Máxima and Willem-Alexander. The King and Queen share the most anticipated photo opportunity with their daughters in Huis ten Bosch.
After a force majeure postponement, the Dutch royal family finally reappeared in full on Monday, June 30, in the gardens of Huis ten Bosch Palace for the traditional summer photo shoot. Walking along the stone paths, crossing wooden bridges, or getting lost in the spectacular vegetation that at times blended into their outfits, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima once again revealed their freshest, most relaxed, and closest side, accompanied by their daughters, Princesses Amalia (21), Alexia (20), and Ariane (18), who surprised everyone by already surpassing her sisters. And, of course, they did not forget to include Mambo, the poodle that has accompanied them since 2021 and has been the great pampered of the palace, as a "guest star" in several of the postcards. Amalia—wearing white jeans, a puff-sleeved shirt, and Adidas sneakers—looked radiant and fully recovered, considering that she had undergone emergency surgery just a few days earlier after falling off a horse and fracturing her arm during a riding class. While we had seen the Crown Princess a few days ago at the NATO Summit, receiving the Alliance's heads of state and government alongside her parents in this very palace (Donald Trump even stayed in the guest wing), she was seen without a sling this time.
The public reunion was also very special because the five hadn't been seen together since last November's photo shoot. The princesses are both dedicated to their studies, and only the heir to the Orange Nassau throne maintains a constant presence on the institutional agenda, while she completes her studies in Politics, Psychology, Law, and Economics (PPLE) with a specialization in Law at the University of Amsterdam (she is awaiting the results of her thesis, according to De Telegraaf). Her sister Alexia is studying Science and Engineering for Social Change at the prestigious University College London (UCL), and Ariane has just completed her International Baccalaureate at a United World College in Duino, Italy, and her next academic steps will be announced soon. The "empty nest" is beginning to be felt in the palace.
After the shoot, all smiles, the royal family met with the press in a shaded area to exchange a few words. There, among other things, Amalia expressed her gratitude for the displays of affection she'd received over the past few days and assured them she couldn't wait to get back on horseback. She also announced that she will be doing an internship at the Ministry of Defense and that, once she finishes her degree, she will pursue a degree in Dutch Law. She also praised her sisters, especially Ariane, who had suddenly become "a grown woman."
A HOUSE IN THE FOREST WITH DREAM GARDENS
In Dutch, Huis Ten Bosch means "House of the Forest," and this is literal, as the palace is located in the middle of the Haagse Bos forest, which connects the center of The Hague with the Wassenaar estate, a former hunting ground for Dutch aristocrats. Built in 1645 by order of Countess Amalia van Solms (exiled there with her husband, the Stadtholder (head of the former Dutch Republic) Frederick Henry of Nassau), this property and its magnificent flower-filled gardens, ponds, paths, and private lake (there is also a swimming pool and tennis court) hold enormous sentimental value for King Willem-Alexander. Although the current monarch only moved there with his family in 2019, after three years of renovations costing 63 million euros, Huis ten Bosch is the palace he moved to at the age of 13, when his mother, the then Queen Beatrix, made it their family home. It was in this vast, lush, and green park that Her Majesty forged many of the most cherished memories of her life, which continue and are renewed today by Máxima and her daughters.
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