QUEEN MAXIMA

Ireen Wüst can’t really explain it.

The heir to the Dutch throne has taken part in a ceremonial meeting of the government’s chief advisory body in a symbolic step into the royal limelight a day after she turned 18.

People in the Netherlands can get to know their future queen a little better with the publication of an authorized book about Princess Amalia three weeks before her 18th birthday.

The Dutch king has outlined a pared-back government plan for the coming year in the traditional speech opening the new parliamentary term.

Dutch Queen Maxima has teamed up with a small robot to unveil a steel 3D-printed steel pedestrian bridge over a canal in the heart of Amsterdam’s red light district.

One of the Netherlands’ best known crime reporters has been shot in a brazen attack in downtown Amsterdam, and the city's mayor say he is fighting for his life in a hospital.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands have started a three-day visit to Germany that was delayed from last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Dutch king has laid a wreath at a monument to the country’s war dead at a solemn commemoration ceremony devoid of the usual huge crowds for the second year because of coronavirus lockdown measures.

FILE - In this Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2019 file photo, Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima wave from the balcony of royal palace Noordeinde in The Hague, Netherlands. The Dutch king issued a video message Wednesday saying "with sorrow in the heart" that he regrets flying to Greece for a family vacation last week, a trip that was quickly broken off amid public uproar back home where people are being urged to stay home as much as possible to battle the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

FILE - In this Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2019 file photo, Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima wave from the balcony of royal palace Noordeinde in The Hague, Netherlands. It is highly unusual for a Dutch monarch to issue such a contrite message to the nation. The vacation also has been politically damaging for Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who under the Dutch constitution is responsible for the king’s actions. Willem-Alexander and his family flew to Greece, where they have a vacation home, on Friday, but the king, queen and one of their daughters returned home Saturday night. So that everyone in our country can then resume normal life as soon as possible,” Willem-Alexander said.