Category Archives: Royal Family of the Netherlands

Dutch Royal Family, Royal Family of the Netherlands

Queen Máxima of the Netherlands Receives a Military Beret Following Military Training with the Royal Netherlands Army

  • Photos courtesy of the Ministerie van Defensie/Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst
  • Photos courtesy of the Ministerie van Defensie/Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst
  • Photos courtesy of the Ministerie van Defensie/Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst
  • Photos courtesy of the Ministerie van Defensie/Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst

In Den Haag, the Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst (RVD) has announced that Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands received her military beret on Friday, May 29th, upon completing the first phase of her military training as a reservist with the Koninklijke Landmacht (Royal Netherlands Army).

According to RVD, Her Majesty the Queen is attached as a reservist to the Militair Huis van Zijne Majesteit de Koning (Military Household of His Majesty the King) and is undertaking her training through that appointment. The Queen will not be assigned to a specific regiment, corps, or branch of service, but will instead fulfill a broader general role within the Koninklijke Landmacht.

As part of the appointment, Her Majesty the Queen received a beret bearing a lion insignia on a red background, traditionally associated with the General Staff of the Koninklijke Landmacht. Upon completion of the full training program, it is anticipated that Her Majesty the Queen will hold the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

RVD noted that reservists play an important role in supporting the regular armed forces and may be called upon for military service when required. Reservists serve across all branches of the Dutch armed forces and participate in mandatory exercises, theoretical instruction, and the maintenance of military training and operational readiness.

The relationship between the Royal Family of the Netherlands and the armed forces dates back centuries. Willem van Oranje served as a military commander during the Dutch Revolt, while successive stadtholders and sovereigns of the House of Oranje-Nassau traditionally maintained close institutional ties with the military.

His Majesty King Willem-Alexander completed his military service with the Koninklijke Marine and subsequently served with both the Koninklijke Landmacht and the Koninklijke Luchtmacht. As Sovereign of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the King also holds a distinct constitutional and military position within the Dutch armed forces.

Dutch Royal Family, Royal Family of the Netherlands

The Royal Family of the Netherlands Holds Annual Summer Photo Session at the Historic Clingendael Estate

  • Portrait courtesy of RVD
  • Portrait courtesy of RVD
  • Portrait courtesy of RVD
  • Portrait courtesy of RVD

In Wassenaar, Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, accompanied by Her Royal Highness Princess Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Oranje, Her Royal Highness Princess Alexia of the Netherlands, and Her Royal Highness Princess Ariane of the Netherlands, held their annual summer photo session for the press.

The photo session took place in the Old Holland Garden at Landgoed Clingendael, known for its geometric flower beds and boxwood hedges inspired by traditional 17th-century Dutch garden artistry.

Noticeably absent this year was the family dog, Mambo, who has accompanied the Royal Family during previous photo sessions.

Dutch Royal Family, Royal Family of the Netherlands

Princess Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange, Begins Military Training with Royal Netherlands Air Force Under Defensity College Program

Photo courtesy of Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst (RVD)

In Den Haag, Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst (RVD) announced that Her Royal Highness Princess Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange, has begun a work-study placement with the Royal Netherlands Air Force as part of the Defensity College program.

The program enables university students to combine their studies with part-time service as military reservists, while strengthening the connection between the armed forces and Dutch society. Participants undertake practical assignments alongside structured military training within the Ministerie van Defensie (Ministry of Defense).

The Princess’s participation follows the completion of her initial general military training on January 23rd, 2026, after which she was promoted to the rank of corporal. She is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Dutch law at the University of Amsterdam, while continuing her involvement with the armed forces.

Her placement forms part of a longstanding association between the royal family of the Netherlands and the military. This relationship is rooted in the history of the House of Orange-Nassau and dates back to William of Orange (1533–1584), also known as William the Silent, who led the early phase of the Dutch Revolt against Spanish Habsburg rule from 1568 until his assassination in 1584, during the conflict later known as the Eighty Years’ War (1568–1648).

In the modern era, members of the royal family have continued to undertake military training. As Prince of Orange, His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands performed his military service in the Royal Netherlands Navy from August 1985 to January 1987, training at the Royal Netherlands Naval College in Den Helder before serving aboard the frigates HNLMS Tromp and HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen. He later completed refresher training in 1988 as a duty officer on board HNLMS Van Kinsbergen. After graduating from Leiden University, he obtained his Military Pilot’s License with 334 Transport Squadron of the Royal Netherlands Air Force and, in 1994, attended the Netherlands Defense College, where he studied aspects of the work of the armed forces.

Princess Catharina-Amalia’s current placement continues this tradition, combining academic study with structured military experience within the framework of a constitutional monarchy.