Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Catharina-Amalia |
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| Princess of Orange | |||||
Catharina-Amalia in 2023
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| Born | 7 December 2003 The Hague, Netherlands |
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| House | Orange-Nassau (official) Amsberg (agnatic) |
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| Father | Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands | ||||
| Mother | Máxima Zorreguieta | ||||
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Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange (Dutch pronunciation: [kɑtaːˈrinaː aːˈmaːliaː]) (Catharina-Amalia Beatrix Carmen Victoria; born 7 December 2003) is the heir apparent to the throne of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the constituent countries of Aruba, Curaçao, the Netherlands, and Sint Maarten.
Catharina-Amalia is the eldest child of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima. She has two younger sisters, Princess Alexia and Princess Ariane. She became heir apparent when her father ascended the throne on 30 April 2013.
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Early life
Princess Catharina-Amalia Beatrix Carmen Victoria of the Netherlands was born at 17:01 CET on 7 December 2003 in the HMC Bronovo in The Hague, the first child of the then Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange (now king) and Princess Máxima. Upon the public announcement of her birth, 101 salute shots were fired at four places in the Kingdom of the Netherlands: Den Helder and The Hague in the Netherlands, Willemstad in Curaçao, and Oranjestad in Aruba.
On 12 June 2004, Catharina-Amalia was baptised by the Rev. Carel ter Linden in the Great Church in The Hague. Her godparents are her uncle Prince Constantijn, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, the (then) vice-president of the Council of State of the Netherlands Herman Tjeenk Willink, friend of her mother Samantha Deane, her uncle Martín Zorreguieta, and friend of her father Marc ter Haar. Catharina-Amalia's maternal grandparents, Jorge Zorreguieta and María del Carmen Cerruti Carricart, were prohibited from attending her parents' wedding in 2002 due to Zorreguieta's involvement in the regime of General Jorge Rafael Videla, but were present at her baptism, which was a private rather than a state affair.
Princess Catharina-Amalia has two younger sisters: Princess Alexia (born in 2005) and Princess Ariane (born in 2007). The family spent the princess' formative years at Villa Eikenhorst on the De Horsten estate in Wassenaar. In 2019 they moved to Huis ten Bosch Palace in The Hague.
Her birthdays are traditionally celebrated with a concert at the Kloosterkerk in The Hague, which is attended by ambassadors and members of the royal household and the Council of State of the Netherlands. Catharina-Amalia's paternal grandmother, Queen Beatrix, abdicated on 30 April 2013 and her father ascended the throne. Catharina-Amalia, as the new heir apparent, assumed the title of Princess of Orange, becoming the first to do so in her own right.
Education
In December 2007, Catharina-Amalia started attending Bloemcamp Primary School, a public primary school in Wassenaar. After graduating from primary school, she attended the Christelijk Gymnasium Sorghvliet in The Hague, where her aunt Princess Laurentien attended. She participated in the student council and attended both the Model United Nations of the International School of The Hague and The Hague International Model United Nations conferences. She graduated in 2021 with distinction. After completing her studies at Sorghvliet, Catharina-Amalia took a gap year, during which she interned at the Orange Fund and volunteered at other organisations. In June 2021, she announced that she refused to accept her right to €1.6m a year in income for the time period, adding that it would make her "uncomfortable as long as I do not do anything for it in return".
Since 5 September 2022 Catharina-Amalia is studying at the University of Amsterdam for a BSc degree in Politics, Psychology, Law and Economics (PPLE). During her second month in university, she was moved back to the royal palace from her student housing in Amsterdam due to security risks.
Catharina-Amalia speaks Dutch, English, and Spanish. Additionally, she took classes in Mandarin Chinese.
Public life
Catharina-Amalia and her sisters attended the annual Koningsdag. On 19 June 2010, Catharina-Amalia served as a bridesmaid at the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Daniel Westling. On the occasion of her 18th birthday in 2021, a biography of Catharina-Amalia was published. Similar books were published on the 18th birthday of Princess Beatrix in 1956 and Prince Willem-Alexander in 1985. The book titled "Amalia" is written by Dutch entertainer Claudia de Breij. On 8 December 2021, Catharina-Amalia assumed her seat in the Advisory Division of the Council of State when she reached the age of majority at 18 the day before. On the same day, she gave her first public speech at the Council of State meeting in Kneuterdijk Palace. An outdoor birthday party thrown by her family to mark the occasion was found to be in breach of regulations and restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, which made her father admit that "it was not right to organize this".
On 17 June 2022, together with her parents, she was among the royal guests invited to the celebrations of the 18th birthday of Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway. This was Catharina-Amalia's first public engagement outside of The Netherlands and the first occasion to which she was allowed to wear a tiara. On 20 September 2022, together with her parents, Catharina-Amalia attended Prinsjesdag, where the King addressed a joint session of the States General of the Netherlands to outline government policy for the upcoming parliamentary session. In November 2022, Catharina-Amalia and her family visited an exhibition at Nieuwe Kerk dedicated to former Queen Juliana. In December 2022, she visited the three branches of Dutch military: Air Force, Army and Navy.
In January and February 2023, Catharina-Amalia went on a tour of the Dutch Caribbean with her parents. They visited Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba. It was her first official royal tour. In April 2023, Catharina-Amalia and her sister Princess Ariane attended King's Day concert in Rotterdam. On 5 May 2023, she accompanied her grandmother to a reception held at Buckingham Palace the evening before the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom. In June 2023, she and her parents attended a state banquet honoring the wedding of Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan and Rajwa Al Saif. She carried her first solo official trip abroad in October 2023 by attending Prince Christian of Denmark's 18th birthday celebration banquet at Christiansborg Palace, Denmark. Catharina-Amalia attended her first state banquet, honouring King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain, in April 2024.
Catharina-Amalia has experienced repeated fat shaming by tabloids and on social media since she was young, most notably by the Portuguese celebrity magazine Caras labeling her as plus size. In response to the body shaming, members of the public have expressed their support for the princess, calling the fat shaming against her unacceptable.
Annual allowance
Catharina-Amalia became entitled to an annual allowance from the Dutch state upon reaching the age of 18. This allowance consisted of two parts: a personal income component of €296,000 and a €1,338,000 allocation for staff and operational expenses. Following her high school graduation, Catharina-Amalia opted to decline the annual allowance until she completed her studies.
In May 2024, citing changed circumstances, Catharina-Amalia announced she would begin utilizing her annual allowance for staff and operational expenses, starting in January 2025. This decision comes despite her ongoing studies. Her annual allowance for staff and operational expenses has continued to increase in recent years and amounted to €1.5 million in 2024.
Eponym
On her seventh birthday, a Douglas C-47 Skytrain once owned by her great-grandfather, Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, was named after Catharina-Amalia by Peter Hartman. The princess herself was prevented from attending the naming ceremony owing to school obligations. In November 2020, a new regiment of the Royal Netherlands Army, the Regiment Huzaren Prinses Catharina-Amalia, was named for Catharina-Amalia.
Titles, styles, honours and arms
Titles
Catharina-Amalia has been Princess of the Netherlands and Princess of Orange-Nassau since birth. Until her father's accession, she was therefore styled "Her Royal Highness Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau". On 30 April 2013, she additionally assumed the substantive title Princess of Orange. She has since been known as "Her Royal Highness the Princess of Orange, Princess of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau".
Honours
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands (7 December 2021).
Knight of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau (7 December 2021).
Arms
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See also
In Spanish: Catalina Amalia de Orange para niños
- List of current heirs apparent
