On May 17, 1971, the soon to be Princess Máxima of the Netherlands was born to Jorge and María Zorreguieta in Buenos Aires, Argentina and by all accounts she had a wonderful childhood.

Upon graduating from the Pontificia Universidad Católica in Argentina, where she majored in Economics, the intelligent and vivacious Ms. Zorreguieta quickly found a job with one of the leading finance companies in Argentina.  Soon, she moved to New York City where she was employed by the international finance company, Dresdner Kleinwort Benson.

In 1999, Ms. Zorreguieta went on holiday to Spain where she met a kind, funny, and gracious man who introduced himself to the beautiful blonde as Alexander.  Now, this was no ordinary man… he was heir to the throne in the Netherlands.  His true and full name: H.R.H. Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand, Prince of Orange, Prince of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau.

The two hit it off right away and love quickly blossomed.   Their relationship was long distance at first.  Then, Ms. Zorreguieta finally made the move to Europe to be closer to Willem-Alexander.

On March 31, 2001, the couple announced their engagement.  Less than a year later, on February 2, 2002, the couple married in a lavish religious and civil ceremonies in Amsterdam. The bride wore a beautiful Ivory colored wedding gown embroidered with delicate lace by world famous fashion designer, Valentino.  Her lovely Star tiara was once owned by the late Her Majesty Queen Emma of the Netherlands. The princess’s bouquet was made up of gardenias, lily of the valley, and white roses. H.R.H. Prince Willem-Alexander of Orange looked nice as well, but all eyes were on the new princess… H.R.H. Princess Máxima of the Netherlands.

Today, the couple have three daughters and the princess is greatly admired and loved in her country.

In celebration of Princess Máxima’s 40th birthday, as well as to celebrate her ten years as princess in the Netherlands, famed photographer Erwin Olaf, was commissioned by AD Magazine to photograph the princess.  According to a press release sent to The Royal Correspondent, the photo shoot took place in late April at Noordeinde Palace.

The final cover shot of the princess is one of the most beautiful photos I have ever seen of her and it seems that I am not the only one who believes this.  According to Mr. Olaf, he was thrilled with the outcome of the photo shoot, “The Princess has a special personality, she’s attractive and very photogenic.”  AD Magazine editor, Chris Ruesink, is also very proud of the images by Mr. Olaf.  Furthermore, he is also enthusiastic about the upcoming issue with the stunning photograph of Princess Máxima:

We wanted [to do] something for her 40th birthday, a jubilee year.  It is truly an an honor to have the best photographers in the Netherlands, Erwin Olaf, [to photograph Princess Máxima]… we are very impressed.

The issue of AD Magazine will be released tomorrow, May 14, 2011.  Inside the issue, there is a special extended editorial which includes “… a look back over the last ten years of Princess Máxima of the Netherlands…” an interview with her parents, Jorge and María Zorreguieta and much more.

Finally, as I previously reported on May 16, 2011, the new documentary, Máxima: Portrait of a Princess, will air on the Dutch television network, NOS, at 8:30pm.  In the meantime, this afternoon NOS.nl released several clips from the program which you can watch here. 

To watch the engagement as well as royal wedding between H.R.H. Prince Willem-Alexander of Orange and H.R.H. Princess Maxima of the Netherlands please click the links here,  here, here, here, and here.

So, there you have it… Happy Birthday, Princess Máxima!!!

Exclusive photo of H.R.H. Princess Máxima the Netherlands, given to The Royal Correspondent by and published on this site with permission by: AD Magazine/De MediaVilla.

***Thank you very much, Linda, everyone at De MediaVilla, and AD Magazine!  I appreciate your kindness and generosity for sharing this stunning image of Princess Máxima as well as information with me. ***     🙂

Note to viewers: Please DO NOT copy this image of H.R.H. Princess Maxima from this site.  Thank you.