News Summary R O Y A L B L O G. N L

Princess Beatrix is still keeping busy

Three years after her voluntary abdication former Dutch Queen Beatrix is still keeping a busy schedule. Not always in the public eye, but with private visits she is keeping abreast of developments in Dutch society. She also pays special attention to the charities she is patron of, and as always the Arts in its many shapes and forms, hold her attention and interest. 

King Willem-Alexander was asked Friday how his mother had made the transition from Queen to Princess. He declined to answer. "I cannot and will not speak for my mother", he said. But it was obvious she was still very active, and also on occasions represented him at home and abroad. She was also spending a lot of time with her grandchildren, he added. He thought she started her new phase in life in high spirits and the past three years have passed quickly.

Princess Beatrix recently travelled to Bratislava, in Slovakia, to open an exhibition at the Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum, situated on a peninsula in the Danube River, and to symbolically mark the hand over of the Dutch EU presidency to Slovakia. She met with Slovak President Andrej Kiska at the Presidential Palace.  © RB Hans Jacobs

 

Dutch royals enjoy very sunny day in Lech

The Dutch Royal Family enjoyed a very sunny official start to their annual skiing holiday in the Austrian resort of Lech am Arlberg. Four generations of the family have been coming here since Prince Bernhard first 'discovered' Lech in the late fifties. King Willem-Alexander has long since continued that tradition, and his three daughters enjoy Lech as much as he did when he was still young.

Princess Beatrix joined in the fun of the photo op, which was dressed up as a family outing on the slopes of Oberlech, just above the village centre. The 50 journalists and photographers who had gathered here were joined by an equal number of Dutch tourists, who claimed their constitutional 'right' to takes selfies with the royals. Or so it seemed to a more neutral onlooker.

The press meeting lasted a good half hour, with the royals posing in changing combinations, and also showing off their skiing skills. King Willem-Alexander directed the proceeddings, and his three daughters Amalia, Alexia and Ariane followed suit. The King, a regular in Lech since 1968, was accompanied by his youngest brother Prince Constantijn and his family.

A videoclip of the meeting can be seen on Royalblog's YouTube channel:

 

© RB

Queen Sonja teams up with Princess Beatrix

Queen Sonja of Norway joins hands with former queen Beatrix of the Netherlands to inaugurate the exhibition Munch : Van Gogh in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. It is the second time this year Queen Sonja and Princess Beatrix are getting together. Earlier this year they both opened the same exhibition in the Munch Museum in Oslo.

[Beatrix and Sonja match their color scheme]

According to the Amsterdam museum Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) and Edvard Munch (1863-1944) are both known for "their emotionally charged work, their innovative style and their troubled lives." The artists are often compared to each other, and this show is the first opportunity in the Netherlands to see their work displayed side by side.

The exhibition, in which both the Oslo and Amsterdam worked closely together, brings over 100 works of art side by side, including iconic masterpieces and rarely loaned paintings such as The Scream, The Sick Child, Madonna, Patience Escalier and The Bridge at Trinquetaille.

© RB; Photo's by © RPE Albert Nieboer

Princess Beatrix sets windmills in motion

The scene could not be more Dutch. Princess Beatrix travelled to the south-western province of Zeeland (from where New Zealand gets its name) to inaugurate the province's annual Windmill Day - a day to draw attention to the existence and preservation of its many windmills.

The small community of Waarde welcomed the former Queen as if she was still queen of the Netherlands, with music, a band and hundreds of school children with flags.

The choice of location was not random. Beatrix' husband Prince Claus had been here before, in 1993 to officially open the windmill 'De Hoed', which had been relocated and carefully restored to its former glory.

It was thus that Princess Beatrix after listening to speeches about windmill conservation and restauration, and hoisting the flag of the Zeeland Windmill Association, which celebrates its 40th anniversary, was asked the Guest Book of the windmill, and was able to sign next to her late husband autograph.

Princess Beatrix became patron of the Dutch Windmill Assocation in 2014, following the ultimely death of her second son Prince Friso. He in turn had succeeded his father Prince Claus as patron of 'De Vereniging Hollandsche Molen.'

