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

[Prinsara]

Amalia the jewel thief is quite amusing, especially because it feels like a normal reaction to having these priceless, beautiful things, as opposed to indifference.

She seems like a very nice young woman — but I can't think the book would present her too badly. Are any notes of caution sounded? Any flaws dwelled on, other than stress and perfectionism?

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

Amalia the jewel thief is quite amusing, especially because it feels like a normal reaction to having these priceless, beautiful things, as opposed to indifference.

She seems like a very nice young woman — but I can't think the book would present her too badly. Are any notes of caution sounded? Any flaws dwelled on, other than stress and perfectionism?

Well, she has told about the suicide of her aunt Inès, about her perfectionism causing her distress because anything lower than a 9 (of 10) would expose her, to her idea. She has told she has sought psychological counsel (which is really not common in the Netherlands, as a teenager). And Máxima disapproved that Amalia said f**k and the author kept it. The Queen thought it was "undesireable" to have swearing in the biography but the author thought keeping it would make Amalia appear real and human.

I think it is a pretty accurate biography. The lady is a left-leaning cabaretière (a Dutch equivalent of a stand up comedian) and by no means a servile royaliste.

With that the same pattern was followed as with Willem-Alexander. His biography was written by Renate Runinstein, survivor of WWII and who -back then- publicly protested against the wedding of Princess Beatrix with the German former Wehrmacht officer and "Prussian Junker" Claus von Amsberg.

Having said that: the author admitted she did some 'self-censorhsip' out of concern with the maybe too accessible and naïve Amalia. To her idea Amalia was maybe a bit too open in tellling it all and the author thougt she had to shield a 17-years old girl a bit because what does Amalia know about the reach and consequence of what is written down "for ever" ?

 

[Prinsara]

Seeking psychological help (as opposed to needing it and not seeking it) and swearing are not really flaws, though. And the stress and perfectionism is a fairly natural consequence of being the oldest child and in her exceptionally unique position. If she didn't try so hard she'd be accused of things.

So, Amalia is a kind, friendly, thoughtful, intelligent person who demonstrates some grace and maturity. But how old will she have to be before we see something else?

 

[muriel]

Seeking psychological help (as opposed to needing it and not seeking it) and swearing are not really flaws, though. And the stress and perfectionism is a fairly natural consequence of being the oldest child and in her exceptionally unique position. If she didn't try so hard she'd be accused of things.

So, Amalia is a kind, friendly, thoughtful, intelligent person who demonstrates some grace and maturity. But how old will she have to be before we see something else?

I agree. Seeking help from time to time to speak with somebody is no bad thing, if that helps improve your mental health.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

Seeking psychological help (as opposed to needing it and not seeking it) and swearing are not really flaws, though. And the stress and perfectionism is a fairly natural consequence of being the oldest child and in her exceptionally unique position. If she didn't try so hard she'd be accused of things.

So, Amalia is a kind, friendly, thoughtful, intelligent person who demonstrates some grace and maturity. But how old will she have to be before we see something else?

What to expect from a girl whom has ended Gymansium one year earlier, cum laude and that with extra courses on her curriculum (like Mandarin Chinese language) ?

That she is psychologically unstable and an alcoholic and pot-smoking impossible-to-handle 17-years old adolescent? We know from her father that he had resistance against his enforced destiny and for him it took long to accept it and find calm. But Amalia seems to have fully accepted the life she has been born into, she seems "Zen" with her fate. Then indeed, not much to highlight as a "negative trait".

 

[Marengo]

I am sure that we will discover the supposed flaws soon enough, but at this point I do not think it is a good idea to expose all these flaws to the outside world, it would be downright cruel IMO. She is just a teenager.

For now she has shown more courage in talking about some more volnerable moments in her life than many adult royals or other public figures have. Next to the perfectionism she did mention that she was stubborn.

I suppose some of the positives can be regarded as a negative too, but one can hardly expect a 17 y/o to reflect on that at this point in her life, just as she did not highlight positive traits of herself either.

 

[camelot23ca]

So, Amalia is a kind, friendly, thoughtful, intelligent person who demonstrates some grace and maturity. But how old will she have to be before we see something else?

Never, I would think. She’s young now, and was therefore shielded a bit by the author and her parents. I’m sure a significant amount of discussion went on within the family regarding how to present herself well, things she might want to keep private, etc.

By the time she’s old enough to not warrant the protection of the adults around her she’ll no doubt have learned to self- censor to protect her own private life, and to put her best foot forward in public.

