King Willem-Alexander's 50th Birthday: April 27, 2017

[polyesco]

Interview with the king
"Personal Conversation with the King: tomorrow celebrates King Willem-Alexander his fiftieth birthday. Wilfried de jong speak with him about his life. Follow the whole conversation here."
https://www.facebook.com/nos/videos/1725546430794241/

[maria-olivia]

I saw the whole conversation : You have a great King !

[Duke of Marmalade]

Great interview, very emotional, WA said that Maxima is everything for him and that the wound (death of his brother) will never heal, he almost lost composure.

[Duc_et_Pair]

The interior of Villa De Eikenhorst is more spacious than one would expect from pictures. The King told that the whole ground floor has a public function: guests are received on ground floor. The family holds its "appartment" upstairs.

When Huis ten Bosch, the 17th C palace in The Hague to become his residence, is ready (end of 2018/start 2019), the family will be happy to have a private wing with doors directly open to the park, so they can enjoy the green surroundings.

The King told that at Drakensteyn, the estate where he lived until ca. his 13th year, there was NO television: "My youth was radio". There was a television in one of the annexes of Drakensteyn, where (then) Princess Beatrix and Prince Claus enjoyed dinner and watched the news and maybe a film. The three princes however got movies: home made super-8 movies, or films like Laurel and Hardy. Of course their mother's atelier (sculpting) was a meeting place for the boys.

Only when the family moved to Huis ten Bosch, there was a television and -as a result- Willem-Alexander almost became a "tv-junk". Interesting detail: also Máxima had no access to television. Apparently also her family had the same ambivalent attitude towards this. When finally also Máxima got a television, also she became a "tv-junk", completely in the spell of what television showed.

The King told that his three daughters all have a mobile phone now. They recreived theirs at their respective 10th birthdays. When they go to bed and at holidays, the mobiles must be laid away. "That is the theory", laughed the King: this rule is not always strictly followed.

The King's parents had a deal with the security officers responsible for his protection: Don't be a tell-all. The King has adopted the same policy with his daughters' bodyguards: they are there to protect them. They are not there to brief the King and Queen about their actions and whereabouts. "That would mean Amalia and her security know things, you don't know?" asked Wilfried de Jong. "That is completely okay with me: I dó not even want to know it" stressed the King.

About his puberty the King told that he missed a paternal authority to rebel against: his father was sick (chronic depression, later paired with Parkinson) and his mother was the young Queen, with barely time for family life. His period at the Atlantic College in Wales and his military service at the Royal Navy were so important and formative for him. The King: "If I have not had those so important years in the Navy, I am not sure I would have succeed my studies". The King explained that the Navy taught him structure and discipline, features he used when he enrolled at Leyden University after the military service.

The King hoped that Princess Amalia would rebel too. That she can make her own mistakes. That she would also get doubts about her destiny. Not that he meant that Amalia should abstain but: "When you put your future in question, it also can help to determine why it is something to go for. When someone only does a function because that simply was an expectation, then this will result in unhappiness."

About his German family two interesting details: his father was so shocked and shamed in 1972, that his homeland Germany was not able to protect -of all countries- Israel at the Olympic Games in Munich. The tragedy of the kidnapping and killing of Israelian athletes in Germany was something which left a deep scar inside Prince Claus. Since then he wanted nothing to do with the Olympics. When Willem-Alexander had ambitions in the Olympic movement, he expected a "No Way!" from his parents, but to his surprise his father backed him: "It is your life, not mine. It gives you opportunities and a way to profile yourself".

The other German thing was the fall of the Berlin Wall. This was something the then Prince would have seen in flesh. A few friends went to Berlin, that eventful night. He absolutely would have liked to be there too. He told about his grandmother (Gösta von Amsberg, Baroness von dem Bussche-Haddenhausen) who lived at the borders of the Elbe river. Her estate in Hitzacker (Haus Dötzingen) looked out on the Elbe and at the other side of it was the DDR. The King told that every time when he was staying at his grandmother's place, he saw the fences, he saw the Vopo (DDR police force) on patrol. The Iron Curtain was a visible part of his grandmother's daily life. So the fall of the Iron Curtain certainly also had a deep impact in the family.

