Willem-Alexander, Máxima and Family, General News Part 3 (May 2017-Aug 2020)

[Duc_et_Pair]

Originally Posted by Marengo

It seems to be removed now. Also gone is a comment about how 65 million euros for a house is a bit much.

I never knew that you could remove comments on instagram and for years I wondered why the comments were always only positive. But now I know, finally .

The comment about the 65 million Euro (which is indeed an absurd amount for updating a relatively small palace) indeed does not belong to the Instagram of the Royal House: the King has zero say in the decision of the state to splash so much money on it, that they could easily have build a new palace for that...

[tommy100]

Is this visit to sign something everybody has to do when they move or it is something unique to the royals? I thought I read somewhere that when Beatrix moved into the Palace upon becoming Queen there was a much bigger ceremony?

[Duc_et_Pair]

Queen Beatrix made The Hague the residence of the Sovereign again. This was marked with a Joyeuse Entrée. Between 1945 and 1948 Queen Wilhelmina resided at Het Loo Palace in the East of the Netherlands because of war damage to Huis ten Bosch and fire damage to Noordeinde Palace.

Between 1948 and 1980 Soestdijk Palace in the province of Utrecht was the heart of the monarchy, under Queen Juliana. So when Queen Beatrix returned to Huis ten Bosch and to Noordeinde, The Hague finally had the Queen back in town, after decades with "empty" palaces.

The Hague was the royal residence from the first day of the current King's reign. Noordeinde Palace is the heart of the monarchy. So in that sense the move from the King's villa in Wassenaar to Huis ten Bosch in The Hague has not that impact. No big fuss, just the required registration at the municipal registry.

[Marengo]

Originally Posted by tommy100

Is this visit to sign something everybody has to do when they move or it is something unique to the royals? I thought I read somewhere that when Beatrix moved into the Palace upon becoming Queen there was a much bigger ceremony?

Everybody has to register in the city where they live. These days that can also be done online but the king and queen preferred to do it in person.

When Beatrix moved to The Hague in 1980. The official entry was on May 21st; there was a carriage ride through the city, which started at Lange Voorhout Palace:

https://www.anp-archief.nl/page/8880...n-haag-intocht

The cortege went passed the old city hall on the Groenmarkt, where they visited the exhibition "Dag Koningin". In Scheveningen they visited the Old Church, after which the group went to the Circus Theatre. After this they went back to Palace Lange Voorhout. It was followed by an early dinner at the city hall with members of the city council (one member for LAbour and one for the PPS refused to join). Later in the evening they went to the Congresgebouw where they met 2000 people from all layers of society. At 23:30 the day ended with fireworks.

All newspapers claimed that there were a lot of people on the streets to welcome the royal family. It was only a few weeks after she was inaugurated in Amsterdam.

[Iolanthe]

(I am not so sure where to post this, so please feel free to move this to a more appropriate thread).

Angela Merkel recently gave one of her rare long interviews. She spoke (besides other things) about feminism. And I thought it was interesting that Maxima seems to have made an impression on her and her view of feminism:

At the G-20 Women's Summit, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands found a definition of feminism that I can endorse: For her, it's feminism if I am in favor of men and women having the same life opportunities.

[Lumutqueen]

https://twitter.com/rickeversroyal/s...869409285?s=21

“Queen Maxima - accused of tax evasion for her properties in Argentina - let us know by her spokesperson: "Queen Máxima respects Argentina's laws and rules. This is also what has been declared to us by local authorities in Argentina."

I don’t know if this is being discussed somewhere else so feel free to move it.

[Marengo]

Apparently the story originates with an Argentinian investigative website:

https://www.elcohetealaluna.com/evasion-real/

They claim that she owns three plots of land in Rio Negro. The buildings on this land are -according to them- not registered with the provincial authorities. They claim that this is a way for her to avoid taxes.

