashion offence. While there is a particular regal panache that must be obeyed to when it comes to royal style, sometimes even a crown cannot cover up an offensive outfit.
Here are some of the worst royal fashion faux pas.
Queen Maxima’s fitted teal satin dress featured king-size cuffed sleeves.
Princess Beatrice’s royal wedding hat was mocked the world over.
Repeat offender! Princess Beatrice was criticised for this over-the-top butterfly hat.
British socialite Tara Palmer Tomkinson took the colour-blocking trend one step too far in this cobalt clothing concoction.
Prince Harry’s ex Chelsy Davy looks somewhat dowdy as she leaves Buckingham Palace following the wedding of Prince William and Kate.
Princess Mette Marit of Norway looked like she raided Cinderella’s closet and borrowed some baby blue couture. We wonder if she’s got some glass slippers on under all that fabric?
Princess Theodora of Greece clearly didn’t think that wearing white to someone else’s wedding was an issue when she attended the nuptials of Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Tatiana Blatnik in 2010.
Lewis Carroll’s Queen of Hearts? No. It’s Crown Princess Margarita of Romania attending the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Daniel Westling in Stockholm.
Britain’s leading downhill skier Chimene “Chemmy” Mary Alcott attended the wedding of Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall in an interestingly colourful outfit.
Proving that she can’t always be picture perfect, Pippa Middleton had a fashion flop in this black and white peplum printed ensemble.
