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.