The King told that on one day he visited his grandparents at Soestdijk Palace (Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard). At that moment Nelson Mandela was in the house, something the Prince was completely unaware of. There was some sort of fundraising in the palace for Prince Bernhard's nature preservation projects in Africa and Nelson Mandela was a guest. The Prince hesistated to meet him because he was not dressed properly (the pic showed him in jeans and a summer shirt). There was an encounter and this was the start of the friendship. The King told how Nelson Mandela got a list with invitations from his staff, to be sent a declination. Mr Mandela scrapped the royal wedding 02-02-2002 from that cancellation list and insisted he wanted to be in Amsterdam on Willem-Alexander's big day.

The four ladies of the King are his all and everything. So much has become clear. In the start the camera zoomed in on a side table with photo's. The one of the Queen with the three princesses at a recent gala event (the Greek wedding in London). The king told how beautiful they all were dressed and looking so gorgeous. He was visibly proud on his four ladies.

He told lovely words about Máxima, who he knows now for 18 years. He praised her for being supportive, caring, critical, his sparring partner. He was happy that she was "forgiveable" too. Sometimes the King has moods but apparently always Máxima knows how to solve it.

The King told that he can be "demanding". He can also be determined ("vasthoudend") when he is convinced that things should go a certain way. At the other hand, when things are well done, he can be happy and generous to share that with his surroundings. (That sounds beatrixian to me).

[lucien]

Originally Posted by Duke of Marmalade

Great interview, very emotional, WA said that Maxima is everything for him and that the wound (death of his brother) will never heal, he almost lost composure.

A very open,warm,honest and at times emotional Monarch,father & husband.
A really wonderfull guy,and RF, of which we here in NL,and abroad,can be very very proud of indeed!

[maria-olivia]

What I found the most emotional is when he spoke about Prince Friso's death.

A one hour Conversation and pictures about what happened in the World at the same time.

Great respect for his Mother.

I am so so jealous comparing your King Alexander with our shy King Philippe and all the silly bad relationship with the former Monarchs , Princess Astrid Prince Laurent.
Your Royal Family is the best. Congratulations and you may be proud what we belgians are not !.

[Duc_et_Pair]

I disagree: I think that King Philippe and Queen Mathilde do the best they can do. They are already more modern and open than their parents were. But it is so difficult to utter one word wrong (in Dutch, in French, in German) and get separatists or republicans on your neck. The attitude in the Netherlands is still a bit more servile towards the King.

For me King Willem-Alexander is close to the line of keeping some distance, some decorum. I like the what more distant and calm attitude of the Belgian monarchy.

[Stefan]

I agree and think the belgian Monarchy has become much modernere since King Philippe asecended the Throne. But that does not change the difficult relations under the different Family members who stay away from National Day etc.

[lucien]

Originally Posted by Duc_et_Pair

I disagree: I think that King Philippe and Queen Mathilde do the best they can do. They are already more modern and open than their parents were. But it is so difficult to utter one word wrong (in Dutch, in French, in German) and get separatists or republicans on your neck. The attitude in the Netherlands is still a bit more servile towards the King.

For me King Willem-Alexander is close to the line of keeping some distance, some decorum. I like the what more distant and calm attitude of the Belgian monarchy.

Each their own!But ofcourse,I wholeheartedly prefer our more lively and joyous Royals way over anything in that range,anywhere.There's simply non-such to our Dutch RF!!

To all others...eat your hearts out...haha

No,but honestly,our King and his family are really in touch,in touch with the world,in touch with present day issues and with us.And I feel the interview as well as the celebrations today in Tilburg show that that is not a one way street once again.

[carlota]

great interview, thanks for the translation, Duc_et_Pair!

lovely words towards important figures in his life, like beatrix and claus, and towards his very own family, or as he puts it 'his 4 ladies'.

[LadyFinn]

Ulrika Näsholm, information officer from the Swedish Royal Court, told to Svensk Damtidning: "The Crown princess couple will celebrate king Willem-Alexander privately".
And because of the statement, Svensk Damtidning writes that Victoria and Daniel are participating at the private party.
Victoria och Daniel på privat fest _ Svensk Damtidning

[eya]

"A picture shows a figure made of straw depicting Dutch King Willem-Alexander that farmers made to celebrate his 50th birthday near De Horsten in Wassenaar on April 27, 2017. It is a tradition in the Netherlands to celebrate 50th birthdays by placing an "Abraham" doll for men and a "Sarah" doll for women outside a person's home. "


Nice tradition!!


http://0.t.cdn.belga.be/belgaimage:1...005&m=hfhldefb
http://2.t.cdn.belga.be/belgaimage:1...005&m=jkjdlhkd

[HereditaryPrincess]

Ah, that's a cute tradition! I never knew that - as the saying goes, you really do learn something new everyday.

