London 2012: Dutch Royals Bring Nieces to Cheer on Holland

When the Oranjes turned up to watch the women’s hockey match between the Netherlands and Belgium on July 29th, royal watchers had to pause and re-count the number of little blonde heads sitting with Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Máxima.

View the full image at Daylife

Along with the couple’s three daughters – Princesses Amalia, Alexia and Ariane – were Countesses Luana and Zaria, the two young daughters of the Prince’s brother, Friso, and his wife Mabel. The family lives in London, so it would have been no trouble for the girls to join their cousins.

The girls all cheered enthusiastically as their home team beat Belgium 3-0.

Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Máxima brought all five girls out again yesterday, when they watched the Dutch men’s hockey team take on India. The final score of 3-2 in Holland’s favour gave the Oranjes much to wave their flag about. They later attended the judo.

Related posts:

1. London 2012: Swimming Draws the Royals In
2. Dutch Royals Attend the Opening of the Holland Dance Festival
3. Triple Treat: Dutch Photo Session by the Sea
4. Willem-Alexander and Máxima Help End Dutch International Polar Year
5. Short break for the Dutch Crown Princely family in Friesland

5 Responses to London 2012: Dutch Royals Bring Nieces to Cheer on Holland

1. natalya says:

   August 2, 2012 at 6:31 am

   How sweet!
2. Qtj says:

   August 2, 2012 at 9:57 am

   Prince Willem-Alexander, princess Máxima and the 5 girls were also present at the golden race of Dutch female cyclist Marianne Vos on Sunday July 29
3. karenj says:

   August 5, 2012 at 8:37 pm

   Is that Princess Mabel in the picture also – the one drinking the bottled water?
4. Tony Russo says:

   September 20, 2012 at 8:07 pm

   Hi,
   I understand that the blood line that leads to the royal families of Europe today come from William II Prince of Orange, dated back to 1641. If this is true then is it also true that Prince Johan Friso and his two brothers are eligible to sit as kings on any of the European thrones?
5. Artemisia says:

   September 24, 2012 at 11:44 am

   @ Tony Russo
   Every Monarchy has its own succession rules. For instance, in Denmark the line of succession is restricted to the descendants of Christian X (through approved marriages), making the remote Orange ancestry irrelevant. Similarly, in Spain the succession is limited to the successors of King Juan Carlos. In Britain, only legitimate descendants of Sophia, Electress of Hanover are eligible to ascend to the Throne.

   That means that currently, members of the House of Orange-Nassau (the reigning House of the Netherlands) are eligible to become Kings of only two countries – the Netherlands (except Prince Friso and his children, because he married Mabel without the Queen’s or the Parliament’s consent) and the United Kingdom (as descendants of George II of the United Kingdom; Prince Friso and his children remain in this line of succession).