The Princess of Orange, Princesses Alexia and Ariane, News Part 2 (Feb 2019 -present)

[W.Y.CII]

Originally Posted by An Ard Ri

Elisabeth of Belgium ,Duchess of Brabant was also a student there

Still two future queens only, Elisabeth and Leonor, Alexia is, supposedly, not expected to be queen.

Leonor an Alexia probably will be classmate? they are same year.

C-A probably will study oversea for tertiary education? full program or short term exchange.

[Mbruno]

Originally Posted by amaryllus

Not to be that person but The Spanish Alexia knows from her mother is going to be somewhat different than the Spanish Leonor speaks. They both know pretty decent English by know so that might be the language of choice between them.

Máxima speaks Rioplatense Spanish, whose pronunciation is somewhat different from Peninsular Spanish. The grammar of spoken Rioplatense Spanish also differs slightly from Peninsular Spanish, especially in the use of certain pronouns and verb forms, but the standard written language is the same so an Argentinian and a Spaniard can communicate perfectly with each other. It is like British and American English; Parisian and Quebec French; or Brazilian and European Portuguese.

Having said that, I don't know how advanced Princess Alexia's Spanish skills are. Learning a language informally from one of your parents is very different from using that language as language of instruction at school or being immersed in an environment where that language is spoken 24/7. which is Leonor's case. In any case, I suppose Leonor will choose to communicate with Alexia in English, not only because English is the language of instruction and communication at the college, but also because perfecting her English skills is probably one of the reasons why she is attending Atlantic College in the first place.

Originally Posted by RoyalNight

Not exactly on the topic, but Pss Leonore seems so much younger than Pss Alexia. I'm shocked that Leonore will be 16 this year

The Spanish posters discussed that before in this forum. Apparently, if I got it right, students who were born in October (actualy almost November) like Leonor can start 1st Grade in Spain at age 5 and only turn 6 later in the school semester. In some other countries, the student must have turned 6 already by the first day of school (and will have turned 7 by the end of 1st Grade). That is why Leonor will be younger than the average sixth-form student and will graduate from the IB program at the age of 17, rather than 18.

[Heavs]

Very interesting news.

As for Amalia, not every student wants to or is suited to going to boarding school in a different country.

She has plenty of time to study abroad if that's what she and her parents feel is appropriate for her. I don't think she *has* to in order to be a good Queen of the Netherlands one day.

[Somebody]

Originally Posted by amaryllus

Not to be that person but The Spanish Alexia knows from her mother is going to be somewhat different than the Spanish Leonor speaks. They both know pretty decent English by know so that might be the language of choice between them.

Why would they speak English if Spanish is their mother tongue (for Alexia it is one of her two mother tongues as she grew up bilingual); of course, in group settings they will speak English. However, while they have something in common (their parents are king and queen), I don't think they are very much alike, so if they wouldn't be in their positions I would not necessarily expect them to become friends.

[Blog Real]

We look forward to welcoming HRH Princess Alexia of the Netherlands and her fellow students to UWC Atlantic as part of our 2021 student entry.

Dutch students have been an integral part of UWC Atlantic since its inception and we are proud of our strong connection to the Netherlands. Princess Alexia will be one of a number of Dutch students to attend the college this fall.

United World Colleges (UWCs) pride themselves as a meeting place for the world’s youth to serve our mission to make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future. We educate young change makers who want to make a difference in their communities, both local and global.

Our students from the Netherlands will join a global group of vibrant young people living and learning together from over 90 countries. At UWC Atlantic, our students are selected based on their promise and potential, regardless of their background. We very much hope they will thrive as part of our deliberately diverse community here in Wales.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CL66wGgj...=189btrus9bzmr

[Somebody]

It seems many seem to think that boarding school is the 'better' choice. I would like to question that assumption. Amalia is getting a very rigorous education. In Willem-Alexander's case the choice was mainly made because he had trouble with his parents; so not necessarily a choice made because they thought boarding school would be the best preparation for his future rule but mostly, that given the circumstances, that was the way to go.

Alexia could just be "done" with Greek and Latin (which would mean she would have to change schools) and looking for an adventure; and with her father previously attending this school and her cousin currently attending boarding school, it was a sensible option that apparently appealed to her.

[Mbruno]

Originally Posted by Somebody

Why would they speak English if Spanish is their mother tongue (for Alexia it is one of her two mother tongues as she grew up bilingual); of course, in group settings they will speak English. However, while they have something in common (their parents are king and queen), I don't think they are very much alike, so if they wouldn't be in their positions I would not necessarily expect them to become friends.

I am not personally close to either girl (obviously!), so I cannot say how they are privately. However, if anything, at least as far as their public personas are concerned, Alexia has recently acquired a bit of a "bad girl" reputation while Leonor has an image of being very uptight or even "square". So, yes, on the surface they don't seem to have a lot in common.


