Dutch State Visit to South Africa: October 18 - 20, 2023


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iceflower

iceflower

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King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima will pay a state visit to South Africa from October 18 to October 20, 2023, it was announced today.


** royal-house.nl: State visit to South Africa **


**
His Majesty King Willem-Alexander and Her Majesty Queen Máxima will pay a state visit to the Republic of South Africa, at the invitation of President Cyril Ramaphosa. The visit will take place from Wednesday 18 to Friday 20 October 2023. The King and Queen will be accompanied on their visit by Minister of Foreign Affairs Wopke Hoekstra.

The state visit will celebrate the excellent ties and equal partnership between our countries, focusing on sustainable and inclusive growth, cultural cooperation and knowledge exchange.
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A state visit to South Africa? Under the current political climate? Oh God, hopefully W-A and Máxima will be treated much better than King Filip and Queen Mathilde were.:ermm:
 
Why, why... the situation in South Africa is horrific.
 
muriel said:
That is a reasonably full programme.

I see the traditionalstate banquet has been replaced by a lunch.
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Shame there won't be a State Banquet .
 
Not enough electricity in the country.
 
The Kinglooks better: a fresh haircut and clothes that fit.
 
They found a great place to take pictures. Those trees provide a beautiful background!
 
Nothing about the banquet?
 
iceflower said:
The final day has already come, feels rather like a short, unnoticed visit than a big state visit, but that may be due to the facts.


Photos of day 3, October 20:


** rex gallery ** ppe gallery ** gtresnews gallery ** anp gallery **
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Cape Town of course has a strong Dutch connection having been founded by the Dutch in 1652. It remained the center of the Dutch Cape Colony until the British occupation in 1806. The Cape Colony was later permanently ceded to the UK under the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814.

The Cape Dutch dialect formed the basis for the modern Afrikaans language , which later spread also to inner South Africa (Orange Free State and Transvaal) with the "Great Trek" of the Afrikaner farmers also known in English as the Boers (from Dutch boeren).
 
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An Ard Ri said:
My Dutch is quite basic ,what was this protest about?
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So is mine, but it seems the Khoi-San and other indigenous people were demanding respect. (?)

I can't believe W-A got in the car so quickly, whereas poor Máxima had to walk around the car.
 
Adda said:
So is mine, but it seems the Khoi-San and other indigenous people were demanding respect. (?)

I can't believe W-A got in the car so quickly, whereas poor Máxima had to walk around the car.
Click to expand...


The Khoi-San are the indigenous people who lived in the Cape before the Dutch arrived in 17th century.
 
They do not feel the apologies from the King is enough. They want respect and restitutions.
 
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It's related to the recent apologies for slavery, see here.

The king and queen later indicated that they weren't surprised by the protests. They stated that deep-felt emotions are only natural and that these people wanted to gain attention for their current position and are looking for solutions; see their press interview.
 
I actually held my breath for a second for the Queen.
It's not a good look that the King was quickly ushered into a vehicle while the Queen had to walk around.

I think they need to revisit their exit strategy for future occurrences.

I do appreciate that they understand why people are visibly upset and unhappy.
Did the couple make any speeches in regards to apologies and/or reparations?
 
I was surprised they were allowed to leave through a crowd like that. Better to have delayed their departure for a few minutes and make it a bit safer.

I actually felt most sorry for the poor lady in waiting who was being properly manhandled to get her into a car. The King seemed to have the easiest time.
 

In the end of this video the Royal Couple and the audience are singing a song in Dutch. My first thought was that it must be the Wilhelmus- but the Wilhelmus is a rather lengthy national anthem and why would they be singing it in South Africa.
 
Alisa said:

In the end of this video the Royal Couple and the audience are singing a song in Dutch. My first thought was that it must be the Wilhelmus- but the Wilhelmus is a rather lengthy national anthem and why would they be singing it in South Africa.
Click to expand...

The song is indeed the Wilhelmus. It was sung at a reception with the Dutch community in Pretoria.
 
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