State Visit from The King and Queen of The Netherlands: October 23-24, 2018

[wyevale]

perception

It is YOUR perception that is mistaken.. The Dutch King can no more influence the Brexit process than HMQ can..They are Constitutional Monarchs, so it is their Governments 'that make the running' in Political matters..
This is the first State Visit to Britain for the new King of the Netherlands, just as the visit here of the Kings of Spain was for Felipe iv..

[Mbruno]

Originally Posted by wyevale

It is YOUR perception that is mistaken.. The Dutch King can no more influence the Brexit process than HMQ can..They are Constitutional Monarchs, so it is their Governments 'that make the running' in Political matters..
This is the first State Visit to Britain for the new King of the Netherlands, just as the visit here of the Kings of Spain was for Felipe iv..

You seem to overlook that members of the government and business delegations are often also part of state visits. If the British government had no political interest in that visit, the King of the Netherlands would not have been invited .

[lucien]

Looking very much forward to this State Visit!!

[wartenberg7]

So much to the one poster who seriously claimed there wouldn´t be any further state visits in the next perhaps 20 years because the british state had to save money and a future King Charles III would be too old to hold state visits....

Didn´t believe it anyway....


Yes that short duration of 2 days is rather odd. There won´t even be time for a return event, always a diplomatic gesture of greatefulness of the state visitor!

[wyevale]

often also part of state visits.

I'm perfectly aware of that.. but since NEITHER the Minister for exiting the EU, or any member of his team NOR M. Barnier [the EU's chief negotiator] form a part of any State visit delegation, this matter has no bearing on the outcome of the negotiations, which will [in any case] be completed before the visit takes place...

[TLLK]

Ouch! This is a very rude headline IMO.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal...-meghan-markle

Queen invites King and Queen of Netherlands for state visit – but Meghan is not invited

[Curryong]

Yes, and seemingly ignorant as well, as the journalist probably knows very well that the Sussexes will be in Sydney on that date.

[Marengo]

No surprise from the Express. It is the worst of all tabloids.

[wyevale]

the worst of all tabloids.

TRUE.. and in a VERY 'competitive field'...

[TLLK]

Originally Posted by Curryong

Yes, and seemingly ignorant as well, as the journalist probably knows very well that the Sussexes will be in Sydney on that date.

Designed to purposely draw in clicks and comments.

[PetticoatLane]

Another complete waste of money, time and effort. Who on earth decides which countries to invite on a state visit and when they should be held? Totally brainless numbskulls?

This visit is completely and utterly POINTLESS. The UK should be widening its horizons to the vast majority of the planet not inside the EU and willing and able to make trade deals with us. Even if this were relevant to the negotiations which should have concluded at that point, in reality the Dutch have very little real power within the EU. Some here mention trade, but we've been told the EU won't want to trade with us after we leave so why bother trying?

This visit will have the same benefit to the actual citizens of the UK as the Spanish - zero, none, zip, nada. It's time for a complete change of emphasis and of policy when it comes to these visits. For the visit of actual decision makers - go all the way. With the visit of powerless "figureheads" these things must be slimmed down massively. Absolutely no problem with reciprocal arrangements when British royals go abroad. A visit like this will do absolutely nothing for the Dutch also.

I understand it's the government who decide who gets invited, but the Queen will have a massive input on the scale and ultimately the expense. Time for her to show her leadership on this. There has to be more to the monarchy than looking at sparkly tiaras and wondering which royal is wearing the ribbon of some exclusive club the rest of us have never heard of. Time to prove their relevance to a post-EU UK.

[An Ard Ri]

I wouldn't expect Queen Maxima to receive any British orders but perhaps the King might and the Dutch might hand out a few too as per the example of Queen Beatrix back in 1982.

[Rudolph]

The king will receive the Order of the Garter. Just like Felipe did.

[Marengo]

The late prince Claus still received the Victorian order. The late prince Bernhard received the order of Bath. But it seems that things have changed as Queen Letizia did not receive an order last year.

[An Ard Ri]

If the Duchess of Cambridge is present she might receive her 1st Royal Order as the Princess of Wales did in 1982.