© RB; Photos by © RPE Albert Nieboer; MPE Patrick van Katwijk

 

 

 

Beatrix looks fabulous at Charity Dance Gala

Princess Beatrix still is very active in Dutch public life despite her abdication two years ago. In this she differs from her former colleagues King Albert II of Belgium and King Juan Carlos of Spain, with the former king of the Belgians virtually withdrawn from public life. He takes his retirement seriously, and is of course several years older than Beatrix and Juan Carlos (both 77).

Princess Beatrix on Thursday attended the 'Free To Move' Dance Gala at the South Beach Theater in The Hague, an initiative of the Princess Beatrix Muscle Fund and Holland Dance. The best Dutch modern dancers, from Dutch companies as Nederlands Dans Theater and Introdans, performed for free with proceeds of the evening going to the fight against muscle diseases.
 
The Princess Beatrix Fund makes research possible into the cause, treatment and cure of muscular diseases. After the performance, Princess Beatrix spokes with members of the fund and with young people with muscle disease. She also met some dancers. Princess Beatrix has been patron of the Fund since 1957.

© RB; Photos by © RPE Albert Nieboer

Princess Amalia starts high school after enjoying her last holiday weekend sailing with family

Dutch Princess Amalia was photographed and filmed by her father on his iPhone Monday evening at their Wassenaar residence Eikenhorst as she left for her first day of high school. Amalia took her bicycle for the 10 km ride to the Sorghvliet school in The Hague. A school with 730 pupils she had selected herself, albeit with some supervision of her parents King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands.

If it is up to her parents Monday was the first and only day their eldest daughter would be photographed during her secundary school years. In a statement accompanying the release of the photo the need and desire for privacy was once again stressed and the Royal House underlined that her school years are 'private'. Dutch media therefore were discouraged to come to the school and see the Princess of Orange arrive for her big day.

Unlike for instance Princess Elisabeth, heiress to the throne of Belgium, Amalia, 11, will not be taking part in official functions or activities till she reaches 18. King Willem-Alexander wants his daughters to have a childhood without royal obligations and the priying eyes of media and general public. His investiture and the annual King's Day are the exceptions to that rule, along with one or two photo calls a year, in Winter and Summer.

In her last weekend before the new school life started, Amalia and her sisters Alexia and Ariane enjoyed SAIL Amsterdam 2015 aboard the royal yacht De Groene Draeck, and aboard a police boat. The Groene Draeck was easily spotted and needed a police cordon to fend off skippers who chose to get to close to it for comfort or security, but aboard the police boat the princesses went virtually unnoticed.

Amalia's grandmother, former Queen Beatrix, was also on board her own ship Saturday, as she enjoyed the company of 5 of her 8 grandchildren, including countess Luana and countess Zaria, who were joined by their mother Princess Mabel.

On Sunday, when the young girls took sailing lessons and enjoyed the scenery on Amsterdams' IJ, Prince Maurits and his wife Princess Marilène had the honour of taking the Admiral's Salute from over one hundred traditional boats.

Prince Maurits was patron of the nautical event, a position he inherited when his cousin Willem-Alexander became King. In 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010 the present King had taken the salute on board of the Groene Draeck, often joined by other members of the Royal Family. Prince Maurits continued in that tradition by taking along his children Anna, Lucas and Felicia.

© Royalblog, Hans Jacobs; For more: Royalblog Facebook

Photos by © RVD HM The King, © Monarchy Press Europe, Patrick van Katwijk and © RPE Albert Nieboer

Warm welcome for Princess Beatrix in Curaçao

Princess Beatrix on Saturday inaugurated an exhibition on the war effort of Curaçao, the strategic Dutch Caribbean island off the coast of Venezuela. The former queen flew to Curaçao by invitation of the island government and the Curaçao Museum, which organises the exhibition 'Guera na Kòrsou'.

 

Princess Beatrix was welcomed with full honours upon arrival at the Curaçao Museum. The Volunteer Corps of Curaçao and the Dutch Royal Navy provided a guard of honour, and before the presentation both national anthems were played. Both the governor of the island and its Prime Minister were present, along with representatives of the UK, USA and France - war time allies in the Caribbean.

