Ages of ascending and abdicating of Dutch queens:
Wilhelmina: 10 - 68 (58 years - including 8 years in which her mother was regent)
Juliana: 39 - 71 (birthday) (31 1/2 years)
Beatrix: 42 - 75 (33 years)
Willem-Alexander ascended the throne a few days after his 46th birthday; Amalia was 9 at that time, so if he remains in good health he'll probably abdicate after 30-32 years on the throne (aged 76-78) which means that Amalia can expect to ascend the throne around the age of 40. Just like her father (and mother) I expect that in addition to her general preparation, she will use the next 20 years to specialize in a relevant topic and I would not be surprised if she will be involved with that topic at UN level - again followi g her parents' example.
Misrembering.
They all speak Dutch and most if not all speak english as well.And Papiamento ofcourse!!
There are more languages then just english.
According to CBS (the Statistics Agency in the Netherlands), the most spoken first languages are on Bonaire is indeed Papiamento (2/3 of population), but on both Saba (93%) and St Eustatius (85%) the most spoken language is English. As a first language Dutch is only spoken by a small minority of the population: 15% for Bonaire, 6% for St Eustatius and almost nobody on Saba.
Nonetheless, a majority of the people is multilingual: 90% on Bonaire, 68% on St Eustatius and 57% on Saba. So, it seems speaking English as a first language makes it less likely that you speak other languages as well.
So, it might indeed be expected that the royal family will speak English in the second half of their trip - they will most likely be able to get by with Dutch in the first half.
[I will add figures for the other islands as I find them but
this source (2014) only provided information on the 'special municipalities']
According to
Worldatlas:
Languages on Curacao - as first language:
- Papiamentu: 82%
- Dutch: 8% - also the administrative and legal language
- Spanish: 4%
- English: 2%
On Aruba, Papiamento and Dutch are the official languages (although a very small minority speaks Dutch as a first language) and English is recognized as 'international language'. Besides, the influence of Spanish is growing. Other languages spoken include French and Portuguese. Most are fluent in 3-4 languages. (source:
Worldatlas)
On St Maarten (source:
Worldatlas):
- English: 65%
- Spanish: 10%
- Creole language: 10%
- Dutch: 5%
- Papiamento: 5%
- French: 5%
I love Máxima's
proud mom look
And it looks like Amalia is
wearing a fit bit
And Amalia already
nails the 'how wonderful' look when receiving flowers from a child
More PPE-pictures have been added, including their visit to Sorobon Bay (showing Amalia sounding the horn for a wind surfing event) and a boating outing. The ladies did change into more comfortable shoes.
I was about to say their outfits seem not formal enough, good to know it's not official part of the program.
