On 7 December, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima held lunch in The Hague’s Noordeinde Palace for 28 distinguished Dutch men and women who have had special achievements.
The Royal House of the Netherlands said about the day, “The 28 guests have recently received a prize or other award for their achievements in various sectors such as art and culture, media, science, sports and business.
“King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima want to express their recognition and appreciation for the people who have delivered a special performance by offering a lunch.”
Those invited to Noordeinde Palace yesterday included the Golden Televizier Ring winner Beau van Erven Dorens (presenter), Wesley Sneijder (football player), Monique van de Ven (actress), and Eric van Tijn (producer). The winners of the Buma Lifetime Achievement Award, Jochem Fluitsma and Eric van Tijn were also in attendance, as was the World Champion of heavyweight kickboxing, Rico Verhoeven.
Guest Eric van Tijn later posted on his Instagram about the lunch, “Great and inspiring lunch with our King & Queen.”
Rico Verhoeven also shared his thoughts on the day on his social media sharing some new information on the Queen, “The best moment of this lunch was when Máxima told me that she also does kickboxing.”
After the meal, the Dutch Information Service (RVD) released an image from the day with Their Majesties with the 28 members of Dutch society.
The event took place on the same day as their eldest daughter, Princess Amalia’s 15th birthday.
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima’s next scheduled engagements are on 10 December when the President of Cape Verde, Jorge Carlos de Almeida Fonseca pays a two-day state visit to the Netherlands.
The visit is to solidify “the historical relationship between the Netherlands and Cape Verde and offers a good opportunity to further broaden and deepen cooperation, especially in the field of security and the maritime economy,” according to the Royal House.
