April 30th marks Koninginnedag – or Queen’s Day in the Netherlands. It is a day to celebrate the royal family and the Dutch royals oversee the festivities in certain parts of the country. Normally it is a fun day for the royals, but this year someone is missing.
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That someone is Queen Beatrix’s second son, Prince Johan Friso, who remains in a coma following an avalanche back in February.
He was not far from his family’s thoughts, and his mother expressed her sadness over him missing in a speech.
“It is a pity and sad that our family isn’t complete today.But I’m very grateful for all the warmth and wishes we have seen and heard here today and I will pass it on,” Her Majesty said to a crowd in Rhenen.
Despite the bittersweet realization that Johan Friso was not present for Queen’s Day, his family carried on with the celebrations.
Crown Prince Willem Alexander and Princess Maxima took part in a tug-of-war contest, and the Crown Prince even participated in a toilet-bowl-tossing contest.
A recent poll of 20,000 people shows the Dutch royals are still very popular, with 80 percent satisfied with Queen Beatrix. However, Princess Maxima remains the most loved member of the House of Orange.
The Netherlands’ royal trio welcomed to their country, President Abdullah Gul of Turkey, on Tuesday. Queen Beatrix, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Maxima will be the President, and First Lady Hayrunnisa Gul’s hosts during their three state visit.
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At the palace in Amsterdam, there was a welcoming ceremony that included the playing of the national anthems and inspections of the honor guards.
Afterward, President Gul laid a wreath at the National Monument on the Dam. He then opened an exhibit at the Amsterdam Museum about the early trade between Netherlands and Turkey.
Later on, the Crown Princely couple accompanied the President to the De Bazel conference center for a meeting with representatives of Dutch and Turkish businesses. They all then attended the Dutch-Turkish Bussiness Forum at the Passenger Terminal Amsterdam.
While that was going on, First Lady Hayrunnisa Gul was with Queen Beatrix’s sister, Princess Margriet, who showed her around the Museum of Bags and Purses.
In the evening, a state gala was held at the palace in honor of the Turkish guests.
Tomorrow will see the President meet with Dutch government members, and have lunch with them as overseen by Queen Beatrix. He will also visit the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Later in the evening, President Gul and his wife will accompany the Dutch royals to a concert by the Turkish Youth Philharmonic Orchestra.
After opening an exhibition at the Bonnefantenmuseum, Mr. and Mrs. Gul will end their visit and leave for Turkey.
Dutch Princess Maxima spent this week in Malaysia and Indonesia promoting financial inclusion in those countries. It is all part of her position as UN consultant for Inclusive Finance for Development and honorary chairwoman of the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion.
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Maxima first arrived in Malaysia and met with Malaysian officials in Kuala Lumpur about access to financial services for low income groups.
The next day, Her Royal Highness personally met with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to discuss the same topic. She also spoke to representatives from the private sector and development partners on the use of financial services for people and businesses that are not yet familiar with them.
Princess Maxima has used her skills and knowledge of finance as part of her royal position. Prior to marrying Crown Prince Willem Alexander ten years ago, Maxima worked at a New York bank.
In 2009, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon appointed her as a special envoy on finance. Since 2011, the Princess has also been the honorary chairwoman of the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion.
On Wednesday, Belgium came to stand still as it laid to rest the 28 people – including 22 children – who were killed in a bus crash during a skiing vacation in Switzerland. Thousands turned up to remember those who died, including King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium, and Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Maxima of the Netherlands.
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The memorial service took place in the town of Lommel, where most of the victims came from, in its community center with television screens placed outside for those who couldn’t get inside.
Indoors, the white coffins of the 17 from Lommel were placed in a circle around the center of the memorial.
Peter Vanvelthoven, the mayor of Lommel, gave a eulogy. “Is there something worse than parents who lose what they love most?” Vanvelthoven said, according to the AP.
Family members reflected on their lost loved ones, sending many, including Princess Maxima, to tears.
Also in attendance were Belgian PM Elio DiRupo and his Dutch counterpart, Mark Rutte.
Another service was held Thursday in Heverlee, where seven children and two adults, who also died in the accident, came from.
The Dutch royals were in attendance because six of the victims were originally from the Netherlands.
The members of the Dutch royal family joined the rest of the Netherlands in this year’s NL Doet – a national day of volunteering. The fun part of the royals taking part in this day is that no one knows where they will turn up.
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Her Majesty Queen Beatrix, along with her sister, Princess Margriet, were at the Dog Assistance Foundation in Molenschot. It’s where dogs and puppies of the mobility impaired are groomed.
Dressed in casual clothes, the Queen helped with cleaning kennels and brushing down the canines. She arrived at 10am local time and stayed for nearly three hours helping out. The Foundation does not rely on any structural funding and is run by 25 volunteers.
Meanwhile, over in Leidschendam, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Maxima were volunteering at the clubhouse of scouting group, Satoko Kitahara. They refurbished the place by painting the hallway and made artworks to decorate the walls.
Satoko Kitahara has been around since February 6, 1963 and is a girl’s group.
Formerly known as Make A Difference Day, NL Doet has been around for eight years. It will continue on tomorrow, and about 7,000 volunteering acts are expected to be done.
On Wednesday, the Netherlands’ Princess Maxima took home the 2011 Machiavelli Prize during a ceremony at The Hague. Established in 1987, the Machiavelli Foundation awards those who promote communication in the public eye.
Click here to read Maxima's speech in entirety
Dressed in bright purple, Her Royal Highness accepted the award with her husband, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, in the audience. She then gave a speech where she reflected on her public life over the past decade.
