Birthday in orange
Princesses stole the show for Willem-Alexander
The Netherlands celebrated King Willem-Alexander's 57th birthday on Saturday with countless street parties in a blaze of orange. Queen Máxima was not the only eye-catcher, however, but above all the royal couple's three beautiful daughters: Princesses Amalia (20), Alexia (18) and Ariane (17).
The official jubilee reception for the king took place in the town of Emmen, very close to the border with Lower Saxony.
To the sound of rock'n'roll, a team of cyclists in orange jerseys escorted the royal family's bus into the city center - a reference to the fact that Emmen is located in the north-eastern province of Drenthe, which is considered the "cycling province" of the Netherlands with its numerous cycle paths. The ceremony was accompanied by a strong security presence.
Radiant appearance
As always, Queen Máxima, who comes from Argentina, attracted a lot of attention for her outfit. This year, she wore a flared green dress with a short white jacket and an eye-catching hair ornament in the form of a green and gold swarm of butterflies.
But above all, the three princesses looked magical that day. While Ariane had opted for a rust-red trouser suit, Alexia was radiant in a white dress, over which she had pulled a red coat and which she had combined with red boots. Crown Princess Amalia, on the other hand, matched her mother perfectly: she wore a green patterned dress and a pine green coat.
Falling poll ratings
The party mood was dampened by a further drop in poll ratings: only 44% of Dutch people still have full confidence in Willem-Alexander, according to this year's King's Day survey commissioned by NOS - two percentage points less than last year. When the King took office eleven years ago, the figure was around 75 percent.
According to the pollsters, the cause can be found in the royal couple themselves: Willem-Alexander and Máxima had caused annoyance on several occasions during the corona crisis. Among other things, they jetted off to a vacation villa in Greece, although the Dutch were actually supposed to stay at home. In addition, the Orange royals celebrated Crown Princess Amalia's birthday lavishly, while all parties had to be canceled for the "normal consumers".
Many felt that the public apologies for this were half-hearted. Four years on, it is clear that lasting damage has been done, according to the NOS broadcaster.
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