Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands
Willem-Alexander is the current King of the Netherlands, having reigned since 30 April 2013.
Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht during the reign of his maternal grandmother, Queen Juliana, as the eldest child of Princess Beatrix and Prince Claus. He became Prince of Orange as heir apparent upon his mother's accession on 30 April 1980. He went to public primary and secondary schools in the Netherlands, and an international sixth-form college in Wales. He served in the Royal Netherlands Navy, and studied history at Leiden University. He married Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti in 2002, and they have three daughters: Catharina-Amalia, Alexia, and Ariane. Willem-Alexander succeeded his mother as monarch upon her abdication on 30 April 2013. He is the first man to hold this position since the death of his great-great-grandfather William III in 1890, as the intervening three monarchs—his great-grandmother Wilhelmina, his grandmother Juliana and his mother Beatrix—had all been women.
Willem-Alexander is interested in sports and international water management issues. Until his accession to the throne, he was a member of the International Olympic Committee, chairman of the Advisory Committee on Water to the Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment, and chairman of the Secretary-General of the United Nations' Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation.
Early life and education
Willem-Alexander was born on 27 April 1967 at Academic Hospital Utrecht in Utrecht. He is the first child of Princess Beatrix and Prince Claus, and the first grandchild of Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard. He was the first male Dutch royal baby since the birth of Prince Alexander in 1851, and the first immediate male heir since Alexander's death in 1884.From birth, Willem-Alexander has held the titles Prince of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau, and Jonkheer of Amsberg. He was baptised as a member of the Dutch Reformed Church on 2 September 1967 in Saint Jacob's Church in The Hague. His godparents are his maternal grandfather Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, his paternal grandmother Gösta Freiin von dem Bussche-Haddenhausen, Prince Ferdinand von Bismarck, former Prime Minister Jelle Zijlstra, Jonkvrouw Renée Röell, and Queen Margrethe II.
He had two younger brothers: Prince Friso and Prince Constantijn. He lived with his family at the castle Drakensteyn in the hamlet Lage Vuursche near Baarn from his birth until 1981, when they moved to the larger palace Huis ten Bosch in The Hague. His mother, Beatrix, became Queen of the Netherlands in 1980, after his grandmother Juliana abdicated. He then received the title of Prince of Orange as heir apparent to the throne of the Kingdom of the Netherlands at the age of 13.
Willem-Alexander attended local state primary school Nieuwe Baarnse Elementary School in Baarn from 1973 to 1979. He went to two different state secondary schools and the private sixth-form college United World College of the Atlantic in Wales, where he received his International Baccalaureate.
After his military service from 1985 to 1987, Willem-Alexander studied history at Leiden University from 1987 onwards and received his Master of Arts degree in 1993. His final thesis was on the Dutch response to France's decision under President Charles de Gaulle to leave NATO's integrated command structure.
Willem-Alexander speaks English, Spanish, French, and German in addition to his native Dutch.
Military training and career
Between secondary school and his university education, Willem-Alexander performed military service in the Royal Netherlands Navy from August 1985 until January 1987. He received his training at the Royal Netherlands Naval College and in the frigates HNLMS Tromp and HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen, where he was an ensign. In 1988 he received additional training in the ship HNLMS Van Kinsbergen and became a lieutenant .As a reservist for the Royal Netherlands Navy, Willem-Alexander was promoted to lieutenant commander in 1995, commander in 1997, Captain at Sea in 2001, and commodore in 2005. As a reservist for the Royal Netherlands Army, he was made a major in 1995, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1997, colonel in 2001, and brigadier general in 2005. As a reservist for the Royal Netherlands Air Force, he was made squadron leader in 1995 and promoted to air commodore in 2005. As a reservist for the Royal Marechaussee, he was made brigadier general in 2005.
Before his investiture as king in 2013, Willem-Alexander was honourably discharged from the armed forces. The government declared that the head of state cannot be a serving member of the armed forces, since the government itself holds supreme command over the armed forces. As king, Willem-Alexander may choose to wear a military uniform with royal insignia, but not with his former rank insignia.
