Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands will travel on a state visit to Luxembourg in May. They will visit the small country from 23 to 25 May 2018 on the invitation of Their Royal Highnesses Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg. The trip will begin just a few days after Queen Máxima celebrates her 47th birthday.
Their Majesties will be accompanied by the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Stef Blok. The Royal House of the Netherlands said about the upcoming visit and its programme, “A parallel economic programme with a focus on working towards a sustainable and circular economy will be led by State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management Stientje van Veldhoven.”
It will be the 13th state visit of His Majesty’s reign. He came to the throne on 30 April 2013 after the abdication of his mother, the then-Queen Beatrix.
More information regarding the state visit will be released in due course.
Back in 2012, Queen Beatrix of the Netherland’s travelled to Luxembourg on a state visit, and in 2006, Grand Duke Henri was in the Netherlands on a state visit.
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima’s last state visit was to Portugal from 10 to 12 October 2017. They were invited by Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. They were due to host a state visit from the King and Queen of Jordan, but the trip was changed to a short official tour which took place earlier this month.
The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg recently returned from a three-day state visit to France. It was one of the largest state visits in Luxembourg’s history.
The royals of the Royal House of the Netherlands and Grand Ducal Family are distant cousins and are part of different branches of the House of Nassau. The Dutch are part of the House of Orange-Nassau, and the Luxembourgish are part of the House of Nassau.