“Last year, circumstances caused [our eldest daughter, Amalia] to reside in Madrid. From there she was able to continue her studies at the University of Amsterdam. All of this was possible thanks to the affectionate dedication of a large number of her fellow citizens and her Majesties.” With these unexpected words, King William of Orange thanked this Wednesday the hospitality shown by Felipe VI and Queen Letizia towards the heir to the Dutch throne, whose freedom was restricted in 2022 after receiving threats from organized crime. The Dutch sovereign said this in a speech he gave this Wednesday during the gala dinner that he offered to the King and Queen of Spain for their state visit to the Netherlands.
The monarch has assured that his first-born daughter's stay in the Spanish capital in 2023 "was a moving proof of friendship in a difficult period", and wanted to express his "most sincere gratitude to Their Majesties and to all those who collaborated in that effort." . The relations between both royal houses are very close on a personal level and excellent on an official level, and King William has also stressed in his parliament the love he feels for Spain. “A visit to Spain is always like a warm hug. A feeling that he shares with us [in reference to his wife, Queen Máxima] our eldest daughter, the Princess of Orange,” he assured. The current kings met in 1999 at the April Fair in Seville, to which both had been invited. In 2019 they returned to the festivities of the Andalusian capital accompanied by their three daughters: Amalia, Alexia and Ariane.
Subject to strong security measures, Amalia had to abandon face-to-face classes at the University of Amsterdam in 2022, where she is studying a degree in Politics, Psychology, Law and Economics. Abruptly, she was left with no room for maneuver and had to avoid the street until she was almost confined to her home. She went to class and came back, and she could not fulfill her dream of living with some friends in a student house in the Dutch capital.
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King William has chosen the gala dinner to give a verbal hug to Don Felipe and Doña Letizia for their support. It is the most emblematic, dazzling and photographed moment of the state visit, and it so happens that Princess Amalia was making her debut at an event of this kind. She was in the dining room of the Royal Palace of Amsterdam and it was a very emotional moment. Also for her mother, Queen Máxima. The protection of the princess is essential and she is still present.
The current acting Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, was also threatened in 2022 and protective regulations were reinforced. The police suspected that the challenge to the State came from the so-called Mocro Mafia, the local version - although already branched on an international scale - of the drug underworld.
A year later, in February 2023, Amalia de Orange accompanied her parents for the first time on an official visit to the Dutch territories in the Caribbean, and there she admitted her difficult situation. “I'll be honest: I'm still having a very hard time. I miss student life, walking down the street, entering a store without problems… and I hope things change as soon as possible,” she said. Supported at all times by Kings William and Máxima, Amalia toured the former colonies in a meeting marked by slave memory.
Drug trafficking
The slowdown that the threat of drug trafficking posed to the personal and intellectual development of a young woman who had barely come of age was repudiated by her compatriots. Especially those who had children her age. But the wave of solidarity could not change things and security was non-negotiable. Then the formula of temporary residence in Spain was sought, which should not involve an additional effort since the princess speaks Spanish thanks to the fact that her mother, Queen Máxima, was born in Argentina. In the 10-part
podcast
series that marked the 10th anniversary of her enthronement, King William admitted in 2023 that the situation had been “a hard blow for his daughter and the entire family.” “Uncertainty, lack of freedom, this is not how you want to raise your children and not what you want to transmit to them,” he acknowledged. He also said he was very proud of her “for how he had coped.”
Princess Amalia also plans to attend the response reception offered by the Spanish Kings in honor of the sovereigns of the Netherlands, which will take place this Thursday at the Straat Museum of Mural and Street Art in Amsterdam.
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