Princess Margriet Opens Kingdom Games in Aruba

July 26, 2009 at 5:18 am by JessRulz

HRH Princess Margriet and her husband Professor Pieter van Vollenhoven have travelled to Aruba for an official visit to the island nation. On their first day in Aruba, HRH was responsible for opening the bi-annual Kingdom Games in Oranjestad, Aruba’s capital.

View the image at De Telegraaf

Accompanied by the Professor and Aruban Prime Minister Nelson Oduber, the Princess opened the games at the Complejo Deportivo Guillermo Prospero Trinidad Stadium (formerly the Queen Wilhelmina Stadium until 1994) in Oranjestad at 19:00 local time. This was then followed by the soccer match between the Netherlands and the Netherlands Antilles.

The Kingdom Games are held every two years; between the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. They were first held in 1965 and went until 1983 when they were cancelled due to former competitor Suriname’s departure in 1975. They were reinstalled in 1995 by Dutch Olympian Erica Terpstra, and Aruba joined the two nations in the Games. The aims of the Games are to create a sporting atomosphere, and to strengthen cultural ties and respect between the three nations.

This is the third time Aruba has hosted the Games, the previous Games in 2007 were held in The Hague.

Princess Margriet and Professor van Vollenhoven will partake in various other engagements while in Aruba. Later today HRH will open the Arikok National Park’s visitors centre, and the new Archeological Museum of Aruba in Oranjestad. Monday will see HRH and the Professor attend the closing of the bi-annual cultural exchange event “Crown Jewels” between the three nations. Tuesday will see the royal pair seperate, with Princess Margriet visiting the Aruban Red Cross and the Professor attending meeting regarding the co-operation of insitutions between the Dutch Kingdom nations. On the pair’s final days in Aruba, the Professor will visit Saba and St Eustatius.

Click here to read more about HRH and the Professor’s trip to Aruba.