Activities and social interests
Since 1985, when he became 18 years old, Willem-Alexander has been a member of the Council of State of the Netherlands. This is the highest council of the Dutch political system and is chaired by the head of state.Willem-Alexander is interested in water management and sports issues. He was an honorary member of the World Commission on Water for the 21st century and patron of the Global Water Partnership, a body established by the World Bank, the UN, and the Swedish Ministry of Development. He was appointed as the Chairperson of the United Nations Secretary General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation on 12 December 2006.
On 10 October 2010, Willem-Alexander and Máxima went to the Netherlands Antilles' capital, Willemstad, to attend and represent his mother, the Queen, at the Antillean Dissolution ceremony.
He was a patron of the Dutch Olympic Games Committee until 1998 when he was made a member of the International Olympic Committee. After becoming King, he relinquished his membership and received the Gold Olympic Order at the 125th IOC Session. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 1928 Summer Olympics held in Amsterdam, he had expressed support to bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics.
He was a member of the supervisory board of De Nederlandsche Bank, a member of the Advisory Council of ECP, patron of Veterans' Day and held several other patronages and posts.
Reign
On 28 January 2013, Beatrix announced her intention to abdicate. On the morning of 30 April 2013, Beatrix signed the instrument of abdication at the Moseszaal at the Royal Palace of Amsterdam. Later that afternoon, Willem-Alexander was inaugurated as king before a joint session of the States General in a ceremony held at the Nieuwe Kerk.As king, Willem-Alexander has weekly meetings with the prime minister and speaks regularly with ministers and state secretaries. He also signs all new Acts of Parliament and royal decrees. He represents the kingdom at home and abroad. At the State Opening of Parliament, he delivers the Speech from the Throne, which announces the plans of the government for the parliamentary year. The Constitution requires that the king appoint, dismiss and swear in all government ministers and state secretaries. As king, he is also the President of the Council of State, an advisory body that reviews proposed legislation. In modern practice, the monarch seldom chairs council meetings.
At his accession at age 46, he was Europe's youngest monarch; one of the current youngest monarch in Europe, alongside Frederik X of Denmark, Felipe VI of Spain and Guillaume V of Luxembourg. He is also the first male monarch of the Netherlands since the death of his great-great-grandfather William III in 1890. Willem-Alexander was one of four new sovereign monarchs in 2013 along with Pope Francis, Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar, and King Philippe of Belgium.
Other activities
Willem-Alexander is an avid pilot and has said that, had he not been a royal, he would have chosen a career as an airline pilot, ideally flying large aircraft such as the Boeing 747. During his mother's reign, he regularly flew the Dutch royal aircraft on trips.Willem-Alexander revealed in May 2017 that he had quietly been working as a first officer with KLM since the 1990s, flying Fokker 70s for KLM Cityhopper twice a month, even after becoming king. He said he is rarely recognized while in uniform, although some passengers recognized his voice when he made announcements, despite never introducing himself by name. Following the retirement of the Fokker 70, he transitioned to the Boeing 737, and in 2025 transitioned to the Airbus A321neo.
Using the name "W. A. van Buren", one of the least-known titles of the House of Orange-Nassau, he completed the 1986 Frisian Elfstedentocht, a distance ice skating tour. He ran the full New York City Marathon under the same pseudonym in 1992.
Marriage and children
On 2 February 2002, he married Máxima Zorreguieta at the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam. The marriage triggered significant controversy due to the role the bride's father, Jorge Zorreguieta, had in the Argentinian military dictatorship. The couple have three daughters: The Princess of Orange, Princess Alexia, and Princess Ariane.File:King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and their daughters 2013.jpg|thumb|King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima with their daughters Princess Catharina-Amalia, Princess Alexia and Princess Ariane
Privacy and the press
In an attempt to strike a balance between privacy for the royal family and availability to the press, the Netherlands Government Information Service instituted a media code on 21 June 2005 which essentially states that:- Photographs of the members of the royal house while performing their duties are always permitted.
- For other occasions, the RVD will arrange a photo-op on condition that the press leave the family alone for the rest of the activity.
In October 2020, Willem-Alexander apologised for a family holiday trip to Greece which had taken place while his country was under partial lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. He and his family cut their trip short, and in a two-minute video he stated that it "hurts to have betrayed" people's trust. Earlier in August 2020, he and his wife were photographed with a restaurant owner during another trip to Greece, which was a violation of social distancing rules at the time.