The royals might be heading off on their summer holidays but their autumn diaries are already starting to fill up. In recent days, two State Visits have been announced for October 2019.
The King and Queen of the Netherlands will make a five day trip to India which will include visits to Mumbai, New Delhi and Kerala. Willem-Alexander and Maxima are due to touch down on October 14th for this State Visit which is made at the invitation of the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind. They will be accompanied by a number of Dutch government officials including the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Stef Blok, and the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Co-operation, Sigrid Kaag. The State Visit will run until October 18th 2019.
In the official announcement, the Dutch Royal Household underlined the importance of relations between the Netherlands and India, adding that links between the two countries offered opportunities for working more closely in areas including agriculture, healthcare and the environment.
The last Dutch State Visit to India took place in 2007 when Willem-Alexander’s mother, then Queen Beatrix, toured the country accompanied by her son and daughter-in-law. Queen Maxima has made several official and working visits to India in recent years, the last in 2018 in her role as a UN Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance and Development.
The King and Queen of the Belgians will also be making a State Visit in October this year. Philippe and Mathilde will spend three days in Luxembourg where they will be hosted by the king’s cousin, Grand Duke Henri, and his wife, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa.
The State Visit begins on October 15th and runs until October 17th and will focus on ties between the two nations. The last Belgian State Visit to Luxembourg was in 1994 when Philippe’s father, King Albert II, was welcomed by his brother-in-law, Grand Duke Jean, and sister, Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte.
Autumn is a popular time for European monarchies to make and receive State Visits and it’s expected that several more will be added to the royal diary in the coming weeks.
