Dutch Royals Back on Official Duty

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands was back on official duty today, her first engagement since the February 17 skiing accident of her son, Prince Friso.

The Queen was in Soesterberg, about an hour’s drive south-west of Amsterdam, to open a new barracks of the Explosives Ordinance Disposal (EOD) unit of the Ministry of Defence. The barracks, named Sergeant-Major Scheickkazerne in Dutch, has been named after the first Dutch EOD specialist killed, Sergeant-Major Scheick, back in 1945 following the end of World War II.

The barracks are to be used as a study facility, where new students will learn to work with the EOD’s equipment and defuse explosives. Queen Beatrix, with the strain of the past weeks clear  on her face, was given a tour of the barracks following the opening ceremony.

Princess Máxima was also out today, both with and without her husband, Prince Willem-Alexander.

Earlier in the day, the Princess was present – in conjunction with her work with microfinance/credit – at the first National Coaching Day held by microcredit company Qredits in Amsterdam. Qredits aims to promote entrepreneurship in Holland through microcredit – they provide start-up companies who were unable to get a business loan with a maximum of €50,000 to help them achieve their goals.

Then tonight, she joined up with the Prince and the couple attended a gala dinner in The Hague to support the conservation fund of Nieuwspoort, an international press centre in the Netherlands. Also attending the gala were Prime Minister Mark Rutte, and the British Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg. Deputy Prime Minister Clegg was the speaker during the gala’s annual Nieuwspoort Lecture.

The Nieuwspoort Conservation Fund organises this gala annually, to help ensure the survival of Nieuwspoort.

Filed under The Netherlands
Tagged King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands, Media, Microcredit, Military, Patronage, Prime Minister Rutte of the Netherlands, Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands.

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