The Dutch royal family has always been the ideal and beloved model of the Dutch. Here are interesting things you didn’t know about this powerful family!
Since 2013, Willem-Alexander is the king of the Netherlands. He succeeded his mother, Beatrix, who was queen for 33 years. Willem-Alexander is married to Máxima, an Argentine. She is loved by everyone for her beauty and warmth! Pictures of the royal wedding went worldwide as Máxima burst into tears during a musical performance in Argentina that reminded her of her homeland.
The royal couple has three daughters: Amalia (17 years old), Alexia (15 years old) and Ariane (13 years old). The family lives in a palace in The Hague and they live as normal a life as possible: the girls go to an ordinary school.
They don’t wear crowns.
In fact, they weren’t even crowned. Willem-Alexander became king as soon as his mother signed his abdication, and even during the official inauguration ceremony, the crown, sphere, and scepter were only displayed on the table.
The crown was made from gilded silver in 1840, using pearls and imitation jewelry made of fish scales, glass, and colored foil.
The new king made his diving suit.
Willem-Alexander spent two years living in rainy Wales in the mid-1980s when he was a student at class 6 international college. His mother, Queen Beatrix, went to Atlantic University near Bridgend to farewell to her son. Dutch television crews were invited along to capture the moment and were occasionally spotted later lurking in the bushes.
The college, known as AC, is home to students from over 90 countries. The campus boasts a Harry Potter-style medieval castle. The teenage prince joined AC’s student-run RNLI lifeboat service, sometimes being called to the rescue; you had to sew your wetsuit. He’s also a pretty good squash player. A laid-back character, Willem is known to be a partygoer and a bit like Romeo.
The Dutch royal family is more expensive than the British royal family.
The Dutch royal family is quite expensive for a supposedly normal Scandinavian-style cycling monarchy.
The total cost of the Dutch royal family is four times higher than that of the Spanish royal family.
The Dutch royal family is also very wealthy. In 2009, Forbes magazine estimated Queen Beatrix’s fortune at $200 million.
Willem has a reputation.
King Willem-Alexander is a young man nicknamed himself Prins Pils (Prince of the Tomb) because of his student drinking habits and once drove his car down a ditch.
They have a habit of marrying unworthy people.
Former Queen Beatrix caused outrage in 1966 when she chose to marry Klaus-Georg von Amsberg, a member of the German nobility and a former soldier of the Hitler Youth and the Wehrmacht. The ceremony saw angry chanting and smoke bombs being thrown in protest at founding one of the country’s former occupiers.
Then, in 2002, Willem-Alexander married Maxima Zorreguieta Cerruti, the Argentinian daughter of a man who served as dictator Videla’s minister during the dark years of the military. He didn’t attend the wedding. However, both partners later proved to be good choices and became increasingly loved by the Dutch public.
Their children go to state schools.
The royals of this country are staunch egalitarians. King Willem-Alexander attended public schools, as did his daughters Catharina-Amalia, Alexia and Ariane. His wife, Queen Maxima, was even enrolled there as the “mother of lice,” in charge of checking the children’s hair.
They have normal jobs.
Before a skiing accident left him in a coma, Friso, Willem-Alexander’s younger brother (who gave up his royal title to marry his wife Mabel, whom parliament might disapprove of) was a banker. and later the chief financial officer of Urenco, a nuclear fuel company. The youngest brother Constantijn works for Rand Corporation, a policy consulting organization.
They have a bit of politics.
As in Britain, Dutch royals are expected not to express political views and sign anything that parliament puts in front of them, and in general, they do. However, when Queen Beatrix visited mosques in Oman and Abu Dhabi last year, she was criticized by Geert Wilders, a prominent anti-Muslim party leader, for wearing the hijab. In response, she told reporters the row was “nonsense,” giving a pretty good indication of where her empathy lies.
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Interesting facts you didn’t know about King Willem Alexander
