Crown Princess Maxima of the Netherlands is showing her support for microfinance and women in science this week. Yesterday, she attended an interactive radio debate about ‘Microfinance – Who Profits‘. Microfinance is one of the issues that she is involved with as a working royal. The debate was hosted by Radio Netherlands Worldwide in The Hague.

Today, Princess Maxima was at the award ceremony of the first Merian Prize of the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences (KNAW) in Het Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. Professor Naomi Ellemers (photo in gallery),of Leiden University, was recognized for her scientific research and her commitment to promoting …read more

Dutch Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Crown Princess Maxima were just like any other parents last Saturday. The royal parents braved the crowd with their three daughters to watch the arrival of St Nicolas in the harbor at Scheveningen, Netherlands.

Princess Amalia, Princess Alexia and Princess Ariane all had prime views of what what was going on. Every year, Saint Nicholas arrives in the Netherlands by ship and leads a parade through the city. Huge crowds of children and their parents gather every year to welcome him.

Dutch Queen Beatrix and Crown Princess Maxima accompanied Crown Prince Willem-Alexander to the Erasmus Awards today. The prince gave out the awards to two experts in international justice: Antonio Cassese of Italy and Benjamin Ferencz of the U.S.

Queen Beatrix wore a print dress in electric blue, a shade which made her look vibrant. She kept to the blue palette, down to her necklace and earrings. I’m very much drawn to this shade of blue, and the print, though busy, is subtle enough. I like it!

Members of the royal family of the Netherlands put on their tuxes and gowns for the opening night of the Holland Dance Festival. The biennial festival is held in The Hague and features performances, workshops and a dance parade. This year, the 12th edition, coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Nederlands Dans Theater.  It runs from October 28 through November 15.
The lovely ladies of the Dutch monarchy chose different colors for their gowns. Queen Beatrix was in a navy blue fishtail gown. Princess Maxima picked a lovely grey halter, with matching wrap.

Princess Maxima was dazzling in hot pink when she opened the new Culturalis Theater the other day. I think her outfit, particularly her darling shoes, deserves a closer look.
The Dutch crown princess had an ensemble of two pieces of the same fabric, which looks like silk brocade. First, her dress was sleeveless and fell just above the knee (you can see that dress here). Over it, was a cropped jacket embellished with a black tie. Her little purse also looks like it was custom-made from the same fabric, so that she matched completely!
Then you have to see her adorable …read more

Princess Maxima of the Netherlands has spent these past two days immersed in the arts, in The Hague and in Zeist.

In The Hague yesterday, the Dutch Crown Princess opened the new Culturalis Theater. The theater’s emphasis is to encourage youth involvement and the development of the arts at the non-professional level. A group of young people performed for the royal during her visit, including a breakdancing routine.

Princess Mathilde of Belgium and Princess Maxima of the Netherlands brought a double helping of royal grace and loveliness to the opening of ‘M’, the new museum in Leuven, Belgium

The two princesses were clearly delighted by each other’s presence. They greeted the crowds and toured the museum together. I love these photos of Princess Mathilde and Princess Maxima! They look like two very good friends.

Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Maxima are back in their home country of the Netherlands, after celebrating with New York City during NY400 Week. The Crown Couple joined the rest of their family at The Hague for the opening of the Dutch Parliament yesterday.

Crown Willem-Alexander and Crown Princess Maxima of the Netherlands went on a date at the Bridgewater Restaurant in New York City last night. The royal couple are in New York for this week’s NY400 Week celebrations.

Princess Maxima wore all black for their night out: asymmetrical dress with draping down the front and over one shoulder, shawl, bag, bangles, earrings, and a jeweled spider climbing up her dress.

Dutch Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Crown Princess Maxima continue their visits in connection with the celebration of NY400 in New York City today.

The royals visited Battery Park in Manhattan with NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The royal couple gave a gift of 120,000 flower bulbs. The bulbs will be planted all over the city, including Battery Park and the Hudson River Park, this fall. The Dutch Crown Couple also named the Netherlands’ newest tulip variety in honor of Henry Hudson. The ‘Henry Hudson’ tulip, developed by the Institute of Horticultural Plant Breeding in Wageningen, bears orange flowers.

via Reuters; images: Bauer-Griffin