Queen Beatrix, Prince Willem-Alexander & Princess Maxima in Middle-East trip to UAE & Oman

This caption stirred a row in the Netherlands, for the fact the Queen and Princess Maxima used veils in a sacred place. No comments.

On January 8th, Queen Beatrix accompanied by Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and his wife, Princess Máxima, and a delegation of business leaders visited the UAE, invited by President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. This was the Queen’s fiftieth state visit since she was crowned in 1980.


On January 10th, the Queen and her entourage traveled on to Oman at the invitation of Sultan Qaboos. A prior state visit, planned in March, was called off in view of the ongoing pro-democracy demonstrations and the violent crackdown by Oman’s authorities. The Dutch parliament cancelled the state visit after two demonstrators died in clashes with Omani security forces in February. Dutch MPs did not want the state visit to be seen as endorsing the regime. In a surprise move, Queen Beatrix travelled to Oman after all, arguing her tip had been downgraded to a private visit.


Sultan Qaboos is Oman’s head of state, prime minister, defence minister, foreign minister and the head of the armed forces. The country has no legal political parties.


The UAE is a federation of seven absolute monarchies. The Federal National Council consists of 40 members drawn from all the emirates. Half are appointed by the emirates’ rulers, and the other half are indirectly elected to serve two-year terms.The first indirect elections took place in 2006.

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[The Netherlands] Queen Beatrix hosts dinner for Mali's president, Amadou Toumani Toure and his wife

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December 2nd, 2011 - Official photo of President of Mali, Amadou Toumani Touré and and Mrs Touré Lobbo Traoré with Queen Beatrix, Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Maxima. The President was in the Netherlands for a 3 day official visit in The Netherlands

[The Netherlands] Princess Maxima's 40th royal birthday concert - The Family

Maxima's parents (Maria Del Carmen & Jorge Zorreguieta) & her brother Martin with her and her husband, Prince Willem-Alexander

Oops! Maxima's dad step onto her dress!

Prince Friso & wife Princess Mabel

Pieter van Vollenhoven & his wife, Princess Margriet, sister of the Queen

Princess Anita & husband Prince Pieter-Christiaan of Orange-Nassau, the son of Princess Margriet

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[The Netherlands] Princess Maxima's 40th royal birthday concert

It was Princess Maxima's birthday last month so she gathered her best royal friends to celebrate her 40th birthday in a concert on May 28th.

In a speech during the event, she thanked her mother-in-law, Queen Beatrix, and her husband, Prince Willem-Alexander, for their support

She looked dashing in orange. Goes perfectly with her skin tone.

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[The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's Wedding] Prince Willem-Alexander of Orange and Princess Maxima of nude

[United Kingdom] [Pre-Wedding] Willem-Alexander and Maxima in London

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Prince Willem-Alexander of Orange-Nassau and his wife, always smily Princess Maxima arrived in London this morning. They are here in front of their hotel. She is carrying a Burberry trench (funny, Princess Letizia was wearing one as well as she arrived to London) and her husband coordinated his pochette with his dress. Maybe, that was not on purpose, but let's suppose so. Also, a big miss here at RO, yesterday was the Heir to the Dutch Crown's 44th birthday. Looking forward to big celebrations next year. His 40th birthday was unforgettable.

[The Netherlands] If you always asked yourself in which language Princess Maxima talks to her daughters...

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... ask no more. She speaks three different languages: mainly Dutch, and also English and Spanish. I really admire women able to raise their children in a language different then their own (thinking about Princesses Mary and Marie of Denmark, for instance).

In this video, we spend a few months - in seven minutes! - with Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Maxima, with their two daughters, Princesses Amalia and Alexia. At the end of the documentary, one can perceive Maxima is pregnant with her latest one, princess Ariane. Also, we notice Maxima singing in Spanish, English and Dutch. These little girls are totally future bilinguals (if they aren't already!).

(for English subtitles, push the CC button on the video)

[The Netherlands] [VIDEO] The emotional engagement of Prince Willem-Alexander to Maxima Zorreguieta (2001)

Máxima Zorreguieta met the heir to the Dutch throne, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, in April 1999 in Sevilla, Spain, during the Seville Spring Fair, also known as the "Feria de Abril de Sevilla." This is an important annual event, to which many people from other countries come and dress in typical Spanish Andalusian costume. In an interview, they stated that he introduced himself only as "Alexander," so that she did not know he was a prince. She thought he was joking when he told her he was a Prince. They agreed to meet in New York, where Máxima was working for Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, two weeks later. Their relationship apparently began in New York, but the Princess did not meet the Prince's parents, Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus, for some time.

The couple announced their engagement on March 30th, 2001 after receiving approval from the Dutch parliament (necessary by law for the Prince of Orange to remain heir to the throne). Princess Máxima addressed the nation in fluent Dutch during the directly televised broadcast on the occasion of the engagement. We can hereby see her speaking, after Queen Beatrix and Consort Prince Claus von Amsberg (who was quite ill at the time) addressed the nation.

Princess Máxima and Prince Willem-Alexander were married on February 2nd, 2002 in a civil ceremony in the Beurs van Berlage, Amsterdam which was then followed by a religious ceremony at the Nieuwe Kerk. They have three daughters, Catharina-Amalia, Alexia and Ariane as of today.

