Dutch Princess Máxima recalled her happy days in New York and in hindsight realised these five years in the Big Apple were the perfect preparation for her new life as Princess of the Netherlands. Máxima spoke at a luncheon in New York’s Battery Park, moments after reveiling the New Netherlands Pavillion.
"When I lived and worked as a banker in New York City in the late nineties Battery park was still very much under construction. Personally, I have special memories of this place: Battery Park is where I went out rollerblading with a nice Dutchman I had met, who would later ask me to marry him, and to become a Princess of the Netherlands in the process. It is breathtaking to see how Battery Park has developed since these rollerblading days", the Princess said in a brief speech.
"(…) Many of you may know that 'battery' comes from the Dutch word 'batterij', referring to the mighty guns that were stationed just here to protect the 17th century colony of New Amsterdam from its enemies. It is therefore most appropriate that exactly this place was chosen to erect the New Amsterdam Pavillion as a most visible and striking memento of 400 years shared history and special friendship between the United States and the Netherlands", Máxima continued.
"(…) A tiny bit of Dutch DNA was planted in New Amsterdam 400 years ago, and still lives on in what makes many present day New Yorkers and Dutchmen tick. For me, born and raised as an Argentinian, some of this was new. In a funny way, New York City was my first acquaintance with many things and views that I now hold so dear in the Netherlands. With the benefit of hindsight, my five years in New York may well have been a necessary step to get to where I am now, and I am hugely grateful for it", she concluded.
© GPD; Bron: RVD; Photos by © Dutch Photo Press, Patrick van Katwijk
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