A special princess has celebrated her Sweet 16 in the Netherlands.
Princess Ariane, the youngest child of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima, turned 16 on 10 April.
During a recent photo session, the Queen said of her youngest daughter, “She does very well at school, is very sweet and ethereal. She is very feminine and very powerful. She has incredible talents.”
As the third child of the King and Queen of the Netherlands, Ariane has more freedom than her eldest sister, Princess Amalia, who will one day be Queen of the Netherlands. Barring some catastrophe, Ariane will not have to worry about the pressures of being first in line to the throne, especially at a young age.
Princess Ariane Wilhelmina Máxima Inés of the Netherlands was born on 10 April 2007 to the then Prince and Princess of Orange while her grandmother, Beatrix, was on the throne. She has two older sisters, Amalia, the Princess of Orange (b. 2003) and Princess Alexia (b. 2005). The three sisters have been dubbed “The A Team” by their parents.
On 30 April 2013, Queen Beatrix abdicated in favour of Willem-Alexander, and Princess Ariane moved up to third in the line of succession to the Dutch throne.
The Princess currently attends Christelijk Gymnasium Sorghvliet in the Hague; it remains to be seen if she will follow in her father and sister Alexia’s footsteps and study at United World College of the Atlantic in Wales to conclude her secondary education.