[Countessmeout]

Originally Posted by LadyFinn

Ulrika Näsholm, information officer from the Swedish Royal Court, told to Svensk Damtidning: "The Crown princess couple will celebrate king Willem-Alexander privately".
And because of the statement, Svensk Damtidning writes that Victoria and Daniel are participating at the private party.
Victoria och Daniel på privat fest _ Svensk Damtidning

Wonder if Estelle came along to wish her godfather a happy birthday. Wouldn't be the first time she was brought on such a trip.

[Marengo]

The interview was met with great surprise but all the newspapers and critics loved it. They expected the usual interview, with questions about his function etc. But instead it was a very personal and at times emotional interview.

The amount of positive reviews in the press has been enormous. It seems that the interview will be regarded as a defining moment of his kingship -which just started of course. 'Willem-Alexander became the king he wanted to be' was a nice headline from the Algemeen Dagblad. Perhaps comparable with the surprise visit of Beatrix to Amsterdam on her 50th birthday. His style is praised, his more personal approach is considered modern or current. 'He speaks my language' as a student said on television. Not something that can be said of his mother I suppose, whose interviews perhaps seemed more in an academic lecture about state law.

I usually prefer the more stiff and distant style of the Belgian RF myself, but for our country this day and age I think that this is the only way forward.

[Duc_et_Pair]

Right after the interview in the talkshow Pauw, Jort Kelder (a mild ironic posh-acting dude) had it about a Wassenaar villa with DIY bookshelfs. He is "in principle a republican" but claims that when we have a monarchy anyway, we should not be too petty about a palace here, a speedboat there, etc... ;-) He heard nothing new and was not impressed. His mild critical remarks did not fell well at the table: they were defending the King.

In the daily gossip program Boulevard the (unrecognizeable slimmed down!) royalty expert Marc van der Linden and Peter R. de Vries (a man who holds an opinion about everything) clashed a bit. Peter R. found it a poor interview: where are the questions about the costs of the monarchy, about that new "royal" Boeing? Marc van der Linden simply cut it off: it is the Government which decides. Every year there are members of Parliament voicing opinions about the costs but every year the same Parliament approves the Budget. Well then we are ready with talking. Peter R. de Vries had no response on that.

Then King's Day itself. I have not seen it. Since the trauma of Apeldoorn (an attack on the royal family which killed nine people, live on TV) I can not watch it. From what I saw on the news it lacked a bit of typical "oranjesfeer" but that maybe is because Tilburg is a modern, industrial city which has no pittoresque inner city. It simply "eyed" not so festive as in other years.

[QueenMaximaftw]

Let's just say Zwolle was better last year. They did a better job at the organization than Tilburg. I found it more shaking hands then the actual fun parts you often see.

And I honestly can't stand peter r. de vries. Everything he says is just to put some attention on himself. The dude loves the media attention to much!

[Marengo]

Both Peter 'R' de Vries as Jort Kelder made a carreer of always defending the opposite of whatever statement is being put on the table.

In the case of dandy Jort Kelder it can be amusing at times, though very predictable. He makes money by portraying himself as a snob, and obviously he needs to behave like one in public. With Peter is rather irritating. Remember how he used the death of an American teenage girl to get television awards? And let's also not forget how he was the one who started the whole bruhaha around Mabel. In hindsight it was proven that most what his source said were lies. De Vries never apologised or even admitted he was either fooled by this mobster or that he willingly fooled the Dutch public for television ratings. On top of that, he just seems like a very disagreable person.

The question about costs was already asked at the interview of 2013, which Peter R. could have known. But obviously lack of knowledge never stood in the way of him sharing his opinion as if it was a gift to humanity.

[lula]

According to expert of the Royal House on Spanish public television, King Felipe and Queen Letizia will attend the celebrations this weekend

https://twitter.com/alexandropress/s...02318204981249

Spanish Royal House has included it in its agenda for the press, warning that the celebrations are not open to the media.

http://www.monarquiaconfidencial.com...919308053.html

Hola speculates with the possibility that Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofia accompany their parents. Infanta Sofia celebrates her 10th birthday on Saturday, and Monday and Tuesday are holidays in Madrid.

http://www.hola.com/realeza/casa_esp...lermo-holanda/

[Bine221]

I honestly hope, hope, hope, that we will see pics of the event and the guests (I am a bit nervous, as it is said, this is a PRIVATE PARTY).....
Any information about the dresscode?
BYe Bine