Queen Maxima Isn’t a Regular Royal, She’s a Gold Trench Coat–Wearing, Basquiat-Loving Royal

Published Jan 31, 2019

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6:16pm

As an artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat was anything but minimalist. So when Queen Maxima of the Netherlands attended the opening of the new “Basquiat—The Artist and His New York Scene” exhibition at Schunk Museum in Heerlen, Netherlands, today, she took a page out of the late neo-expressionist painter’s playbook.

The 47-year-old queen dressed for the occasion, wearing a rust-colored day dress and matching boho-meets-Carmen Sandiego hat. She topped the ensemble off with a wooden bib necklace and wood drop earrings.

Patrick van Katwijk/Getty Images

Queen Maxima has been known to rock a statement hat or two, but the on-the-mark fashion didn’t stop there.

Upon entering the exhibition, Queen Maxima was given a paint-splattered kimono to wear so she could spray paint her own Basquiat-inspired masterpiece. She somehow continued to look extremely polished throughout her artistic endeavor.

Patrick van Katwijk/Getty Images

But the coup-de-grâce wasn’t Maxima’s kimono (which beautifully matched her outfit), it was the gold trench coat she tried on next.

Patrick van Katwijk/Getty Images

Just look at that expression of sheer joy on her face. Who wouldn’t be that happy wearing a gold-paint-splattered trench coat?

The coat is just one of the treasures found in the installation, which places the visitor in the work and life of Basquiat between 1976 and 1982 and tracks his progression as a graffiti artist in SAMO to his rise to fame as a solo artist. Judging from her handle on that spray can, perhaps Queen Maxima has some artistic promise of her own—especially in that trench.

By the way…is a floor-length gold trench too extra for everyday life? Asking for a friend.

Lex Goodman

Cat mom, yogi, brunch enthusiast

Lex is an LA native who's deeply obsessed with picnics, Slim Aarons, rosé, Hollywood history and Joan Didion. She joined PureWow in early 2017.

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