Several months after her unwanted withdrawal, the Dutch Crown Princess Amalia (19) will soon dare to go public again. Accompanied by her parents, King Willem-Alexander (55) and Queen Máxima (51), the 19-year-old embarks on her first official trip abroad on Friday (January 27). The trio will visit the Caribbean for two weeks.
The itinerary leads from Bonaire, Aruba and Curaçao via Sint Maarten and Sint Eustasius to Saba. The trip will introduce Amalia to the Caribbean part of the Dutch kingdom, according to the palace’s website. The royal couple and their daughter have more than 60 appointments, including state receptions, visits to schools and hospitals and meetings with locals.
For the 19-year-old heir to the throne, her first state trip is certainly exciting for other reasons: Since autumn 2022, she has had to withdraw from the public for security reasons and has been under increased surveillance. In September, several Dutch media outlets reported that the Princess of Orange was under heightened security amid fears that criminal gangs might be targeting her for kidnapping or attacking her.
Just a few weeks earlier, she had started studying politics and economics at the University of Amsterdam and had moved into a rented apartment in the capital, which she shared with several other students. Out of concern for her safety, she soon had to move back to the royal palace Huis ten Bosch in The Hague.
“She can hardly leave the house,” Dutch news agency ANP quoted Queen Máxima as saying in mid-October while she was on a state visit to Sweden with her husband. “The consequences are very difficult for them,” Máxima continued. “There is no student life for them like others have.”