The RVD denies the allegations and says that the queen respects the local tax laws and regulations. This was also confirmed to the RVD by local authorities.

https://nos.nl/artikel/2269834-rvd-m...se-fiscus.html

Hans Jacobs of the excellent Royalblog notes that the website is very obscure and offers no proof. Its main raison d'etre seems to be to tarnish the repustation of president Macri. The accusations towards Maxima were part of a larger article in which the president was accused of tax favors for his friends. A wrong translation into Dutch made the problem seem much larger than it was, but it was nontheless repeated by several news outlets and politicians.

The website is owned by Horacio Verbitsky, a great supporter of the previous president Christina Kirchner. The former president is facing charges of corruption and apparently Mr. Verbitsky is trying to distract from that. Considering the friendship of the King & Queen with president Macri and his wife is rather evident -they spent Christmas together- it is not a great mystery why he would be focusing on the Queen to hit the president.

The author warns that considering the great ideological differences in Argentinian politics the Queen's activities there -even when they are private- can become part of a political game, as seems to be the case here.

https://gpdhome.typepad.com/nieuwsbe...-politiek.html

[lucien]

Yet another bogus story by pulp from what is called Argentinian press..Next!

Originally Posted by Marengo

Apparently the story originates with an Argentinian investigative website:

https://www.elcohetealaluna.com/evasion-real/

They claim that she owns three plots of land in Rio Negro. The buildings on this land are -according to them- not registered with the provincial authorities. They claim that this is a way for her to avoid taxes.

The RVD denies the allegations and says that the queen respects the local tax laws and regulations. This was also confirmed to the RVD by local authorities.

https://nos.nl/artikel/2269834-rvd-m...se-fiscus.html

Hans Jacobs of the excellent Royalblog notes that the website is very obscure and offers no proof.Its main raison d'etre seems to be to tarnish the repustation of president Macri. The accusations towards Maxima were part of a larger article in which the president was accused of tax favors for his friends. A wrong translation into Dutch made the problem seem much larger than it was, but it was nontheless repeated by several news outlets and politicians.

The website is owned by Horacio Verbitsky, a great supporter of the previous president Christina Kirchner.

The author warns that considering the great ideological differences in Argentine, the Queen's activities there -even when they are private- can become part of a political game, as seems to be the case here.

https://gpdhome.typepad.com/nieuwsbe...-politiek.html

[Dalriada]

“Considering the friendship of the King & Queen with president Macri and his wife is rather evident -they spent Christmas together- it is not a great mystery why he would be focusing on the Queen to hit the president.”

Is it true that HM the King spent christmas with the president of a country like that with all its controversies? I know the Queen has very distasteful political family baggage so should they appear not to be overly friendly with politicians in a country like that?

[Somebody]

Originally Posted by Dalriada

“Considering the friendship of the King & Queen with president Macri and his wife is rather evident -they spent Christmas together- it is not a great mystery why he would be focusing on the Queen to hit the president.”

Is it true that HM the King spent christmas with the president of a country like that with all its controversies? I know the Queen has very distasteful political family baggage so should they appear not to be overly friendly with politicians in a country like that?

They spent (part of) their christmas holidays in Argentina in the same area; I don't think that's the same as 'celebrating christmas together'; much more likely they celebrated christmas with Máxima's family. On January 9 the president had a dinner party to which the king and queen were invited. It is well known that the couples are friendly with each other.

[Marengo]

You are absolutely right, my mistake.

[Duc_et_Pair]

Originally Posted by Dalriada

“Considering the friendship of the King & Queen with president Macri and his wife is rather evident -they spent Christmas together- it is not a great mystery why he would be focusing on the Queen to hit the president.”

Is it true that HM the King spent christmas with the president of a country like that with all its controversies? I know the Queen has very distasteful political family baggage so should they appear not to be overly friendly with politicians in a country like that?

President Trump is a controversial figure in media. Officially he is not controversial: he is the President of the United States of America. When the King and Queen are having a holiday in Florida and the President invites them to have a private dinner with him and Melania, they should refuse as well?

Máxima is still an Argentine citizen (it is not possible for Argentineans to renounce their citizenship). She, a born Argentine, was in her native country Argentina and invited by "her" president and his spouse, whom recently were received with all égards during their State Visit to the Netherlands. It would be strange to refuse to have a dinner with the presidential couple.

