We've seen plenty of Queen Beatrix's sister Margriet on the blog, but now I get to introduce you to the other two royal sisters of the family!  The two new princesses here are Princess Irene (in blue) and Princess Christina (in purple).  The man in the photo is their father, Prince Bernhard, who died in 2004.

Irene and Christina's own marriages have interesting connections to this particular royal wedding.  Like their nephew, Willem-Alexander, both Irene and Christina fell in love with and married Roman Catholics (Irene wed, against the wishes of her family, the politically-controversial Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Parma, and Christina married Cuban-born Jorge Pérez y Guillermo). 

Unlike W-A, though, the women lost their positions in the Dutch succession when they married; although there are many Catholics in The Netherlands, the primarly Protestant country has had a sometimes-complicated relationship with Catholicism, dating from .  Though there's no prohibition on heirs marrying Catholics (like there still is in Britain today), all marriages do have to be approved by the Dutch States-General.  Neither Irene nor Christina sought that approval, and so they lost their places in the line of succession.

By 2002, attitudes had changed somewhat.  Prince Willem-Alexander retained his position as heir upon marrying Máxima; however, even though she did not convert, the couple has agreed to raise their children as Protestants.

As far as the hats go, I think Irene has to win this contest; her royal blue hat with black feathers looks appropriately chic for a royal wedding but also whimsical and special.  Christina's hat is one of my favorite colors, purple, but the style is a little dated, especially the flippy edge of the brim.

I love the hat that Queen Bea chose to wear for her eldest son's wedding -- I really quite like this double brim look on her.  And the royal purple cracks me up ... you don't want to upstage the bride, but you've got to remind everyone who's in charge!

On a sidenote, the man holding Bea's hand is her husband, Prince Claus, who was seriously ill at this event and died only eight months after the wedding.  It's so touching to watch pictures of him together with Beatrix at the ceremony, and it's wonderful that he lived long enough to see his son marry, isn't it?

If Princess Sibilla was going for '30s glam, it looks like Princess Caroline was aiming for '20s retro with this Chanel ensemble (I'm assuming it's Chanel, anyway.  Caroline and Karl Lagerfeld are BFF, after all, and this just screams Coco.)

I think I like this hat ... gray is a little drab for a wedding, but it is winter, after all.  Thoughts?

Okay, this is retro done right!  The gorgeous Princess Sibilla managed to capture the '30s-'40s glamour look here without looking like she was wearing a Halloween costume.  Excellent!  The hat is gorgeous, and I love the contrast of the charcoal with the taupe fur.  I think I may have a new royal girlcrush!

Oh, man, what is with the giant fur hat syndrome at this wedding?  Do you think Marie-Chantal and Maria Teresa got together and planned this?  Too much!

Grand Duchess J-C looks a little frail here, but that's because she was already fighting lung cancer in 2002.  With that in mind, she was a heck of a trooper to show up at a foreign royal wedding, and though I'm not a big fan of the "halo-of-fur" effect we're getting here, I'll give her a pass!

It's a new queen for the blog, everybody -- and a new country, too!  The lovely lady standing beside Prince Charles is HM Queen Noor of Jordan, the widow of the late King Hussein, and stepmother of the current king, Abdullah II.  She's one of the few royals in the world who was actually born an American.  Noor changed her name (from Lisa Halaby) and converted from Christianity to Islam before marrying King Hussein in 1978.

Because she is a Muslim woman, Noor frequently wears a headcovering.  I like this one quite a bit -- light, pretty, and romantic for a wedding!

Good Lord.  I take back everything I said about Mathilde's hat!  Do you think Marie-Chantal thought she was going on some sort of fashionable Russian sleigh ride after the ceremony???

(P.S.: I just realized that this is a new princess for our blog!  Marie-Chantal is married to Crown Prince Pavlos, the son of King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece.  She's one of the famous "Miller Sisters," daughters of billionaire Robert Miller.  All three made impressive marriages: along with M-C's marriage into the Greek royal family, her sister Pia married a Getty, and her sister Alexandra married into the von Furstenberg family.  Only M-C's marriage has so far stood the test of time -- and the births of five royal children!)

Check it out, everybody: Paddington has a formal cousin!  With ... fur balls!

I'm honestly not quite sure what I think of this hat -- it's lots better than some that Daisy wears, but the shape confuses me.  There's something vaguely sci-fi about it, isn't there?  What do all of you think about this one?