“Last Thursday it was exactly ten years ago through my marriage I became a princess,” Maxima began. “That was an unforgettable day and at the same time when my life took a totally different turn. When one married a crown prince, not only does she say ‘yes’ to a husband and a good family, but a whole country. I said on that day also ‘yes’ to a beautiful but busy job and a life in the limelight. This provides constraints on, certainly, but also many opportunities to achieve positive things for Dutch society. It’s great to get you there in full in order to continue. And to be honest: sometimes that spotlight also help to achieve greater effectiveness in my work. But I need you, as communication experts of course impossible to explain.”
The Princess then admitted she did not feel worthy of the prize.
“I must be honest. I hesitated whether I should have received this award. First, the jury qualification about my alleged role in “strengthening the support for the monarchy as a symbol of national unity.” That sounded like an invitation again today to say something about the Dutch identity. And how that topic fascinates me, I know from experience that such a biscuit with your tea may lie heavy on the stomach.
“There is another reason why I hesitated. Because the jury has been kind to me personally about many special qualities and performance. Yet you must believe me that we, my husband and I, our work can only do so based on the Kingship of my mother in law and authority that it has built in almost 32 years. We are part of her team. Without my husband and my mother-in-law had the last ten years I could never do what I did. Their passion and their love for the Netherlands ten years ago has become mine. With the way they work they gave me from day an inspiring example. And their confidence gave me confidence to pursue my own way to give substance to a whole new life. I am grateful for them. This is their award.”
Finishing up her speech, the Princess pointed out the traits needed for royalty.
“I was ten years ago from one day to a totally different role. But apparently you as a jury – and hopefully many other people too – noticed that the ‘princess’ role is not that you can play. The contents and authenticity are especially important in the relationship with the people I meet. This reciprocity is always there.”
With that, Maxima thanked the jury and ended her acceptance speech.
The Netherlands’ Crown Prince Willem Alexander and Princess Maxima marked a decade of marriage Thursday. Though the couple celebrated privately, many Dutch reflected on the royal wedding that took place on 02-02-02.
When it was announced that the heir to the Dutch throne was marrying Argentinian born Maxima Zorreguieta, there was immediate controversy. Maxima’s father, Jorge, was a Minister of Agriculture for the Argentina junta, or dictatorship. Though not a member of the actual junta, it still was controversial for his daughter to marry the heir to the Dutch throne. Parliament prevented Mr. Zorreguieta from going to his daughter’s wedding, something that of course saddened Maxima.
But she did have something to smile about. The Dutch had already accepted her as their future Queen due to her zest for life and bright smile. Prior to her wedding, she was toured Holland with Willem Alexander as an introduction to the Dutch people.
Since then, Willem Alexander and Maxima have become the parents of three daughters – Princess Catharina-Amalia 8 years old, Princess Alexia, 6 years and Princess Ariane, 4 years. The couple represent their country along with Queen Beatrix.
Below are two videos – one of the wedding ceremony, the other of the balcony scene and its many kisses!
On Saturday, the Dutch crown princely couple took their three daughters to the Jumping Amsterdam, a horse jumping show. It was a rare opportunity for royal fans to see all three of the princesses beyond a photo session with the media.
Catharina-Amalia, age 8, Alexia, 6 years old and 4 year old Ariane cheered for horses during the competition. Amalia, who is second in line to the Dutch throne, was very expressive, showcasing that while she may resemble her father, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, she has the facial expressions of her mother, Princess Maxima.
Both parents also displayed much attention to their three children. At one point, Willem Alexander was seen hugging his eldest, while Maxima kept the other two close by. Keep in mind, with their duties taking them abroad sometimes, family moments like this one probably don’t come very often for these Dutch royals.
It was announced Monday that the future King and Queen of the Netherlands have sold their controversial villa in Mozambique.
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Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Maxima spent two years trying to sell the vacation spot, which they never used. They struggled to sell it because of the troubled real estate market.
The villa was sold on January 11th to Machangulo SA which runs the development where it is located. The exact pricing was not revealed.
There was plenty of controversy surrounding this vacation spot. Many accused the couple of being like colonialists because their villa would be in an impoverished southern African country where the local population would not have benefited from it. Furthermore, there were accusations of environmental damage.
With the selling of this villa, the royals now, according to Prime Minister Mark Rutte, have “nothing more to do with the project in Mozambique”.
The Dutch royal trio went on a three day state visit to the Sultanate of Oman. Originally scheduled last year, the trip was put off for this year due to the Arab Spring protests in the country.
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Sultan Qaboos bin Saeed greeted Queen Beatrix, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Maxima on Tuesday at Al Alam Palace in Muscat. National anthems of Oman and the Netherlands were played, followed by a 21 gun salute welcoming the Dutch royals.
Their Majesties then went indoors for bilateral talks, followed by a lunch at the Beit al Zhubair museum.
In the evening, there was a state banquet hosted by the Sultan in honor of the Dutch royals. They also exchanged orders. The Sultan bestowed the Order of Al Said on the Queen while she conferred the Order of the Netherlands Lion to him.
Even Willem Alexander and Maxima received orders. The Dutch heir was bestowed the Great Order of Renaissance while his wife got the the Sultan Qaboos Order.
The next day saw the royals go to the Port of Sohar, where they were given a tour of its eco-friendly, industrial projects. They also went to the Sohar Free Zone, where they saw joint Omani-Dutch projects.
Next came Nakhl Fort, where the visiting royals were greeted by music and the children of the Omani Women’s Association of Nakhl with flowers and Omani and Dutch flags. The Queen, the Crown Prince and Princess were briefed about the fort by the students, and then later were shown Omani crafts.
Thursday morning concluded the state visit for the Dutch royals. They met with Sultan Qaboos again in Muscat who bid them farewell.
Sources: Gulf News, Times of Oman, Omani News Agency
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