Amalia's 18th birthday 07-12-2021

[Princess MS]

Hmm, disappointing. I saw reports some said up to 100 people were in attendance.
I know everyone is getting Covid fatigue but what this family don't seen to understand is they aren't Mr and Mrs Orange who can do whatever they want while facing the possibility of any criminal action based on the rules. He is the sovereign and they are public figures on public payroll. They seem to think they are just any other billionaires who can do whatever they want - of course any other billionaires getting caught out would get hammered in the press but at least their lifestyle is not public funded.
By itself this isn't a huge incident but this coming after the Greek holiday just suggests a complete lack of public service, never putting state before self, never learning from mistakes. I mean after the Greek holiday they went on video to say how sorry they are - well now that looks all empty words and mere PR.

The goofy well meaning dad and the flashy mum ? Is this the view the Netherlands wants to show to the world? Along with some other royal families it is time they join the real world and grow up

[Principessa]

https://www.nu.nl/konings...kent-fout.html?redirect=1

Loosely translated as:

Amalia gave a big birthday party against corona rules, king admits mistake

At a birthday party of Crown Princess Amalia last week, many more people were present than the four guests who are advised because of the corona virus. King Willem-Alexander has informed Mark Rutte that "on closer inspection it was not good to organize this", the outgoing prime minister wrote in a letter to the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

Amalia's birthday party took place last week in the garden of Paleis Huis ten Bosch. According to the Government Information Service (RVD), 21 people were invited, but "not all of them came". Rutte does not write in his letter how many people were eventually present. De Telegraaf reports that about a hundred people were present.

The RVD and Rutte emphasize that all guests had been vaccinated and had taken a corona test. "They have also observed an appropriate distance. The family was convinced with this meeting outside and with the precautions taken to deal with the corona advice in a responsible manner."

The information service of the royal family and the prime minister emphasize that Amalia's eighteenth birthday is "an important moment in her life".

Most festivities around Amalia's birthday were canceled due to the corona measures. Some things had been "planned at home", but that was canceled "well before the birthday". Last Saturday the party was organized "at the last minute" in the palace garden. According to De Telegraaf, the party took place under two open roofs against a house in the palace garden.

In October 2020, the royal family was already discredited because of not correctly complying with the corona rules. Despite urgent advice to make only necessary trips, the family went on holiday to Greece. When there was a fuss about their vacation, part of the family returned early. However, Princesses Amalia and Alexia then remained in Greece.

[Principessa]

My eldest 2 nephews also became 18 this year, even around the same time as Amalia. The youngest of the 2 isn't very fond of parties and such. So it wasn't a hard thing to swallow, that the family decided to postpone the celebrations. But the oldest had planned 2 birthday visits for family, taken the previous applicable corona recommendation into account. He and all of us where then surprised by the more stringent new recommendations. For the time being he, the birthday boy, cancelled it. Well, at least the celebrations with his extended family (grandparents; aunts & uncles and such).

[Principessa]

https://www.nu.nl/coronav...oet-wat-omstreden-is.html

^^ an article from 2020, just after the Greece holiday of the DRF. About the role of the Dutch Prime minister and government in actions of the king.


loosely translated as

Why Rutte is also criticized when the king does something controversial

The controversial choice of the king to go to Greece in the middle of the corona crisis also led to criticism of Prime Minister Mark Rutte. And that while it was a holiday trip, not a business trip. Why is Mark Rutte under fire for the actions of others?

Back to the beginning for a moment. Why is the King's holiday controversial at all? Traveling to Greece is allowed, right?

Traveling to Greece is indeed allowed: in the part where the Oranges wanted to go, code yellow applies ('be vigilant') and so you can in principle go on holiday there. Some Dutch people therefore think the fuss is unjustified: according to them, the king should simply be able to go on holiday. The trip did not go down well with others, both citizens on social media and members of parliament.

"If someone has an exemplary function in the Netherlands, it is the king," remarks royal family expert Justine Marcella. "A commotion arises among people: 'hey we all have to take a step back in our freedom, but the king is going on holiday'." According to her, Willem-Alexander has "read the rules too literally" and has not taken enough into account the sentiment in society.


