Princess Ariane was born on 10th April 2007 as the third daughter of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands. The day following her birth, King Willem-Alexander was pictured holding her in his arms. The next month she was briefly admitted to hospital for a viral lung infection, and the Royal Family were touched by the over thirty thousand cards they received from well-wishers. She was baptised in water from the River Jordan that October in a christening gown that has served Royal Christenings since 1880 and Princess Wilhelmina’s christening.
Like her two elder sisters, Princesses Catharina-Amalia and Alexia she attended the Bloemcampschool in Wassenaar. She began studying at the Christelijk Gymnasium Sorghvliet in The Hague in 2019. She speaks Dutch, English and some Spanish – the latter being useful for conversing with some of her mother’s relatives. According to the Dutch Royal Family website, her hobbies are listed as being horse-riding, hockey, drawing and piano playing. The latter will be pleasing to her mother as Queen Máxima is a great supporter of children being involved with music.
We also know that Princess Ariane has at least tried the Dutch national sport of ice-skating as in 2018 Royal Central reported her breaking her left wrist whilst ice-skating at the beginning of February. As yet none of the Princesses have been on official visits with their parents, and the King and Queen have expressed a wish that they be allowed to grow up quietly and away from prying lenses. Like what happened with Princes William and Harry when they were growing up, there are official photo-calls twice a year. There was one earlier this year when King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima took the girls to Lech in Austria at the end of February. Princess Ariane also appears with the rest of the family at the King’s Day celebrations in April.