[Mbruno]

Originally Posted by Marengo

During the king's reign these state visits are usually accompanied by economic missions. I am not sure if that will be the case here as there is a lot of uncertainty about our future relations. The only thing we know is that they will be more distant than they are now.

The Netherlands have trade and economic relations with several countries outside the EU (China, India, the United States, Canada, etc.). Why should it stop trading with the UK just because the UK is leaving the single market and the customs union ?



I think you are being overly gullible about Juncker and Barnier's nonsensical rhetoric.

[wartenberg7]

Originally Posted by PetticoatLane

Another complete waste of money, time and effort. Who on earth decides which countries to invite on a state visit and when they should be held? Totally brainless numbskulls?

This visit is completely and utterly POINTLESS. The UK should be widening its horizons to the vast majority of the planet not inside the EU and willing and able to make trade deals with us. Even if this were relevant to the negotiations which should have concluded at that point, in reality the Dutch have very little real power within the EU. Some here mention trade, but we've been told the EU won't want to trade with us after we leave so why bother trying?

This visit will have the same benefit to the actual citizens of the UK as the Spanish - zero, none, zip, nada. It's time for a complete change of emphasis and of policy when it comes to these visits. For the visit of actual decision makers - go all the way. With the visit of powerless "figureheads" these things must be slimmed down massively. Absolutely no problem with reciprocal arrangements when British royals go abroad. A visit like this will do absolutely nothing for the Dutch also.

I understand it's the government who decide who gets invited, but the Queen will have a massive input on the scale and ultimately the expense. Time for her to show her leadership on this. There has to be more to the monarchy than looking at sparkly tiaras and wondering which royal is wearing the ribbon of some exclusive club the rest of us have never heard of. Time to prove their relevance to a post-EU UK.

So, you wanne abolish state visits (and, other than working or official visits, they include some extent of ceremonial - no matter in a republic or a monarchy) alltoghether?!
You cannot say these visits do anything; the visiting head of state, no matter president or monarch, always brings a big entourage of economy people , businessmen and entrepreneurs - not to forget the foreign minister/ foreign secretary of state, along with him/ her meeting with their counterparts from the other country, making deals, which do have an effect on many people´s lives which one normally just does not realise in our normal daily lives.

All the grandeur and pomp on display we see on these visits, and we have much, much less these days than we still used to have about 15, 20 years ago, are gestures of friendship, a bond between two nations and sometimes even reconciliation.

A, in germany still famous example, is the Queen´ s 1st state visit to Germany in 1965 and it lasted about 2 weeks! I had such a huge impact on post war germany it is pretty often discussed even today.

The 2 heads of state, who stand symbolically as "stand-ins" for all the citizens of their respective countries, meet on a level of the most pestigious and highest diplomatic level. It is a mark of respect towards the guest to put out all your finery, to dress up as best as you can, to really make an effort and, on the other hand, as a guest to return the favour some day.

I think just BECAUSE the UK left the EU, visits on the highest level (and the political actors behind closed doors) between Britain and european countries have again become even more imortant than some years ago!

[tommy100]

Delighted to hear WA and Maxima are heading this way on State Visit! It is short, most state visits are usually 3 days but in fairness they still fit in most of the important set piece events such as the State Banquet and possibly even the Guildhall -they may just fly back out straight after, who knows!

Personally I just hope Maxima brings out the big gun tiara, hopefully the Lux state visit was just a teaser!

[Marengo]

Originally Posted by Mbruno

I think you are being overly gullible about Juncker and Barnier's nonsensical rhetoric.

Perhaps we can refrain from insulting the other side of the debate. Otherwise it is tempting for others to be less civil too.

I will not elaborate on the rest of the message as it will veer too much off topic. Obviously we will still be trading in the future, just on what terms remains unclear.

---

The King and Queen will be accompanied by the minister of Foreign Affairs, Stef Blok - as usual for these visits.

Queen Beatrix arrived in London with a ship of the Dutch navy, which looked wonderful. But I don't think this has happened in the UK (or The Netherlands) in recent years.

[tommy100]

In 2005 for an official visit as part of the Norwegian Centenary Celebrations the RF arrived on the Royal Yacht Norge on the Thames. But somehow I doubt the Dutch monarch will do that, not when they have just bought a new airplane for events such as this.