Not only Willem-Alexander, but also Rutte was criticized. But why? Isn't it the king who went on vacation?

"In Dutch constitutional law, everything the king does falls under the responsibility of the prime minister," says Marcella. The prime minister must be able to account for the actions of the king to the House of Representatives.

It soon became known that Rutte was aware of the holiday. The prime minister is now under fire from MPs, who want to know why he did not stop Willem-Alexander from the trip. Rutte himself said on Sunday that he realized too late that the holiday was "no longer compatible with the increasing infections and drastic measures" announced by the cabinet on Tuesday.

Okay, so Rutte is responsible. But why then? Why doesn't the king himself give text and explanation?

That is because of how the role of the head of state is regulated in our constitution. On the one hand, it stipulates that the king has no power and that the country is ruled by ministers.

But thanks to that constitution, the king is also inviolable: the ministers are responsible for him. That means that the king cannot be forced to abdicate because of a political act, but a minister can.

Incidentally, it is not the case that Willem-Alexander was completely silent. When it became known that he was ending his holiday, he said: "We see people's reactions to media reports. And they are intense, and they affect us."


But the prime minister initially approved the holiday?

It looks like that. Although it is hard to imagine that Willem-Alexander was not advised by Rutte or anyone else to reconsider the trip. The holiday was probably discussed in one of the weekly talks between the prime minister and the king, says Marcella.

"As Prime Minister, Rutte has a meeting with the king every week. But what is said there is the secret of the palace and is never discussed," said Marcella. It is therefore questionable how much Rutte will reveal about how and when the conversation about the holiday went exactly.

Could Rutte have banned the holiday?

In principle, the prime minister cannot prohibit the king from anything, says Marcella. "But you can indicate that it is not a good idea and stamp your foot. If anyone can do that, it is the Prime Minister."

If the royal family and the prime minister really do not come to an agreement, it can lead to a political crisis. The last time this happened in the run-up to the marriage between Willem-Alexander and Máxima. Then it turned out that her father Jorge Zorreguieta had been in the government of the Argentine dictator Jorge Rafael Videla.

Then Prime Minister Wim Kok refused to allow Zorreguieta to be at the crown prince's wedding, which led to resistance from the lovesick couple. Kok often had to talk to Willem-Alexander, who denounced the political interference. In the end Zorreguieta decided, after long and tense negotiations with a representative of Kok, not to go to the Netherlands for the wedding because of the fuss. He would, however, be welcome for private visits.

[Principessa]

https://nos.nl/artikel/24...rdagsfeest-prinses-amalia

loosely translated as


Too many guests present at princess Amalia's birthday party

Too many guests attended a birthday party of Princess Amalia that was held last weekend at Huis ten Bosch. A spokesperson for the Government Information Service confirms this after reporting by De Telegraaf. It was a party in honor of the eighteenth birthday of the princess.

The party was held on Saturday in the garden behind the residence of the royal family. On the occasion of the feast, two open canopies are said to have been erected against a house in the palace garden, which had to offer protection against the rain. According to the newspaper, there were about a hundred guests, but outgoing Prime Minister Rutte speaks of 21 guests, "not all of whom came". The urgent advice of the outgoing cabinet is not to receive more than four guests per day.

Rutte acknowledges in a letter to the House that there was a party. "Amalia turned 18 last week, of age. An important moment in her life," it reads. "At the last minute, a birthday party was organized outside in the park behind the palace last Saturday."

Rutte, who bears the ministerial responsibility for the Royal House, further writes that all guests have been asked to do a corona test in advance. "All were vaccinated. They also kept an appropriate distance." The indoor activities planned had been "canceled well before the anniversary," he adds.

'Not good to organize like this'
The number of invited guests is therefore not in line with the corona advice of the caretaker cabinet and the king regrets this: "The king informed me that, on closer inspection, it was not good to organize this in this way. response," writes the outgoing prime minister.