None of the European royal courts are going to let us see anything other than smart, well adjusted, friendly, dutiful young heirs/heiresses, unless their faults and problems are so bad that they can’t be hushed up. This book is probably as open and honest as we’re going to get from Amalia, and more so than we’re likely to get from most of the other royal houses.

 

[Muhler]

Is it known what the differencies from Amalia to Ariane are?

Not to me. Because I hardly know who Ariane is as a person.

I think, Amailia is conscious about herself and her public appearance.
Because she points to the reactions to her baby-picture, with what appears to me to be disbelief and some consternation, rather than finding it funny and merely shaking her head.
And one way of shielding yourself is to build up an armor of perfection. What ever she does, she must do it perfectly. However she appears it must be flawless.
It's impossible, especially for children, let alone teenagers, to live up to that. So I can well imagine her having talks with a psychologist to help her deal with that, to dare lower her guard and be herself an accept that less than perfect can be fine. - Merely a thought.

Because studying to the point of exhaustion is not normal for a teenager, so I could well understand that her parents stepped in and provided a councilor, not least giver her position.

If I am to read between the lines, I think she has a limited social life, with few, but probably close friends. - Again, considering her position and that she is clearly aware and probably guarded against the public perception of her, that would be understandable as well.

Again in compared to Alexia, I don't think Alexia is particularly concerned about what people think and say about her.
If you have a public blog for an extended period, you either learn to ignore negative remarks, or you don't really care.
Judging from what we have learned about Amalia, I cannot see her opening a public blog at age 14. She would never really open, because it has to be perfect and/or she would be too bothered about the reaction to enjoy it and keeping the blog open.
And by opening a blog you invite people into your personal life and to interact with aspects of your life. I.e. a main hobby of yours. I think Amalia is too private a person to feel comfortable with that.
It's one thing to give an interview in an environment and on terms controlled by you, and to interact pretty much directly with anonymous strangers.

- That's enough pocket-psychology from me tonight. (And based on very little admittedly.) ?

 

[Somebody]

Regarding Ariane: it was written that she is 'dreamy'. In general, it seems she is more like Amalia than like Alexia.

From the description that Amalia and Alexia get along better since they started going out together, it sounds as if the two of them clashed from time to time -probably because they are quite different.

Amalia comes across as a very thoughtful and dutiful teenager (who also has a romantic side); and I am glad that her parents are helping her to cope with her perfectionism (especially in combination with a destiny as queen). Given that she thinks she is a lot like her grandmother, I can imagine that she's having really insightful talks with her grandmother as well. I can see how taking a gap year is really good for her as that will allow her to focus on other things than her grades. I guess that's why Máxima recently said that it will help her become an adult.

Doing a Bachelor in the Netherlands followed by a Master abroad also seems like a smart move. Studying in the Netherlands will help her experience a comparable study time as other Dutch students (including building friendships), while going abroad for two years will help her broaden her scope.

I also liked how she made an effort to learn about all the European tiaras. I wonder which websites she visited in her search for information

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

Regarding Ariane: it was written that she is 'dreamy'. In general, it seems she is more like Amalia than like Alexia.

From the description that Amalia and Alexia get along better since they started going out together, it sounds as if the two of them clashed from time to time -probably because they are quite different.

Amalia comes across as a very thoughtful and dutiful teenager (who also has a romantic side); and I am glad that her parents are helping her to cope with her perfectionism (especially in combination with a destiny as queen). Given that she thinks she is a lot like her grandmother, I can imagine that she's having really insightful talks with her grandmother as well. I can see how taking a gap year is really good for her as that will allow her to focus on other things than her grades. I guess that's why Máxima recently said that it will help her become an adult.

Doing a Bachelor in the Netherlands followed by a Master abroad also seems like a smart move. Studying in the Netherlands will help her experience a comparable study time as other Dutch students (including building friendships), while going abroad for two years will help her broaden her scope.

I also liked how she made an effort to learn about all the European tiaras. I wonder which websites she visited in her search for information

Maybe not even websites....: "Dearest aunt Margrethe, can you show me your jewels?"

"Suuuure, sweetie darling!"

 

[Alisa]

I'm so happy we finally get to see a little bit of who Amalia is.

She seems like a smart, emotional, romantic, and well adjusted young lady. I admire the fact that she has been seeing a therapist for many years. Amalia is at a higher risk for developing emotional and/or mental issues. Kudos to her parents for ensuring this arrangement.

I also love the fact that she has inherited her mother's love of jewels. Thankfully she has quite an extensive vault to choose from.

 

[Marengo]

Do we actually know where the Dutch jewels are kept? A safe somewhere in Noordeinde I guess?

