On December 15, 2012, Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands along with His Royal Highness Prince Willem-Alexander of Oranje attended the 7th Koninkrijksconcert in Rotterdam.
According to RVD, the concert “… aims to show the relationship between the Netherlands and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Today, there are more than 124,000 people from the Caribbean are living in the kingdom.”
On December 13, 2012, Their Royal Highnesses Prince Willem-Alexander of Oranje and Princess Maxima of the Netherlands hosted a luncheon at Paleis Noordeinde for:
“… a select group Dutch individuals who have distinguished themselves by a special achievement. The 27 invitees have recently received a prize or other award for their achievements in various sectors such as sports, arts & culture, media and journalism, music, literature, education, science and industry.”
Meanwhile, in Middelburg, Her Royal Highness Princess Laurentien gave a speech during the 2012 Bibliotheektweedaagse. The princess is Honorary Chairman of the Public Library Association in the Netherlands. According to RVD, the princess spoke about “… the role of libraries in language development, reading and writing.”
On December 12, 2012, Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands along with Their Royal Highnesses Prince Willem-Alexander of Oranje and Princess Maxima of the Netherlands, Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien, and Princess Mabel attended the 2012 Prins Claus Prijs held at the Koninklijk Paleis in Amsterdam.
The recipient of the 2012 Prins Claus Prijs went to the Argentine non-profit publishing house, Eloísa Cartonera. The company produces:
“… handmade books made of recycled materials. The materials are collected by Cartoneros, or “cardboard people” who are unemployed and survived Argentina’s political and economic collapse in 2001. Drawn to Eloísa Cartonera’s social solidarity, emerging and established Latin American writers donated their short stories, novels and other forms of literature to the company. The collective, small-scale method produces books that are cheaper than conventional paperbacks.”
Her Royal Highness Princess Maxima of the Netherlands was in Rotterdam on December 11, 2012, to attend the official closing ceremony “… in celebration of the 400 years of relations between the Netherlands and Turkey …” according to RVD.
Guests in attendance included the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey, Mr. Ali Babacan and the Mayor of Istanbul, Mr. Kair Topbas, to name a few.
Her Royal Highness Princess Maxima of the Netherlands was in Rotterdam on December 7, 2012, to rename the new “…LNG environmentally friendly gas tanker, Coral Energy …”
Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands was in Lelystad on December 6, 2012, to open the new railway line, Hanzelijin. Meanwhile, Their Royal Highnesses Prince Willem-Alexander of Oranje and Princess Maxima of the Nentherlands presided over the final meeting of the 10th anniversary of the Oranje Fonds in Den Bosch.
On December 4, 2012, Her Royal Highness Princess Maxima of the Netherlands visited the My School Initative at the ROC Graafschap College in Doetinchem.
According to RVD the My School Initative is:
“… apart of the ROC special training program aimed at young people who, due to personal circumstances or limitations, cannot find their way into the mainstream education system. By custom, they can through the My School Initiative and still earn a diploma.”
During her visit the princes met with students, teachers and counselors. This unique program is funded by the Oranje Fond in which Princess Maxima is patron.
The Royal Correspondent 