Death of Inés Zorreguieta, Queen Máxima's Sister: June 5, 2018

[Empress Merel]

Koning in Letland: aangeslagen na overlijden Inés - Royalty Online

King Willem-Alexander speaking about Ines. He looks shattered from both grief and jetlag.

His voice seemed to waver a bit and who can blame him. It's a shame this state visit couldn't be postponed. I'm sure the whole family would appreciate some more alone- and family time.

 

[HereditaryPrincess]

I agree that it doesn't seem like the right time for a state visit. I read that Maxima has postponed her engagements for the next month; so they could have done the same with WA given the tragic circumstances and suddenness of Ines's death. Hopefully their calendar will allow for them to rest at home during this time.

 

[Somebody]

I feel for the king. Not sure how he is going to do three state visits when his heart wants to be home with his wife and children. Duty calls and apparently on Thursday they decided that this was the right course of action but it clearly makes it even harder for the grieving family.

 

[Mbruno]

I feel for the king. Not sure how he is going to do three state visits when his heart wants to be home with his wife and children. Duty calls and apparently on Thursday they decided that this was the right course of action but it clearly makes it even harder for the grieving family.

I think the Baltic countries should have agreed to a postponement of the state visit, I mean, that is probably what other countries like the UK would have done in such circumstances.

To be fair though, the Dutch government probably didn’t ask for a postponement either, which is very insensitive on their part.

 

[lucien]

I think the Baltic countries should have agreed to a postponement of the state visit, I mean, that is probably what other countries like the UK would have done in such circumstances.

To be fair though, the Dutch government probably didn’t ask for a postponement either, which is very insensitive on their part.

Sorry,wrong.

HM the King didn't wish to postpone,life is as it is however difficult,but there's work to do.
HM Queen Máxima next scheduled appointment will be on june 21st.

 

[ashelen]

It is so sad a young life is gone and it is a tragedy in any family, I feel for the girls, they are old enough to know she took her own life and this will be a trauma for them, I am sure M&W will do anything in there power to confort the girls.

Regarding him going back to work, what is the law in the Netherlands for a normal person when have a family member passing , how long they can miss work?

 

[Katymcwaity]

Sorry,wrong.

HM the King didn't wish to postpone,life is as it is however difficult,but there's work to do.
HM Queen Máxima next scheduled appointment will be on june 21st.

No doubt months of preparation have gone into the visit and rearranging wouldn’t be easy as hundreds of people must be involved from the Netherlands and the Baltic countries.

Is there maybe some protocol involved too? Whilst Máxima is known as Queen, its only a courtesy thing as her husband is King and he is the main person. So maybe if it had been his sister then they could cancel but can’t as its Máxima’s? Which is incredibly harsh sounding but some protocol is slightly odd.

Whilst Everyone needs time to process whats happened, sometimes too much time to think is also a bad thing.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

Sorry but why should WA cancel this visit? Ok Inez' death is horrific, but she is Maxima's sister and a private citizen. WA went with his wife to the funeral and supported his in laws.
Maxima is taking off some time to grieve and be with her family, what is fine.
But WA is King, life and duty goes on, what is certainly in line with what the family thinks.
I don't see anything insensitive in him not postponing the State Visit but only that the family publicly needs to move on with royal duties, the grieving is now private and it's first and foremost Maxima's matter now.

I guess it would probably be different if this had happened to WA's brother, as it involved matters of State.

 

[M. Payton]

Can't believe the harshness of some here, is Ines the sister of Maxima and *just* the sister-in-law of the king so being the sister-in-law is not family or what? Does one have to be a blood relative to have a state visit canceled or what here? I would think the *people* of the country would agree that even a king or queen needs time to grief for a family member and that would mean all duties of such would be put on hold for a while at least. In case some have forgotten *Grief has NOT have a time limit ever*......we each do it in our own time and space regardless of our positions in life. The harshness just astounds me .........cold and heartless but wonder how it would be for a family member of yours........what.......no big deal, time to move on attitude maybe....

 

[Denville]

Can't believe the harshness of some here, is Ines the sister of Maxima and *just* the sister-in-law of the king so being the sister-in-law is not family or what? Does one have to be a blood relative to have a state visit canceled or what here? I would think the *people* of the country would agree that even a king or queen needs time to grief for a family member and that would mean all duties of such would be put on hold for a while at least. In case some have forgotten *Grief has NOT have a time limit ever*......we each do it in our own time and space regardless of our positions in life. The harshness just astounds me .........cold and heartless but wonder how it would be for a family member of yours........what.......no big deal, time to move on attitude maybe....

State visits are a big deal involving months of work, expense and organsining.. They aren't cancelled. WA is not doubt sorry that his sister In law has died, but she's not his own family and he has work to do..

 

[M. Payton]

Since when is a sister-in-law or any other member of a family that is not a *blood* relative not a family member? I would bet all members of any one's family here is a *family member*, be they in laws or cousins or aunts or uncles or grandparents ....good grief the harshness of the world. Just glad I am not like that......so be it!