---

Some tidbits from the various news shows shows:

En passant the princess explained that while a politician will usually belong to a political party and therefore will not be always be widely supported, a monarch can be above the parties and thus can connect people.

On a lighter note: she confesses that she likes to listen to après ski music once in a while, which her parents think is 'vrij ernstig' (very grave) - which is the teenagers way to say that they do not like it at all. Her parents are very correct in that sentiment IMO .

In Jinek the presentor of Blauw Bloed claimed that Alexia also worked shifts in the same beach club as Amalia did. He and other royalty reporters said they had rumours about it for a while now but some of them never believed it as they thought it would be impossible.

She says that friendships sometimes worried her. After a fight with her best friend the friend did not want to see Amalia again. It gave Amalia tearful and sleepless nights, after which she decided never to have just one friend.

About social media she adds that people send strange and unkind DM's to her account. And her secret account was once suspended by instagram as fake Amalia's had flagged the account of the princess as a fake. She did not have access to the account for some time.

About boys she claimed: 'nobody noticed me. When a boy wanted to start dating at school I liked the idea that finally somebody liked me so much that I said yes. [to dating him]'. After three months the thing ended in a typical teenager way: they simply broke off contact. She explained that the insecurity had to do with her skipping a class so she was by far the youngest of the group while other girls were already physically changing.

At the day of the inauguration of her father she came to a realization about the reality of her future position. It felt like a slap in the face. 'People stared at me as if I had a gold fish on my forehead'. The day was also a push in the other direction. 'I wanted to help my parents, I felt that strongly. Instead of a burden I saw it as an honour'.

 

[camelot23ca]

Amalia comes across as a very thoughtful and dutiful teenager (who also has a romantic side); and I am glad that her parents are helping her to cope with her perfectionism (especially in combination with a destiny as queen). Given that she thinks she is a lot like her grandmother, I can imagine that she's having really insightful talks with her grandmother as well. I can see how taking a gap year is really good for her as that will allow her to focus on other things than her grades. I guess that's why Máxima recently said that it will help her become an adult.

Doing a Bachelor in the Netherlands followed by a Master abroad also seems like a smart move. Studying in the Netherlands will help her experience a comparable study time as other Dutch students (including building friendships), while going abroad for two years will help her broaden her scope.)

I think the gap year and then university will also bring her into contact with a wide variety of people, at a time in her life when she’ll be ready to really benefit from expanding her horizons. She seems like a young woman with a lot of genuine strengths; she’s clearly smart and maybe more thoughtful and introspective than the average 18 year old. But she is only 18, and she’s like the majority of 18 year olds who haven’t had enough time or experience to develop perspective. Meeting new people will hopefully allow Amalia to see that, while her circumstances are unique, the majority of her worries and insecurities really aren’t. Lots of people get stressed out about their grades, and fight with friends, and feel unsure about relationships and dating. And there are tons of self conscious people of all ages walking around feeling certain that everyone is looking at them like there’s a goldfish on their head!

I find it endearing that she showed some genuine vulnerability. Not in a way that was whiny, or overly rehearsed, but just the run of the mill sort of things that most people have experienced at one point or another.

 

[Stefan]

Thanks for all the translations. For me Amalia comes really over as a thoughtfull and sensible young woman who is aware of her position. Great that she hsares hermother love for tiaras and Jewels.
One thing in wondered. She said "Should i become Queen now i would probablyleave it over to my mother for a few years". Would that be possible that when King WA suddenly dies in January that Máima can become Regent because then Amalia has reached the legal age to become Queen.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

Thanks for all the translations. For me Amalia comes really over as a thoughtfull and sensible young woman who is aware of her position. Great that she hsares hermother love for tiaras and Jewels.
One thing in wondered. She said "Should i become Queen now i would probablyleave it over to my mother for a few years". Would that be possible that when King WA suddenly dies in January that Máima can become Regent because then Amalia has reached the legal age to become Queen.

Amalia would then be Queen but can let the Government know she is not in the capacity to executue the royal prerogative.

But this is really free talk by a 17 years old girl. I am sure that when she is faced with the kingship, she will simply do it. She can always assemble trusted advisors around her to help her.

 

[Somebody]

Royalblog highlighted another detail in the book: Until the inauguration Amalia was teased by her sisters about becoming queen. They quit doing so after, when all of them were impressed by what it entails.

Royalblog cites:
Previously she said "I am going to say no and in that case it's up to Alexia. Upon which Alexia would answer "No, I don't want to! I don't want to wear a tiara!"
(note: this was when they were really young children as Amalia was 9 at the time of the inauguration and Alexia was 7)

 

[Mbruno]

Thanks for all the translations. For me Amalia comes really over as a thoughtful and sensible young woman who is aware of her position. Great that she shares her mother love for tiaras and Jewels.

