Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands has undergone a minor and planned operation. The details of the operation have not been announced but the Queen has been ordered to rest, and so she will miss the NLDoet volunteer event today and tomorrow. She usually joins her husband and other members of the family for the annual event. Queen Máxima is expected to return to work next week. King Willem-Alexander helped to build a fairytale garden for children at a petting zoo in Soest where he assured the gathered crowd that Queen Máxima was well.
Meanwhile, Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix, His Royal Highness Prince Constantijn and Their Highnesses Prince Bernhard and Princess Annette took part in the event today. The Royals helped to sort and clean musical instruments in the stockroom of the Stichting Intrumentendepot Leerorkest (Foundation Instrumentsdepot Teaching Orchestra) in Huizen. The Royals were joined by students of the MBO Amersfoort who have Dutch as a second language. Prince Constantijn focussed on cleaning the fiddlesticks of violins and cellos and commented, “I am doing this for the very first time!” Jeffrey Rompen, who works for the depot, said, “Better slow and good, than fast and bad!” Princess Beatrix was determined to deliver clean horns and said, “There are lots of difficult spots. I don’t want anyone saying that I didn’t do a good job.” When she was offered a tuba to clean, she declined, saying, “That one is for taller people!” Prince Constantijn then joked, “You should take that one home!” Prince Bernhard and his wife Princess Annette joined NLDoet in the afternoon, but Prince Bernhard confessed to being quite clumsy.
Prinses Beatrix, Prins Constantijn, Prins Bernhard en Prinses Annette helpen tijdens de landelijke vrijwilligersactie @NLDOET. Er wordt geholpen met het sorteren en schoonmaken van muziekinstrumenten bij het instrumentendepot van Stichting Leerorkest. https://t.co/ycbIoMmnpV pic.twitter.com/FkZ3wC83sB
— Koninklijk Huis (@koninklijkhuis) March 15, 2019
NLDoet is an annual volunteering event, and thousands of Dutch citizens take part in over 8,000 activities all over the country. It is a way for people to easily take part in volunteer and to experience how fun it can be to do something for someone else. It is part of the Oranje Fonds (Orange Fund) of which both King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima are patrons.
