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The Netherlands

King Willem-Alexander and daughters take in World Cup final dominated by USA

King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and two of his daughters, Princesses Amalia (15) and Ariane (12) took in the World Cup final game in Lyon, France, yesterday to watch the Netherlands face off against the United States. His wife, Queen Máxima and their middle daughter, Princess Alexia (14) were not in attendance.

The family was decked out in the country’s famous orange to root on their team with the Princesses wearing matching orange jerseys while the King wore an orange tie and had a team scarf that matched his daughters’.

Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images

The royals were able to see a hard-fought match before a penalty kick would change the tide in America’s favour.

The US would go on to win 2-0 after scoring twice in the final 20 minutes. This was America’s record-setting fourth title and second World Cup victory in a row.

Naturally disappointed, the royals were shown applauding the US team as they were given the World Cup trophy.

His Majesty and Their Royal Highnesses met with the Dutch team after their defeat and posed for a group photo with the athletes showing off their medals.

Princess Catharina-Amalia, who holds the title of Princess of Orange as heir to the Dutch throne, is the eldest of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima and is commonly just referred to as Amalia. Princess Ariane is the youngest child of Their Majesties.

The Dutch royals are known to love football and were present during some of the men’s matches in Brazil for the 2018 Summer Olympic Games.

Even those royals who were not in attendance at the game showed their support for the Dutch women. The husband of the King’s aunt, Princess Margriet, Pieter van Vollenhoven said, in part on Twitter after the game, “All the admiration for the excellent performance of our lionesses and indeed the goalkeeper is really fantastic!”

About author

Brittani is from Tennessee, USA. She is a political scientist and historian after graduating with a degree in the topics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in December 2014. She also holds a master's degree from Northeastern University. She enjoys reading and researching all things regarding the royals of the world. She's been researching, reading, and writing on royalty for over a decade. She became Europe Editor in October 2016, and then Deputy Editor in January 2019, and has been featured on several podcasts, radio shows, news broadcasts and websites including Global News Canada, ABC News Australia, WION India and BBC World News.