Yes, but, on the other hand, the image of a little girl playing with a priceless ruby and diamond tiara, which should be better secured anyway, or whose hobby is to "know all tiaras in Europe" may sound shallow and out of touch to some people, especially in current times.

To use an old American expression, she is having a "Richie Rich moment" or, to use a royal reference, sounds a bit Marie Antoinette. Not so good when her family is already criticized for spending too much, or being too flamboyant.

 

[muriel]

Yes, but, on the other hand, the image of a little girl playing with a priceless ruby and diamond tiara, which should be better secured anyway, or whose hobby is to "know all tiaras in Europe" may sound shallow and out of touch to some people, especially in current times.

To use an old American expression, she is having a "Richie Rich moment" or, to use a royal reference, sounds a bit Marie Antoinette. Not so good when her family is already criticized for spending too much, or being too flamboyant.

I am not sure I agree with you on this. I do think she does come across as a bright, driven and introspective girl, well aware of her position and destiny, and seems to broadly be at peace with it.

I do not her revealing that she likes jewellery and is familiar with some of the historic jewellery used by the royal families of Europe is shallow. If this interest in jewellery and tiaras was the main takeaway from the book I would be concerned, but based on the translations I have read, largely on this board, that is certainly not the case.

What I did not like was to get the inadvertant view of Maxima's shoe cupboard. Nobody needs to see the many pairs of black shoes she has, or how they are stored. That is invasive, and frankly, unnecessary, and IMO, should have been cropped out.

 

[W.Y.CII]

Have you even played with your mother's jewelries when you're young? Yes I had, of course it's far from the Dutch's. She's having fun under adult's supervision as well, I see no problems here.

And there are many people "whose hobby is to know all tiaras in Europe" as well, Amalia is one of them as well, and she just happens to be a real royal.

And I am even one of those who usually think the Dutch is "too flamboyant".

 

[Somebody]

Yes, but, on the other hand, the image of a little girl playing with a priceless ruby and diamond tiara, which should be better secured anyway, or whose hobby is to "know all tiaras in Europe" may sound shallow and out of touch to some people, especially in current times.

To use an old American expression, she is having a "Richie Rich moment" or, to use a royal reference, sounds a bit Marie Antoinette. Not so good when her family is already criticized for spending too much, or being too flamboyant.

I haven't seen this criticism in the Dutch press. If anything, her having a 'romantic side' next to being a high-achieving perfectionist is providing some balance.

 

[Blog Real]

Princess Catharina-Amalia spoke in her autobiographical book "Amalia" about her thoughts on marriage and what she wants for her life in that regard.
The following excerpt is translated from hola.com.

In the show, no one doubts that he wants to get married and have couples and he has thought of the permission required to enter into marriage: “If you are the man who supports me, who loves me, with who I want to spend my life, and the Parliament in the right place, good, then I would see that I can do it”.

He likes that los chicos tengan buenos modales; he thinks that the Germans, in general, are more than the Dutch, and he says that “a relationship does not exist because it is secret, but it must be private”. It is very romantic, but it keeps the press as crippled as possible, because “a love life is quite complicated”.

In his account he currently has a novio, but he reveals that, when a boy wanted to go out with her, in the secondary school, he liked the idea of liking him so much to someone who said he was. But this relationship only lasted three months and ended abruptly.

You know what kind of dress you want to wear on your wedding day, when you show the author of your biography the carriages kept in the royal stables, sign a fair account: the 'Crème Calèche': “I want this when I get married”.

Last month of October, the prime minister in office, Mark Rutte, ensured that Amalia could reign even if she married a woman and a princess, despite the fact that “I don't believe it was a big problem for my family”. Speaking more on the subject, she Amalia said that if the marriages of the same sex would lead to the royal houses, then we would tend “to more women who can wear a tiara”.

https://www.hola.com/realeza/casa_h...malia-holanda-confesiones-biografia-18-anyos/

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

Yes, but, on the other hand, the image of a little girl playing with a priceless ruby and diamond tiara, which should be better secured anyway, or whose hobby is to "know all tiaras in Europe" may sound shallow and out of touch to some people, especially in current times.

To use an old American expression, she is having a "Richie Rich moment" or, to use a royal reference, sounds a bit Marie Antoinette. Not so good when her family is already criticized for spending too much, or being too flamboyant.

I have not heard or seen one such reaction in Dutch (social) media. I think the difference is she is not a nouveau riche displaying her "crib" on social media. This was just a click of a young royal lady in her mother's dressing room and not at all meant for (social) media.