Curaçao along with sister island Aruba owed its importance during the Second World War to its Shell oil refinery, where oil from Venezuela was handled for the Allied war effort. Without the kerosine produced here the War might have lasted longer, Prime Minister Ivar Asjes said in a speech at the inauguaration. The Germans tried to torpedo the similar Esso refinery on neighbouring Aruba.

Princess Beatrix was greeted by a Youth Choir that sang a special song thanking her for her long reign and her love for the Dutch Caribbean islands. It was her first visit to the island, an independent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, since her abdication.

Beatrix' son and successor King Willem-Alexander on Saturday finished a short trip to Aruba and the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire.

(c) Royalblog Hans Jacobs

Princess Beatrix to visit Curaçao in May

The Dutch Caribbean will welcome three royal visitors in as many days at the end of April and the start of May. Princess Beatrix is set to visit Curaçao on May 2, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima are to visit the islands of Bonaire (April 30) and Aruba (May 1).

It is the first time Princess Beatrix returns to Willemstad in Curaçao since her abdication in April 2013 and her succesful visit to the island in November 2011, when she was accompanied by Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Máxima. Last year the former queen already visited the island of St Maarten. 

Princess Beatrix will open the exposition ‘Guera na Kòrsou?!; War in Curaçao 1940-1945’ in the Curaçao Museum in Willemstad. The exposition highlights the events that involved Curaçao during the Second World War, now 70 years ago.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima will attend the local festivities of Día de Ricon on the island of Bonaire before heading to Aruba to join in the bicentenary celebrations of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which will be marked with Sail Aruba. © RB

 

Princess Beatrix washes windows, Máxima paints

Need your windows washed or walls painted? Call the Dutch Royal Family and they will come over and do just that. King Willem-Alexander went down on his knees to put tape on a floor to mark the place where equipment should be placed.

His wife Queen Máxima was white washing the walls, and a day earlier former queen Beatrix was seen cleaning windows, as other members of her extended family volunteered to other odd jobs. At the same time in Amsterdam Prince Maurits and Princess Marilène helped out in the Vondel Park's Rose Garden.

The activities were part of the Dutch equivalent of 'Make a Difference Day', called 'NL Doet'. All across the Kingdom people volunteer to help out playgrounds, youth centres, libraries, community centres to get ready for Spring, or to do something extra for people in hospitals or care facilities. The royal help is never announced beforehand, and fellow volunteers are always surprised when the royal couple or Princess Beatrix turn up.

© RB; Screenshots EO Blauw Bloed

Dutch Royal Family meets the press in Lech

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, along with their three daughters and former queen Princess Beatrix invited the international media to a short photo call on the sun kissed slopes of Oberlech in Austria.

The Dutch royals were fewer than in past years. Princess Mabel and her children Luana and Zaria left Lech, the favourite royal retreat in the Austrian Alps for over 55 years, on Saturday, as did Prince Constantijn and his family. The school holidays in London and Brussels did not coincide with the break for Willem-Alexander's brood Amalia, Alexia and Ariane.

Princess Beatrix initially had not wanted to take part in the annual, traditional photo call. But over the weekend she changed her mind, agreeing with her son that it would be more fun for all that way. Her presence was greatly appreciated by all and she willingly posed for the 50-odd photographers and cameramen. It gave the media the chance fo take a rare picture of the former queen, the present king and the future queen: Beatrix, Willem-Alexander and Amalia.

The weather cooperated nicely Monday. While Sunday had been grey and overcast with some light snow, the sun came out during the photo call, much to tye dislike of Princess Alexia, who had a hard time keeping her eyes open. "Yes you are enjoying it", her father said encouragingly, using reverse psychology on his second daughter. The royal family posed in different combinations before embarking on some 'light' skiing, while Princess Beatrix, 77, retired to a nearby hotel. She is still skiing but doesnt feel the need to show off.

VIDEO IMPRESSION

 

© Royalblog, Marius Cirtiu