Two weeks of excitement are coming to a climax today with the arrival of the royal family of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, and crown princess Amalia. Excitement for the royal family’s tour of the Caribbean is particularly high as it marks the first time the Caribbean part of the kingdom is meeting the crown princess Amalia since she turned 18 on the 7th of December 2022.
The historical moment begins at 10:30 with the arrival of the royal family at the Reina Beatrix airport. They will be touring the island on a jam-packed schedule full of activities. It is understood that the royal family personally requested that the visit allowed them to experience the island for themselves, and this is reflected in the hands-on aspect of the visit.
People are invited to meet the royal family at different points during the visit, and a large turn-out is expected to welcome them.
From the moment of their arrival, the King, Queen and Crown Princess will be heading to the Whilhelmina Park for some activities. Primary schools are invited to attend and there will be a military show at the park, after which they will walk to the ceremonial house of the Governor for a short meeting. Leaving the Governor, the royal family will walk to the Parliament for a meeting with local legislators, and then continue on to the Bestuurskantoor – the seat of government – for a meeting with the Council of Ministers of Aruba.
On the way there will be different presentations of art, singing and dance for the royal family to experience the culture of Aruba. Residents and visitors alike are invited to be present along the route to give King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and Princess Amalia a very warm welcome.
Also today, in the afternoon, there is an activity in San Nicolas, where the royal family will be visiting Filomena College and will see an exhibition of Boy Ecury, Aruba’s WWII hero. Afterwards they will tour the streets of San Nicolas to admire some of the beautiful murals. Once again, our visitors are invited to be present and greet the royal family. After this there is a special activity prepared for the royal family at Nicolaas Store.
Tomorrow, 31st of January, there will be a few smaller activities, and as always, the public is welcome to be present. In the morning, Princess Amalia will visit Royal Aruba Aloe, and afterwards the royal family will visit the University Aruba for a debate with the students.
After this, the King and Princess will head to the Frans Figaroa stadium while the Queen will visit Qredits, a program offering financing and guidance for entrepreneurs.
In the afternoon there will be a beautiful presentation of the Bon Bini Festival and different activities on the Plaza Padu in the City Center dedicated to the royal family. The night will end at Fort Zoutman with the royal family enjoying the Bon Bini Festival.
On Wednesday there are no scheduled activities as Aruba will bid the royal family farewell and they will depart to continue their Caribbean tour in Curaçao.
For our visitors, do not miss this opportunity to meet the Royal Family of the Netherlands! The best spots to meet the royal family will be at the Whilhelmina Park, in San Nicolas during their walk, and at Plaza Padu and Fort Zoutman.
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima last visited Aruba in May 2015, for the SailAruba event. The SailAruba event was part of the celebrations commemorating 200 years of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and 350 years of the Marine Corps, and took place from 1st until the 3rd of May.
About the Kingdom of the Netherlands
The kingdom of the Netherlands consists of four countries: the islands of Aruba, Sint Maarten and Curaçao, and the Netherlands consisting of the European portion and the Caribbean portion (which consists of Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius).
According to the website of the Dutch government, the King and the ministers together make up the Government of the Netherlands. The ministers and state secretaries are responsible for the day-to-day business of government. On 10 January 2022 the fourth government led by Mark Rutte took office.
The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy. This means that the head of state is a King or Queen whose powers are laid down in the Constitution. In the Netherlands the powers of the monarch are extremely limited. Under the Constitution, the ministers, and not the monarch, are responsible for what the Government does.
