The 18th Birthday of Princess Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange - 2021

[akina21]

You know , it sucks for her that she can't have what everyone else has because nobody is taking these private restrictions seriously . Not last year and especially not now when there is a vaccine .

 

[wartenberg7]

In my opinion, another storm in the waterglass once more... People of today seem to be so obsessed to be upset... It´s awful! Yes, they seem to got it wrong one more time, but journalists, people in general, should sweep in front of their own door. This tendency to uplift oneself morally above others is just disgusting.

 

[Denville]

That's simply not the case. Covid has not gone away, even with vaccines. it is up to people in teh public eye to act responsibly and if they dont they deserve all the criticism that can be slung at them.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

That's simply not the case. Covid has not gone away, even with vaccines. it is up to people in teh public eye to act responsibly and if they dont they deserve all the criticism that can be slung at them.

But by keeping the party outside in the park (in cold December!) and with Covid controlled access (QR code) most likely the Princess thought: I do my best.

To speak for myself: the rules change every week, I did not realize that the maximum of four guests also included outdoors and most likely lots of Dutch find this a ridiculous restriction. This, coupled with the well-willingness towards the 18 years old birthday girl, resulted in relatively mild reactions, compared with the family holiday in Greece at the start of the Pandemic.

To quote my favourite sentence, once spoken by a MP during a debate in the Chamber, years ago: "My ladies and gentlemen, we are discussing the royal family, not the Holy Family."

 

[Marengo]

But unlike you or I, the King has 300 people working for him who can inform him about these rules. As they did make an effort to look up testing and vaccination passports they could have made the effort to google the rules. Though the 4-people rule is widely known, as people all over the country are forced to make christmas plans with 4 invitees only.

Would it really have been so terrible for once just to postpone it a few months?

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

But at the same time: yesterday we had a team meeting and we were with 12 in one room, zooming with 20 others. We go to the office restaurant and there are about 50 people, with necessary distance and plastic screens. After office I went to the fitness, with time slot, QR code and distancing, but again around 40 sweaty and breathing folks inside.

Next to my fitness there are athletic fields and I saw a group of around 25 kids of a voetbalschool having their training. Lots of papas grouping around, watching their kids.

Then suddenly absolutely no more than four persons at home, also not when it is a sprawling palace with a big green private park: it feels totally ridiculous. And many rules are ridiculously inconsistent anyway.

I agree with your 300+ staff working for WA + M + A but most likely this staff is totally in the framework of the office and dare not to interfere with family affairs, which was Amalia's birthday. In normal years we probably would have seen a big concert ot a gala with 300 guests. It is no excuse, they ignored the "urgent advice" of the Government but my sense is that in general it is taken with some understanding, apart from the usual trolls in talkshow programs trying to poke a media-fire with moralistic bla-bla.

 

[maria-olivia]

I wonder what Princess Beatrix, who was in quarantaine for Princess Amalia official Entrance in de Raad van Staat, is thinking about that ?

 

[akina21]

@Duc et pair

I live in Germany and I agree with you . This wasn't a big official thing , it was a private party with probably a few friends and family . Something everybody is doing. Why? Because the rules are stupid as long as you're stuck in public transport every day or the virus conveniently stops working in your office or after a certain time in the evening . I'm fully vaccinated , I'll receive my booster shot next week but I'm at the point where I'm severely out of [..] to give for anti vaxxers and their feelings . They want to get sick ? Let them . They swamp hospitals ? Put up a tent in the parking lot and have them be treated by their favourite facebook doctors with horse dewormer for all I care.

