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They say if you give a girl the right shoes, she can conquer the world. Well, if you give Queen Maxima a pair of heels, she can expertly ride a bike. King Willem-Alexander and his wife paid a visit to Southeast Fryslân on Thursday. The royal mom of three turned heads for the outing wearing an orange Natan dress, Fabienne Delvigne hat and suede pumps. Royal watchers were impressed that the 49-year-old Queen cycled across Ecomunitypark in her stylish ensemble, all while holding on to her purse. Maxima didn’t even swap her shoes for the bike ride.
“I wish I could ride a bike as stylish as Max,” one wrote, while another commented, “Congrats to Maxima for managing the bike with such elegance.” One social media user was surprised that the Queen’s hat managed to stay in place as she rode her bike, writing, “That hat does not blow away!”
Thursday wasn’t the first time Maxima has ridden a bike in heels. Back in 2013, the royal cycled in heels and a dress to the opening of a park in Utrecht. Meanwhile, earlier this year the Queen traded her heels for flats as she rode her bike to visit Kunstmuseum Den Haag in The Hague.
Much like his wife, Willem-Alexander, wearing a navy suit, wasn't dressed in athletic wear for the joint outing on Sept. 17. The royal couple’s visit to Southeast Fryslân focused on the future of the province of Fryslân, with an emphasis on sustainability, the agricultural sector and the Fryske language and culture. Aside from bike riding, the monarchs also toured the sustainable cheese farm De Deelen and received a lesson in Frisian, which is the province’s official language.
Maxima has stunned with her fashion this week. For Prinsjesdag (Prince’s Day) on Tuesday, the Dutch Queen recycled her tiered mustard yellow gown by Claes Iversen, which she treated to achieve a deeper color tone after first debuting the design in 2018. Rather than a hat, the royal completed her gold-winning look with a gold headband from Fabienne Delvigne, matching gold gloves, the Order Ribbon and the Star of the Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion.
In his speech on Sept. 15, Willem-Alexander acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic “affects us all.” He said, “Despite everything, a lot of good things have happened in the past few months. We have more appreciation for the country we live in. The fabric of our society has again proven strong. It’s always impressive to see how Dutch people help each other in times of need. It was impressive how, by working together, we were able to get the worst of the restrictions lifted within a couple of months.”