 

[Denville]

it doesn't matter. State visits involve too much work to be cancelled.. Think of all the work and expense that heas gone into them, and the people that would be disappointed..

 

[JR76]

To me it's quite natural for the King not to cancel the State Visits and also that this in no way signifies him not loving his sister-in-law or being disrespectful to her memory.
He's the King and duty comes before all.
Even though I'm sure it's tough for him he'll be alright. As said by close friend Kjeld Hillingsø about Queen Margrethe in the days before her husband's death: "Its part of her upbringing. The members of The Royal Family are raised to carry all the burdens life may afflict upon them without it affecting their ability to do their duty".

 

[lucien]

No doubt months of preparation have gone into the visit and rearranging wouldn’t be easy as hundreds of people must be involved from the Netherlands and the Baltic countries.

Is there maybe some protocol involved too? Whilst Máxima is known as Queen, its only a courtesy thing as her husband is King and he is the main person. So maybe if it had been his sister then they could cancel but can’t as its Máxima’s? Which is incredibly harsh sounding but some protocol is slightly odd.

Whilst Everyone needs time to process whats happened, sometimes too much time to think is also a bad thing.

It is very simple for HM,duty comes first,even at hard personal times,that is all there is too it.Most would have cancelled as easy is the way to go these days,but not for a Monarch.C'est ca.

 

[Denville]

There is a great deal of difference between a private individual's taking time off wrok because of bereavement, and a king.. A private person's work can be covered, but no one can do a state visit but the King/queen.. and it is a big big undertaking, which if cancelled would mean a lot of money and time and hard work was wasted and a lot of people disappointed..

 

[Marengo]

The minimum leave people can take for a 1st degree relative is 4 days. For a 2nd degree relative it is 2 days. For a sister-in-law there are no agreed rules, and no leave-days will be given. Most people would have been working by now if their sister(-in-law) died. Many would have been working between the death and the funeral. People can of course always use vacation days to take leave. Employers will usually be understanding. If circumstances allow it most people prefer to be back at work as soon as possible.

His mother was forced to work on the day of the funeral of her husband, the late prince Claus, as the government collapsed on the same day & had to hand in their resignation at the palace.

The king himself stated that rescheduling the state visits would have been very complicated as it involves 4 different governments. Coupled to the visit was an economic mission, which could not be postponed.

The king's decision is the most sensible one.

The queen supposedly still is in Argentina. I am not sure if the princesses stayed there too. Normally they should be back in school but the school is free to give a dispensation when it makes sense.

 

[M. Payton]

Well in reading all the above comments about NOT canceling the state visits, I certainly can see that I come from a very different time and place then the rest of the world. I like my time and place so much better then the way the world today thinks of just about everything it seems......duty to me is about taking care of family first and foremost, not anything else, yet that is just me and I do not expect anyone to agree with me as there is no room for anyone else in my time and place...

 

[Denville]

and how is WA not "not taking care of his family?" He has gone to the funeral, he will be wih his wife as much as he can but he isn't going to be there 24/7 when he has a foreign visit to make. Most people can't take ages off, to "look after family" even if they really want to..

 

[Osipi]

Sometimes too, when faced with a sudden death in the family, it can actually be a comfort for some to have "everyday obligations" to keep them occupied and focused. It never means that they don't grieve any less.

With HM attending and going ahead with a preplanned state visit, perhaps in doing this, he is also setting an example for Catharina-Amalia that sometimes one has to forge on and meet duties and obligations regardless of what one is going through personally.

How a person grieves is a very personal matter.

 

[TLLK]

I also believe that because of their duties Maxima and the Zorrigueta family have encouraged him to continue on with the state visits without her. Certainly the host nations will understand her absence.

 

[Somebody]

No doubt months of preparation have gone into the visit and rearranging wouldn’t be easy as hundreds of people must be involved from the Netherlands and the Baltic countries.

Is there maybe some protocol involved too? Whilst Máxima is known as Queen, its only a courtesy thing as her husband is King and he is the main person. So maybe if it had been his sister then they could cancel but can’t as its Máxima’s? Which is incredibly harsh sounding but some protocol is slightly odd.

Whilst Everyone needs time to process whats happened, sometimes too much time to think is also a bad thing.

The main difference would be that any sibling of the king is also a member of the royal house so a different protocol would be followed.

In normal cases, someone would be allowed to take up any vacation time that is deemed necessary (if available) unless the employer can proof the employee cannot be missed at all. Most people might continue working but would not go on a business trip for a week when something tragic in their family happens as they want to stay close to their family members.

 

[Somebody]

State visits are a big deal involving months of work, expense and organsining.. They aren't cancelled. WA is not doubt sorry that his sister In law has died, but she's not his own family and he has work to do..

He is not 'sorry', he, together with the whole family, is devastated that his sister in law took her own life. That was clear as day from his message on Sunday. I don't think he could be more devastated had it happened to a blood relative.

Everyone would have understood if he had cancelled (state visits get cancelled quite often; recently the Jordanians cancelled theirs, a few years ago the Indonesian government did the same, the Spaniards cancelled their UK state visit several times) but in this case it's not one but three state visits so it would be even more complicated. So, I guess it was the king himself who decided within a few hours of hearing that Inés had passed away that duty comes before family even in this most tragic case.

