Tag Archives: Queen Máxima 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

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  • 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, Imperial Family of Japan

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands to Host State Visit by Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako of Japan

  • Portrait courtesy of Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst (RVD)/Anton Corbijn
  • Portrait courtesy of Kunaichō (Imperial Household Agency)
  • Photo courtesy of Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst (RVD

In Den Haag, it was announced that Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands will host an incoming state visit from Their Imperial Majesties Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako of Japan in the second half of June 2026.

The Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst (RVD) noted that the visit will reaffirm the longstanding relationship between Japan and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The state visit will focus on cooperation in areas including security, innovation, defense, economic resilience, and international law.

The relations between the two countries date back to 1600, when the Dutch ship De Liefde arrived in Japan. The ship’s pilot, William Adams, later entered the service of the Tokugawa shogunate and became one of the first Western advisers to the shogun.

In 1609, the Dutch East India Company established a trading post in Hirado. After Japan restricted most foreign contact in the seventeenth century, the Dutch remained the only Western traders permitted to operate in the country, relocating their commercial station in 1641 to the island of Dejima in Nagasaki.

Dutch merchants continued to operate from Dejima until 1859, when Japan reopened to international trade at the end of the Tokugawa period. The Dutch presence was maintained in part because their activities were primarily commercial, and they did not pursue missionary work in Japan.

During this period of limited international contact, exchanges between Japanese scholars and Dutch merchants and physicians contributed to the development of Rangaku, through which European scientific and medical knowledge entered Japan.

Modern diplomatic relations continue to reflect this historical connection. In 2000, Their Majesties Emperor Akihito of Japan and Empress Michiko of Japan paid a state visit to the Netherlands, marking the 400th anniversary of relations between the two countries.

In October 2014, Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima paid a state visit to Japan. In October 2019, the King and Queen attended the enthronement ceremonies of Emperor Naruhito in Tokyo. In May 2025, His Majesty King Willem-Alexander visited Japan to attend World Expo 2025 in Osaka.

Relations between the Royal Family of the Netherlands and the Imperial Family of Japan reflect the longstanding diplomatic relationship between the two countries.