Dutch crown couple asked to sell mansion in Mozambique over controversy

A holiday home on a private estate in Mozambique, built for crown prince Willem-Alexander and princess Máxima, has not yet been sold, 18 months after the prince pledged to do so, the NRC reports on Saturday.

In addition, sources told the paper the prince and his family has stayed in the house on several occasions. The state information service RVD admits they used it during last year’s football World Cup in South Africa.

The couple said they would sell the house in November 2009 following a wave of negative publicity about the project, including claims of corruption, environmental damage and a lack of benefits for the local population.

'The prince will tell the prime minister as soon as the house is sold,' a spokesman for the RVD said.

The house, which is not on the open market, is thought to be worth about €2m.

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Dutch royals Queen Beatrix, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Crown Princess Maxima on official visit to Germany

The weather certainly didn't cooperate as the Netherlands' Crown Princess Maxima began a state visit to Germany in blustery winds and torrential rain.

In fact, her husband Prince Willem-Alexander even joked about it, quipping to his hosts: "What wonderful weather we're having."

With her usual impeccable sense of occasion, Maxima was on dazzling form as she swept up to Berlin's Bellevue Palace, the official residence of President Christian Wulff and his wife Bettina, for an evening banquet.

Argentine-born Maxima was elegant in a floor-length blush-hued gown, her look topped off by a sparkling tiara, diamond earrings and a bracelet.

The charismatic royal couple were supporting Willem’s mother Queen Beatrix as she makes her first official tour in almost three decades, to the homeland of her late husband Prince Claus, a former German diplomat who died in 2002.

Aside from nostalgia, the queen also had another compelling motive for the visit – a desire to see the developments since East and West united in 1990.

And she had an opportunity to find out all about that when she was received the following day by Chancellor Angela Merkel.

from Hellomagazine.com

Dutch royals visit Dresden (Germany)

On the third day of their four-day state visit to Germany, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Máxima are visiting Dresden.

The Dutch royals will attend an official reception in the Frauenkirche which, like much of the city, was bombed by the Allies during World War II. The church remained a ruin for long after the war, but was rebuilt in 2005. The queen, prince and princess will also take a walk along other bombsites in the city which have been rebuilt. The walk will end in the Grünes Gewölbe (Green Vault) of Dresden Castle which holds the largest collection of art treasures and precious objects in Europe.

In the afternoon, the royals will visit solar panel manufacturers and attend a seminar on green energy. The day will end with a visit to a Dance Academy.

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Dutch Queen Beatrix visits Berlin

The President was set to welcome the 73-year-old monarch at Bellevue Palace at 11 am with military honours.

Ahead of her arrival, Wulff underscored the connection between the two countries.

“Germany and the Netherlands are bound by much more than a common border – namely the best of neighbourship and friendship,” he said.

After meeting with Wulff, the Queen will discuss business partnerships between the two countries with Chancellor Merkel.

Later in the evening, a state banquet with some 150 guests will be held at Bellevue Palace in honour of the Queen, whose motto for the visit is “The New Germany.”

She will be accompanied by Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and his wife Máxima.

On Wednesday, Queen Beatrix and President Wulff will lunch with German youths born in 1990, the year of Germany’s reunification.

The Queen and her family will then travel on to the states of Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia on Thursday.

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[The Netherlands] First day of school for 4-year old Dutch princess Ariane

It was a bittersweet moment for the Dutch Crown couple this monday: their baby daughter, princess Ariane just turned 4. And as the Dutch law orders, she started school, attending the same one as her older sisters, Catharina-Amalia and Alexia.

Doesn't she have the sweetest eyes?

Maxima and Willem escaped from the snow to spend Christmas in Argentina

She speaks fluent Dutch and is hugely popular in her adopted homeland Netherlands. But there are times when Crown Princess Maxima must feel the call of home, especially at this time of year when summer is just beginning in Argentina and northern Europe is under a blanket of snow.

So, the charismatic royal and her husband Willem-Alexander are escaping the chill by spending Christmas in Patagonia. And Maxima looked thrilled to be back on native turf as the couple posed for pictures with their adorable daughters Amalia, Alexia and Ariane.

The photoshoot in the spectacular setting of the Residencia El Messidor – the official mansion of the province's governor, which is located in Nahuel Huapi national park – was held amidst a playful atmosphere, with the girls picking daisies to offer their mum.

The trip means the girls can spend time with their maternal grandparents, Jorge Zorreguieta and Maria del Carmen Cerruti, who are flying in from the capital Buenos Aires.

There is a suggestion that Queen Beatrix will join them for some southern sunshine – although that has not been confirmed by the Dutch royal family.

Enamoured of the breathtaking scenery in the area just near the Chilean border, the royals bought a $3.5 million ranch there a few years ago.

Set in tranquil countryside on the banks of River Pichi Leufu, Maxima's estancia or estate is an ideal spot for fishing and kayaking. It's the perfect retreat for a couple craving some peace and quiet away from the hurly burly of public life. The location also allows them to catch up with her brother Martin, the owner of a gourmet restaurant in a nearby town, who found the property for them.

from Hellomagazine.com