 

[Somebody]

It is very simple for HM,duty comes first,even at hard personal times,that is all there is too it.Most would have cancelled as easy is the way to go these days,but not for a Monarch.C'est ca.

In a way, yes, but on the other hand, most people don't take off from work for weeks when a family member dies and that is exactly what happened when prince Henrik passed away. The court announced a mourning period in which most activities were cancelled. So, his wife and children(-in-law) all didn't 'work' for over a month because he passed away. Very unlikely to happen for 'normal people'.

 

[Mbruno]

To me it's quite natural for the King not to cancel the State Visits and also that this in no way signifies him not loving his sister-in-law or being disrespectful to her memory.
He's the King and duty comes before all.
Even though I'm sure it's tough for him he'll be alright. As said by close friend Kjeld Hillingsø about Queen Margrethe in the days before her husband's death: "Its part of her upbringing. The members of The Royal Family are raised to carry all the burdens life may afflict upon them without it affecting their ability to do their duty".

Nonetheless, the Royal Court of Denmark went into official mourning after Henrik passed away and there were no official engagements during that period. If what happened to Inés had happened to an official member of the Royal House like Prince Constantijn for example, I am pretty sure that the state visit would have been canceled and, in that sense, I agree the rationale for this asymmetric treatment is not strong.



The point M Payton, I think, was trying to make is that W-A's wife and daughters are probably in distress right now and that, as a parent and a husband, he could take a week or so to be there for them.


I understand the King and his counterparts in the Baltic countries have a busy schedule, but the summer is actually a rather uneventful time of the year in most European countries. In fact, many royals take vacations at this time of the year. I don't think it would be that difficult to posatpone those state visits to a later date. The Spanish state visit to the UK for example, for different reasons, was rescheduled twice.

 

[JR76]

The Danes did work but chose to refrain from functions deemed to frivolous so soon after the death of Henrik. In addition to this they had more than a week full of public events, greeting representatives of official Denmark, foreign diplomats etc. They weren't on their backs in the sofas of Amalienborg. Also had Margrethe been a commoner she'd be a retired woman by now and not a lady who like every monarch rarely gets a day off.
The Bernadottes received an incoming State Visit from Turkey the day after the death of Princess Lilian.
These people might lead a privileged existence but most of them are working constantly and often under conditions which would cause many to buckle under.

 

[Mbruno]

The Danes did work but chose to refrain from functions deemed to frivolous so soon after the death of Henrik. In addition to this they had more than a week full of public events, greeting representatives of official Denmark, foreign diplomats etc. They weren't on their backs in the sofas of Amalienborg. Also had Margrethe been a commoner she'd be a retired woman by now and not a lady who like every monarch rarely gets a day off.
The Bernadottes received an incoming State Visit from Turkey the day after the death of Princess Lilian.
These people might lead a privileged existence but most of them are working constantly and often under conditions which would cause many to buckle under.

But in none of your examples did they leave the country immediately after the funeral. The family stayed together so they could grieve properly.

 

[xenobia]

But in none of your examples did they leave the country immediately after the funeral. The family stayed together so they could grieve properly.

I don't think there is one single way to grieve, and what does "grieve properly" even mean? For some people, it helps to keep working. Others just want to crawl up into a corner and cry. Until it happens to you, you simply don't know how you're going to react. Every situation and every single individual is different. I think that both W-A and Maxima are grounded and thoughtful indivuduals and parents. They are doing what's best for them as individuals and as a family right now. I trust their decisions.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

In a way, yes, but on the other hand, most people don't take off from work for weeks when a family member dies and that is exactly what happened when prince Henrik passed away. The court announced a mourning period in which most activities were cancelled. So, his wife and children(-in-law) all didn't 'work' for over a month because he passed away. Very unlikely to happen for 'normal people'.

Yes, correct. With regard for 'normal people', I'd get 3 days for spouse/parents/children and 1 day for parents-in-law and grandparents. Nothing for sister/brother in law. Of course you can always find a doctor who agrees you are ill, or take holiday (what clearly is not the purpose of holiday). I've lived in countries where you have compassionate leave (when my father passed away I got 2 weeks of absence paid) but in Germany there is no such thing.

So even 'normal' people don't have much choice when the sister-in-law dies, tragic as it is, very much depends on the kindness of your employer, to me it is no question that WA goes back to duty after the funeral.

 

[JR76]

But in none of your examples did they leave the country immediately after the funeral. The family stayed together so they could grieve properly.

I wasn't just replying to your post, but more making a general weighing in on the subject of discussion. The Queen did leave Denmark for two weeks after the funeral was over and done with.

 

[lucien]

OK,this is becoming a non-sensical thread and in memory of Inéz this doesn't really add to anything but tittatand another tittat of those who know and those who haven't got a clue as to the working of State,our State and it's Monarch.Really sad really.That wasn't the intention of the thread I believe,and it adds nothing.Sad.