Queen Máxima of the Netherlands Turns 43

  May 17, 2014 at 8:21 pm by

Queen Máxima of the Netherlands celebrates her 43rd birthday on May 17th.

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Born Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti in Buenos Aires, Argentina in May 1971, her father is a retired Argentine politician, Jorge Zorreguieta, and her mother is María del Carmen Cerruti Carricart. Máxima has two brothers and a sister, as well as three half-sisters from her father’s first marriage.

Prior to her marriage, Máxima worked as an investment banker having obtained a degree in Economics in 1995. In 1999 she met the eldest son of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, in Seville and they later began a relationship. The announcement of their engagement in March 2001 caused controversy in the Netherlands as Máxima’s father had been a cabinet Minister during the brutal military dictatorship of Jorge Rafael Videla. In May 2001, Máxima was granted Dutch citizenship and started to learn the Dutch language.

The wedding of Willem-Alexander and Máxima took place in Amsterdam on February 2nd, 2002. The couple were married civilly at the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam, followed by a religious ceremony at the historic Nieuwe Kerk, also in Amsterdam.

Princess Máxima, having mastered the Dutch language, threw herself into royal duties and soon captivated the Dutch population. She gave birth to her first child, Catharina-Amalia, in December 2003; followed by two more daughters: Alexia in 2005 and Ariane in 2007.

The Princess often accompanied her mother-in-law and her husband on foreign trips and at various royal gatherings. Princess Máxima enjoyed a good relationship with her mother-in-law and proved to be a great asset and support for the Dutch Monarchy.

In April 2013, Queen Beatrix abdicated the throne and was succeeded by her eldest son. The new King and Queen were invested at a ceremony in the Nieuwe Kerk, which was attended by the Dutch Royal Family and many royal and distinguished guests from all over the world. Queen Máxima is the first Roman Catholic queen consort of the Netherlands, and also the first Dutch queen consort since 1890.

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