Almost a decade later Amalia shared this youth picture in her biography and it did match with the "discussion" she had with author Claudia de Breij about decorum, courteoisie and jewels.

 

[Alisa]

She is only 18. She has not had a serious relationship yet. It will be interesting to compare her views 10 years from now.

 

[Moran]

What little girl hasn't played with her mother's jewels? I see nothing extraordinary here. I sure did play... and since my mother wasn't Queen, I wasn't criticized.

My mom didn't escape it when people learned that my favourite teddy bear had two first names. In Orthodox Christianity, we only have one. But Teddy has two because I liked both and my mom said it was OK. Much later, I realized people thought it was her doing and she was showing off by being "fancy" in a Western fashion since she was one of the few to actually speak English here. Communism didn't exactly promote it.

Can you imagine this? Over a teddy bear! People will always find something to criticize when they want to. Personally, I like that for all their "level-headedness" and "we're practical, we're like you!" the Dutch royals don't shy away from showing off their jewels. We all know they have them. We all know royals aren't just "just like us". And it looks more sincere to show it sometimes. If we aren't going to wear such gems, we can at least watch and what better glimpse than a little girl playing with her mom's jewels? Like us but not quite.

 

[kalnel]

Reading the excerpts, I got the impression of a very bright, grounded young woman with a sense of duty and a sense of humor. She also seems to understand that, despite the public attention, she's not a celebrity. Good for her!

 

[lucien]

Reading the excerpts, I got the impression of a very bright, grounded young woman with a sense of duty and a sense of humor. She also seems to understand that, despite the public attention, she's not a celebrity. Good for her!

Indeed,and halleluja for that!!A down to earth young woman who knows what her future holds.A sense of duty,decorum if need be,humour and a love for tiara´s for those here that revel in serious baubles...A promising Queen to be...and a loveble person.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

A funny coincidence:

Wednesday the Princess of Orange will be given entrance into the Raad van State: the highest advisory council for the Government (any Bill needs to be reviewed by the Raad van State) and the highest Court of Administration as well. This so-called High College of State is formally led by the King (president of the Council) but in daily practice by Mr Thom de Graaf, the vice-president.

As a party leader of D66 (progressive liberals) between 1999 and 2003 he pursued a purely ceremonial kingship "to protect the monarchy". That means: the Queen is no longer an integral member of the Government, the Queen is no longer president of the Raad van State, the Queen no longer has a role in the formation of a new Cabinet, the Queen no longer assents and promulgates Acts and Decrees, etc.

Only the role of the Queen (now King) during the formation of a new Cabinet indeed has been ended. That was the only role which was by historic tradition and not a royal prerogative vested in Law. The other royal prerogatives require a re-write of the Constitution and that is a difficult procedure.

In the meantime the formation of a new Cabinet goes incredibly slow. The four parties which worked together in the Cabinet Rutte III actually have enlarged their majority but the composition of the parties has changed (the one party has scored an all-time low, the other party has won a lot, that sort) and this still has not settled.

The formation of a new Cabinet Rutte IV is in hands of the Second Chamber (the Lower House) but as they disagree in everything, there is no "arbiter" whom owns the process. More and more is felt that an independent figure above the parties is missing. Some fractions long back to a role for the King.

This Spring a large majority of the Second Chamber passed a Motion in which was called for "an independent person, on a distance of daily politics, overseeing the formation and with a special attention to the King". By accident the fraction of D66 supported the Motion. The spokesman for D66 hurried to the interpellation microphone: "Madam Speaker, our mistake: our fraction does not support this Motion!"

So that the vice-president, Mr Thom de Graaf, has now to welcome the Princess of Orange into the Raad van State, most likely will make the current president (WA) and the future president (CA) smile...

Picture: the President and the Vice-President of the Raad van State

 

[Marengo]

A set of new photos on the occassion of the princess' 18t birthday. No tiara photo sadly.

https://t.co/gtrUcRgnW5

 

[Tilia C.]

I didn't really expect a tiara portrait for her 18th birthday, but it still would have been a nice surprise. Anyways, these portraits are very nice and show a confident and lovely young lady.

Do you think that Princess Amalia will now start attending the annual diplomatic receptions? Or will that have to wait till she finishes her studies? I fear that it will be the latter.

 

[Muhler]

ADDED. There appeared to be something wrong with the links to the individual pics, but this link works.

This photo is hands down the best of her - and the best of her for a long time:
https://app.box.com/s/n0dvfsco3pcmdwtp0aynr6iuh0pz1v4q

Only goes to show what a good photographer can do.

And that's what I call HQ quality! I can literally count the hairs on her nose!