Princess Máxima of the Netherlands returned from Argentina with her family, after spending the Christmas break in her native country.
Before setting off for Buenos Aires and Villa La Angostura the Dutch Princess, wife of Prince Willem-Alexander and daughter-in-law to Queen Beatrix, was apprehensive about the visit. For sure, she looked forward to seeing family and friends again, but she was afraid of what the Argentine media might do.
Australia's press is more enthusiastic about 'their' Crown Princess Mary, wife of Danish Crown Prince Frederik, but the occasional visits of Princess Máxima to her 'very republican' home country Argentina always caught the media's attention. But not always of the kind the Dutch princely couple appreciated.
,,They even ran the tollgates when pursuing us", Willem-Alexander once remarked. Princess Máxima, who no longer was able to stay at her parents house, feared for her young daughters if and when paparazzi would follow them around in an aggressive fashion.
Hence the couple's decision to allow media access at the very beginning of their stay, with a photo session at the residence of the Dutch ambassador. Princess Máxima asked the media for restraint and for privacy, which according to a statement issued by the couple earlier this week, they got.
The little princesses were photographed during outings with their mother and grandparents in Buenos Aires, but not after the photocall. And no pictures were circulated of the other members of the royal family, who also travelled to Argentina to see in the New Year.
Not all readers of Argentinean newspapers were happy with the attention given to Princess Máxima. On the internetsite of national paper La Nácion for instance there were catcalls: what has Máxima ever done for Argentina?, since when does royalty matter to us, and: Máxima has betrayed Argentina, by identifying with a foreign country.
Others commented that if Máxima wanted privacy and restraint from the media, she should stay away. But there was also support: thanks to Princess Máxima her native Argentina gets favorable media attention the world over someone wrote.
© Royalblog, Hans Jacobs; Source: La Nácion.
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