 

[Denville]

@Duc et pair

I live in Germany and I agree with you . This wasn't a big official thing , it was a private party with probably a few friends and family . Something everybody is doing. Why? Because the rules are stupid as long as you're stuck in public transport every day or the virus conveniently stops working in your office or after a certain time in the evening . I'm fully vaccinated , I'll receive my booster shot next week but I'm at the point where I'm severely out of [...] to give for anti vaxxers and their feelings . They want to get sick ? Let them . They swamp hospitals ? Put up a tent in the parking lot and have them be treated by their favourite facebook doctors with horse dewormer for all I care.

what have anti vaxxers got to do with the RF holding a party which contravened regulations?>

 

[akina21]

what have anti vaxxers got to do with the RF holding a party which contravened regulations?>

The fact that this was clearly a private and relatively small birthday party . The kind of parties and gatherings everyone else also does . This wasn't big official event. There is even a joke for this . Lets have the party at the office or in a bus and it's allowed . In the last year I have attended an illegal Christmas family celebration with 14 adults when only 10 people where allowed, various kids birthday parties and a couple of adult birthday parties. I could understand the criticism if they had a big gala dinner party with official guests but I really can't get upset about a teen's birthday party.

And Anti vaxxers are the people who keep this pandemic going , at least in Europe . They are the majority of the people ending up in hospitals and making these restrictions a thing.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

I wonder what Princess Beatrix, who was in quarantaine for Princess Amalia official Entrance in de Raad van Staat, is thinking about that ?

I have no idea what to think about Princess Beatrix.

What does she think about Her Majesty Queen Máxima appearing at events alike she has been walking with the dogs with a ravaged hairdo?

What does she think about His Majesty The King tutoyer with the Prime Minister (for English-speaking readers: vouvoyer is using the formal u (vous in French) and tutoyer is using the informal je (tu in French). I can not imagine Queen Beatrix ever on tutoying terms with her Prime Ministers.

What does she think about her hooggeboren granddaughter Eloïse frequenting social media as gravinfluencer ?

Maybe the Princess has her grandmother's attitude: "I am no Queen anymore, I am constitutionally dead, I have no opinion whatsoever" ?

 

[Alison H]

In the early days of the pandemic, the media were trying to keep people's spirits up. We had silly things going on, like footballers filming themselves playing keepy-uppy with toilet rolls because of the toilet roll shortage. It made people laugh. Now, the media seem to spend half their time on these sorts of school sneak stories about public figures breaking rules. I don't find it very helpful. How many people can honestly say that they haven't broken a single rule throughout all of this? I don't mean things like holding huge illegal raves for hundreds of people, which was going on in the summer, but this was a small birthday party, where everyone had been tested and vaccinated, held outdoors. I think energies can be spent in much better ways than berating the Dutch royal family over this.

 

[Denville]

In the early days of the pandemic, the media were trying to keep people's spirits up. We had silly things going on, like footballers filming themselves playing keepy-uppy with toilet rolls because of the toilet roll shortage. It made people laugh. Now, the media seem to spend half their time on these sorts of school sneak stories about public figures breaking rules. I don't find it very helpful. How many people can honestly say that they haven't broken a single rule throughout all of this? I don't mean things like holding huge illegal raves for hundreds of people, which was going on in the summer, but this was a small birthday party, where everyone had been tested and vaccinated, held outdoors. I think energies can be spent in much better ways than berating the Dutch royal family over this.

There is a difference between private poeple breaking rules and a public family doing so. Both are wrong but its a fact of life that if you are a public figure, you are open to more critiicsm, its the price of fame.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

There is a difference between private poeple breaking rules and a public family doing so. Both are wrong but its a fact of life that if you are a public figure, you are open to more critiicsm, its the price of fame.

Actually, I suspect Queen Máxima behind this (while the King gets the blame). During the interview for her 50th birthday she said (about the annual trevel to Greece) "We have only looked to what was still possible" which is a diametrical approach to "No, it is not possible".


About the trip to Greece (for which the King publicly and broadly excused) Máxima actually retreated and defended: "It was allowed, Greece was Code Yellow. We have made an error of judgement. It is what it is and I can not explain it differently. It simply was allowed, but it was not solidair".


I really can imagine Queen Máxima saying: "Darling Amalia, okay, let us do it outside in the park. We request two canopies to be placed and invite around 20 folks with strict Covid-controlled entrance. All around a romantic bonfires. That will more or less do within the rules. Then you have your special day!".

 

[maria-olivia]

No Guest Pictures of the Event . I am sure it was forbidden !

 

[Alisa]

Amalia says thank you

https://www.instagram.com/koninklijkhuis/p/CX04KbzMXyM/?utm_medium=copy_link