But, who knows, people change in High School (by that, I mean "upper secondary school") and they change either way. One thing that won't change is that Leonor is a Crown Princess (in a very complicated country as far as the monarchy is concerned) whereas Alexia is the second-born daughter in a far more relaxed, laid back monarchy. So their upbringings must be obviously different.


I still think they will speak to each other in English though. Is Alexia truly bilingual (in Spanish and Dutch, I mean) ?

[amaryllus]

Having your mom talk to you in probably colloquial Spanish and visiting overseas relatives a couple time a year is far from fluently being able to speak with a Native Spanish speaker.

[Muhler]

Do we have any idea as to whether Alexia and Leonor know each other personally?

On the face of it, they appear to be very different personalities, but it is often seen that such two personalities end up being very close friends.
And who knows how especially Leonor will develop once away from home. She may thrive big time, while Alexia may become very homesick.

[PrincessofEurope]

Leonor and Alexia might not even know each other - and whilst they might be in the same class year that doesn't necessarily mean they will be close friends etc

Interesting that it is Alexia who is going to UWC - I gather the entrance tests are rigorous so maybe Amalia applied but didn't get accepted. We won't ever know I guess

Also why does Alexia have a rebel reputation in the dutch press as noted above in a previous post?

[Duc_et_Pair]

Originally Posted by amaryllus

Having your mom talk to you in probably colloquial Spanish and visiting overseas relatives a couple time a year is far from fluently being able to speak with a Native Spanish speaker.

I have understood that mama speaks Spanish and papa speaks Dutch and German and there were [I]Spanish nannies[/U] because they want their daughters to mix perfectly with their family.

As abuela María del Carmen often stays long periods in the Netherlands, we may assume the kids' Spanish is good. Last year at the Feria de Sevilla the girls seemer to interact easily with the Andalucians.

[Duc_et_Pair]

Originally Posted by PrincessofEurope

Leonor and Alexia might not even know each other - and whilst they might be in the same class year that doesn't necessarily mean they will be close friends etc

Interesting that it is Alexia who is going to UWC - I gather the entrance tests are rigorous so maybe Amalia applied but didn't get accepted. We won't ever know I guess

Also why does Alexia have a rebel reputation in the dutch press as noted above in a previous post?

The Princess of Orange seems to be an intelligent girl. She has taken extra course on her loaded curriculum: Chinese language. And she is one year ahead because -like the Princess of Asturias- she enrolled into Primary School in the year she became four. As she is born in December, this means Amalia is a year younger than the average in her class.

Usually the age for ending Gymnasium classes:
I Gymnasium - 13 years
II Gymnasium - 14 years
III Gymnasium - 15 years
IV Gymnasium - 16 years
V Gymnasium - 17 years
VI Gymnasium - 18 years
(Amalia just turned 17 in December and will finish within two months, in May).

Athenaeum and Gymasium are both pre-university schools at equal level. The difference is in the curriculum. A Gymasium gives a classical education with typically Latin, Greek, Philosophy, History, Literature, Cultural Education, to give a wide range of pre-academic formation. An Athenaeum has no classical formation and this creates room for other courses on the curriculum.

Amalia's niece Countess Eloïse ended Gymnasium as well (not at Sorghvliet in The Hague, like her three cousines but at the Van Maerlant Lyceum in The Hague) and has chosen for the MBA programme at the Amsterdam Hotel Management School.

[Mbruno]

Originally Posted by Duc_et_Pair

I have understood that mama speaks Spanish and papa speaks Dutch and German and there were [I]Spanish nannies[/U] because they want their daughters to mix perfectly with their family.

As abuela María del Carmen often stays long periods in the Netherlands, we may assume the kids' Spanish is good. Last year at the Feria de Sevilla the girls seemer to interact easily with the Andalucians.

I have known several children of immigrant parents in the US (both parents with a native language other than English). As a disclaimer and to add some context, I am talking here mostly about middle-class, highly educated parents, i.e. with at least a bachelor's or sometimes a postgraduate (e.g. PhD) degree, so their level of English was generally very good even though it was not their first language.


Anyway, in the families I met, the parents' attitude about home language varied a lot. Some parents would not teach their native language to their kids and would only speak English at home. Others, on the contrary, insisted on always speaking to their kids in their native language and took them every year to see relatives overseas (like Queen Maxima, I guess). However, even in the latter case, the kids had a functional conversational ability in their parents' L1, but they were not really at native level. They couldn't write properly in the language for example, had limited vocabulary and actually made many grammar or semantic mistakes.


To me that illustrates that language acquisition goes beyond acquring language at home from your parents. Instead one builds up language and verbal skills by other means too, most notably formal education at school (depending on the language of instruction that is used) and, more broadly, ithe social and cultural environment the child is immersed into (TV, interaction with other kids and adults, teachers, etc.). Annual summer trips to see granny or even having a foreign nanny cannot make up for growing up in another country and in a school system where another language is used.

[carlota]

well done to alexia, and to leonor. the exams seem quite rigorous. i am unsure why amalia didn't get to go, maybe as the heir it was judged she should live in netherlands. given that WA&M are good friends with their belgian counterparts, i am sure they at least considered the option of sending amalia too.

