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

 

King Carl Gustaf celebrates 70th birthday

A right royal gathering Saturday in Stockholm for the 70th birthday bash of King Carl XVI Gustaf. Royals from far and near gathered in the sunny Swedish capital to honour the king, who this year marks 43 years on the throne. Spanish king-emeritus Juan Carlos and queen Sofia ventured outside of Spain for the first time together since April 2014, when Juan Carlos was still reigning monarch. Also present was former Dutch queen Beatrix, and the former tsar (king) and queen of the Bulgarians, Simeon II and Margarita.

Notably absent from the festivities were the king and queen of neighbouring Norway, along with Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit. They cancelled their trip after a helicopter crash killed 13 on Friday. The Norwegian royal huse will still represented though, by Princess Märtha Louise and husband Ari Behn.

There was a royal debut: Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel decided to bring their two months old Prince Oscar to the musical tribute to the King in front of the Palace. Princess Estelle enjoyed times on the arms of her father and of her uncle, Prince Carl Philip. He and his wife Princess Sofia, who made her first public appearance since giving birth earlier this month, kept their baby son Prince Alexander out of sight. Princess Madeleine and husband Chris O'Neill did the same with their two children.

The festivities for the king's birthday already started on Monday, and found their high point in a festive concert Friday evening in the Nordic Museum. Crown Princess Victoria gave a poignant tribute to her father, and some of the foreign royal guests already joined in, e.g. the Bulgarian royal couple, Crown Princess Margarita of Romania and husband Prince Radu, and Serbian Crown Prince Aleksandar and Crown Princess Katherine.

Saturday's celebrations started with a service of Thanksgiving at the Royal Chapel, attended by king Juan Carlos, queen Sofia, queen Margrethe and Princess Benedikte, Prince Albert II of Monaco and Princess Takamodo of Japan, along with the extended Swedish royal familiy, including the king's four elder sisters Margaretha, Birgitta, Desirée and Christina.

© RB Hans Jacobs; Screenshots SVT

Many royal guests at celebrations for Carl Gustaf

King Carl Gustaf of Sweden hosted a galabanquet at the Royal Palace in honour of his 70th birthday Saturday. The dinner was attended by royals from several countries, but notably absent was the Norwegian royal couple and Spain's former monarchs Juan Carlos and Sofia, who did attend the day's earlier activities.

The guest list of the King's birthday, as published by the Swedish Court:

• Belgium: king Filip and queen Mathilde
• Bulgaria: king (tsar) Simeon II and queen Margarita
• Denmark: queen Margrethe, Crown Prince Frederik, Crown Princess Mary, Princess Benedikte
• Finland: president Sauli Niimistö and spouse Jenni
• Iceland: president Ólafur Ragar Grimsson and spouse Dorrit
• Japan: Princess Takamodo
• Jordan: Prince Hassan, Princess Salvath, Prince Raad and Princess Majda
• Liechtenstein: Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie
• Monaco: Prince Albert II
• Netherlands: Princess Beatrix
• Norway: Princess Märtha Louise and Ari Behn
• Romania: Crown Princess Margarita and Prince Radu
• Serbia: Crown Princess Aleksandar and Crown Princess Katherine
• Spain (not staying for dinner): king Juan Carlos and queen Sofia

A couple of German royal and princely houses were invited as well:

• Bavaria: Duke Max and Princess Elizabeth
• Bavaria: Prince Leopold and Princess Ursula, Prince Manuel and Princess Anna
• Saxe-Coburg and Gotha: Prince Andreas, Hereditary Prince Hubertus and Hereditary Princess Kelly

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:

 

France gets royal visit from The Netherlands

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima will bring a State Visit to France on 10 and 11th of March. The visit, at the invitation of President François Hollande, was already announced in June last year but no date had been given. The royal couple will be accompanied by Bert Koenders, the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Willem-Alexander  in his New Year's speech already looked ahead to the State Visit, his seventh state visit since taking office in 2013. President Hollande in January 2014 came on an official visit to the Netherlands. The last Dutch state visit to France took place 25 years ago. © RB; Photo: © MPE Patrick van Katwijk

THE OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT IN FRENCH:

A l’invitation du président François Hollande, leurs Majestés le Roi Willem-Alexander et la Reine Máxima des Pays-Bas effectueront une visite d’État en France pour les 10 et 11 mars prochains. Le couple royal sera accompagné d’une importante délégation économique.

Cette visite marquera l’importance des relations historiques qui lient nos deux pays, au moment où les Pays-Bas assurent aussi la Présidence de l’Union Européenne. Le président de la République s’était rendu aux Pays-Bas pour une visite officielle en janvier 2014.

Tribute to Grand Duke Jean - with Queen Sofia, Belgian royal couple, Princess Beatrix

'Happy birthday to you ' rang out in a full house at the Philharmonie in Luxembourg Saturday evening, as the royal family, government, honoured guests and the Luxembourg population fêted Grand Duke Jean, who turned 95 earlier in the week, with a musical tribute and special party.

King Philip and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians, Queen Sofia of Spain an her sister Princess Irene, King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes, former queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, former Crown Prince Hassan of Jordan and Princess Sarvath were among the many royal guests at this festive evening.

Grand Duke Jean, who ruled from 1964 tot 2000, and who was succeeded by his son Grand Duke Henri, had five children with his wife Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte (+2005). They in turn had quite a few children - Henri in turn also had five, and now has grandchildren too - so it made for an enormous family reunion as everyone gathered at the Grand Ducal Palace ahead of the concert. Two buses were needed to transport Jean's grandchildren and their partners to the Philharmonie.

Remarkbale absentees were Jean's brother- and sister-in law, King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium, who did attend the concert five years ago when Jean turned 90.

© RB Hans Jacobs; Photos by © MPE Patrick van Katwijk

Former Queen Beatrix visits Boston

Princess Beatrix, the former queen of the Netherlands, on Monday evening inaugurated at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts the new exhibition Distinctions: Dutch Painting in the Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer.

The exhibition gives a new understanding of 17th-century Dutch painting. Through 75 carefully selected works, borrowed from European and American public and private collections, the exhibit shows in which ways paintings represent the various socioeconomic groups of the 17th century Dutch Republic - from Beatrix' forebearers, the Princes of Orange, to the most indigent.

Nobles, merchants, and milkmaids are among the figures in the thematic groupings, reflecting the social order of the powerful Dutch Republic. Paitings shown are from Rembrandt and Vermeer, but also masterpieces by Jan Steen, Frans Hals, Pieter ter Borch and Gerrit Dou.

The exhibition opens to the public on October 11 and runs through January 18, 2016.

© RB; Photo by © RPE Albert Nieboer

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