The royal and the presidential couple in good cheer: https://images.nrc.nl/fn5eramAP7AVbY...p-50444711.jpg

[Marengo]

The mayor of the town of Pilcaniyeu. where the property of Máxima is located, contradicts yesterday's statement of the RVD.

He says that the property is not registered as a hotell or inn. He says that the area is too large to control what is built. They trust that the owners will notify the city to register their activities and new buildings.

Queen Máxima's aunt, Marcela Cerruti - who is the proprietress of the place, says to Clarin that it is not obligatory to register. She adds: "I pay everything. I do not have to explain myself to anybody. When they have questions they can consult with the owner, Máxima Zorreguieta".

Clarin supports the claims of the website where the story originated: the city have to give permits for new constructions and commercial activities, which has not happened. They are paying estate tax based on the situation of a few years ago, without the new hotel and buildings.

Tday the RVD refused to add anything to yesterday's comments.

https://www.ad.nl/show/burgemeester-...atie~a997b1b3/

https://www.clarin.com/sociedad/denu...J1fqqsEea.html

[Somebody]

Not good... The mayor getting involved and contradicting that the properties are correctly registered... And it doesn't help that Máxima's aunt tells that it is not up to her to explain and is telling people to talk to 'Máxima Zorreguieta' instead.

So, I guess the question is whether it is obligatory to register or not. If not, Máxima is not disobeying the law if it is, she is not 'respecting the law' as the RVD worded it.

[iceflower]

.

A new collection of hand painted eggs including the Royal Family will be displayed on March 30 & 31 in Wassenaar:


** ppe gallery **

[carlota]

is maxima well? she had a planned operation and not long ago she was ill for a month. it is odd they plan her 'planned procedure' on NLDOET as that is one of her key initiatives.

"Last week Queen Máxima underwent a small, planned medical procedure. Because she still has to rest, she will not accompany the King this year in his contribution to NLdoet. Queen Máxima will return to work next week."

[Somebody]

Originally Posted by carlota

is maxima well? she had a planned operation and not long ago she was ill for a month. it is odd they plan her 'planned procedure' on NLDOET as that is one of her key initiatives.

"Last week Queen Máxima underwent a small, planned medical procedure. Because she still has to rest, she will not accompany the King this year in his contribution to NLdoet. Queen Máxima will return to work next week."

I don't remember her being ill for a week. In the fall she had to cancel a trip but was back to work within 2 weeks. I guess the recovery process for this procedure is taking a little longer than expected. However, het not being able to attend NLdoet while unfortunate isn't that problematic imo as 5 other family members turned up yesterday. And a few others might turn up today. It has been treated a true 'royal family' event from the start. (Tomorrow will be the main Van Vollenhoven event of the year: de Hollandse 100)

[HereditaryPrincess]

Whatever the situation might be I hope Maxima will recover soon if she has had an operation.

[eya]

According to the sources of RTL Boulevard :

"Queen Maxima's operation was a feet problem Knob. Queen Maxima had surgery on her big toe in a private clinic. The Queen would have been troubled by Hallux Valgus. This is a deviation where the big toe is in the wrong position and this creates a lump on the side of the foot. This may be congenital or it is because someone often walks in high heels. Because of this lump, Queen Maxima was almost unable to walk on her pumps and she had to undergo surgery. The Government Information Service does not confirm anything, so we cannot say with certainty that the operation took place."

https://www.rtlboulevard.nl/royalty/...reerd-aan-voet

[suztav]

Originally Posted by eya

According to the sources of RTL Boulevard :

"Queen Maxima's operation was a feet problem Knob. Queen Maxima had surgery on her big toe in a private clinic. The Queen would have been troubled by Hallux Valgus. This is a deviation where the big toe is in the wrong position and this creates a lump on the side of the foot. This may be congenital or it is because someone often walks in high heels. Because of this lump, Queen Maxima was almost unable to walk on her pumps and she had to undergo surgery. The Government Information Service does not confirm anything, so we cannot say with certainty that the operation took place."

https://www.rtlboulevard.nl/royalty/...reerd-aan-voet

Better known as “she had a bunion”