Originally Posted by amaryllus

Not to be that person but The Spanish Alexia knows from her mother is going to be somewhat different than the Spanish Leonor speaks. They both know pretty decent English by know so that might be the language of choice between them.

if alexia's spanish is up to good standards, and i am sure it is, they will have no trouble at all understanding each other. it is as if a british person was talking to an american, or an australian.

Originally Posted by amaryllus

I suspect the dads chatted about the trials and joys of teenage daughters and WA floated the idea of having the girls go one day what with the benefits it gave him in getting independence, maturity and relative freedom.If they can potentially be friends that’s a huge bonus for the future as well.

my guess is that this indicates that WA&M and F&L are in close contact and maintain a close friendship. i know maxima met privately with cristina and letizia a long time ago when visiting spain (this was a long time ago, before cristina was 'exiled') so i am sure there are plenty of other situations when they met or spoke privately but we never got to know about those.

[Duke of Marmalade]

I am sure both Alexia and Leonor are kind of native speakers in English through private tutoring or governesses from a very young age. And of course both are native in Spanish.

Amalia will almost certainly attend a foreign university later in life, probably to do a masters degree. Not everyone has to do university entrance abroad, they all have a deep and lengthy education ahead of them and there are more options. Leonor's main studies will be in Spain but she may do a masters abroad, like her father (in Georgetown, U.S.)

[Duc_et_Pair]

Originally Posted by carlota

well done to alexia, and to leonor. the exams seem quite rigorous. i am unsure why amalia didn't get to go, maybe as the heir it was judged she should live in netherlands. given that WA&M are good friends with their belgian counterparts, i am sure they at least considered the option of sending amalia too

Amalia'a own father went to the very same boarding school in Wales, so the argument that the heir should live in the Netherlands does not hold here.

Apparently Amalia is doing excellently and is now near her final exams. Gymnasium is a school type in which pupils start at 12 years old and finish six years later (when no doublures).

Amalia just turned 17 in December and will already finish school cominh May. She is quite early. (She started her Primary School in the year when she became four years old. As she is born in December 2003, she will be much younger than classmates who were born in January 2003).

[kalnel]

It's interesting to note that this school was founded by Kurt Hahn, the same guy who founded Gordonstoun and Schloss Salem in Germany. Through his schools, he has had a huge influence over quite a few royal houses. (Lord Louis Mountbatten is connected to UWC schools, too.)

This isn't a complete list, but Wikipedia notes:
At Schloss Salem:
Prince Philip
Queen Sofia of Spain
Princess Irene of Greece
Prince Ferdinand Bismark

At Gordonstoun:
Prince Philip
Prince Charles
Prince Andrew
Prince Edward
Peter Phillips
Zara Phillips
several Mountbattens
Count Claus-Casimir

At UWC schools:
King Willem-Alexander
Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece
Princess Iman of Jordan
Princess Elisabeth of Belgium

[Duc_et_Pair]

Originally Posted by Duke of Marmalade

I am sure both Alexia and Leonor are kind of native speakers in English through private tutoring or governesses from a very young age. And of course both are native in Spanish.

Amalia will almost certainly attend a foreign university later in life, probably to do a masters degree. Not everyone has to do university entrance abroad, they all have a deep and lengthy education ahead of them and there are more options. Leonor's main studies will be in Spain but she may do a masters abroad, like her father (in Georgetown, U.S.)

The Prince of Orange went to Leyden University. The obvious choice as it was founded by William of Nassau, Prince of Orange in 1575.

His two younger brothers even did post-academic studies in France: at the prestigious l'Institut européen d'administration des affaires (INSEAD), in the Château de Fontainebleau.

Last year there were rumours Amalia would go to university in China, but the King denied these plans.

[acdc1]

Originally Posted by PrincessofEurope

Leonor and Alexia might not even know each other - and whilst they might be in the same class year that doesn't necessarily mean they will be close friends etc

Interesting that it is Alexia who is going to UWC - I gather the entrance tests are rigorous so maybe Amalia applied but didn't get accepted. We won't ever know I guess

Also why does Alexia have a rebel reputation in the dutch press as noted above in a previous post?

In regards to Alexia's "bad girl" reputation, she was seen on the social media app TikTok dancing and singing along to rap music that had foul language in it and in another holding a cigarette in her hand (I don't believe she was seen actually smoking the cigarette). The cigarette was especially controversial because she was 14 or 15 at the time and younger than the legal age to be smoking (her cousin Eloise has also been photographed smoking, but she was 18 at the time and able to legally do so).

Frankly it's more of a case of a teen girl being a bit rebellious rather than doing anything actually awful. I tried cigarettes myself with my friends at the same age (which I regret! Don't smoke )

[An Ard Ri]

Originally Posted by Muhler

Do we have any idea as to whether Alexia and Leonor know each other personally?

I doubt they do, their parents are well acquainted over the years.

I like that Alexia is following in her father's footsteps.