The royal family was discredited last year as a result of the corona rules. Last October, the family took the government plane to their holiday villa in Greece, while the cabinet advised to travel as little as possible. Because of the fuss that arose about this, Willem-Alexander informed the Government Information Service a few hours after landing in Athens that the family would cancel the holiday.

Last summer, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima were also embarrassed by a holiday photo. It showed that they kept too little distance from a restaurant owner.

[Pomme]

Hmm, disappointing. I saw reports some said up to 100 people were in attendance.
I know everyone is getting Covid fatigue but what this family don't seen to understand is they aren't Mr and Mrs Orange who can do whatever they want while facing the possibility of any criminal action based on the rules. He is the sovereign and they are public figures on public payroll. They seem to think they are just any other billionaires who can do whatever they want - of course any other billionaires getting caught out would get hammered in the press but at least their lifestyle is not public funded.
By itself this isn't a huge incident but this coming after the Greek holiday just suggests a complete lack of public service, never putting state before self, never learning from mistakes. I mean after the Greek holiday they went on video to say how sorry they are - well now that looks all empty words and mere PR.

The goofy well meaning dad and the flashy mum ? Is this the view the Netherlands wants to show to the world? Along with some other royal families it is time they join the real world and grow up

One of our top exports is deejays, and many tourists visit to ogle the Red Light District and get high on semi-legal weed (with a high % of THC, thanks to our expertise in breeding), so...

[Paige]

https://www.nu.nl/konings...kent-fout.html?redirect=1

Loosely translated as:

Amalia gave a big birthday party against corona rules, king admits mistake

At a birthday party of Crown Princess Amalia last week, many more people were present than the four guests who are advised because of the corona virus. King Willem-Alexander has informed Mark Rutte that "on closer inspection it was not good to organize this", the outgoing prime minister wrote in a letter to the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

Amalia's birthday party took place last week in the garden of Paleis Huis ten Bosch. According to the Government Information Service (RVD), 21 people were invited, but "not all of them came". Rutte does not write in his letter how many people were eventually present. De Telegraaf reports that about a hundred people were present.

The RVD and Rutte emphasize that all guests had been vaccinated and had taken a corona test. "They have also observed an appropriate distance. The family was convinced with this meeting outside and with the precautions taken to deal with the corona advice in a responsible manner."

The information service of the royal family and the prime minister emphasize that Amalia's eighteenth birthday is "an important moment in her life".

Most festivities around Amalia's birthday were canceled due to the corona measures. Some things had been "planned at home", but that was canceled "well before the birthday". Last Saturday the party was organized "at the last minute" in the palace garden. According to De Telegraaf, the party took place under two open roofs against a house in the palace garden.

In October 2020, the royal family was already discredited because of not correctly complying with the corona rules. Despite urgent advice to make only necessary trips, the family went on holiday to Greece. When there was a fuss about their vacation, part of the family returned early. However, Princesses Amalia and Alexia then remained in Greece.

Shame!  shame!  shame!

[Principessa]

To be honest, most of it are not rules but recommendations/advise, as already explained by Pomme.

But the royal house still has an exemplary function (including receiving money through the population). As a result, they are even more in the picture and they actually know that this will come under criticism.

[ralf103]

Hmm so they didn’t break rules just guidance. But why should anyone else follow guidance is the Head of State doesn’t have to?

Its been on the BBC news which is a bit rare for Dutch royal news.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-59681409

[Tulip of Nonsense]

I'm sorry to hear about yet another 'scandal', but I'm not surprised at all. It's quite a logical development.
Congratulations to Amalia just the same 

[fairy]

Most of what governs Corona time is "regulations" and "recommendations" as mostly it takes far too long to turn it into a law.
However, most people realize this and try to live accordingly, because even while we often do not understand the logic behind some of the regulations, we all want to get thru this.
I myself e.g. get very angry at people who bend the situation to get their perks.
I had the nastiest argument with a colleage who boasted about her "lovely evening at the opera": just under a third of capacity, carefully selected and we so enjoyed it....well I would have enjoyed it too, but I didn't go, because even 250 people in a closed room is a hotbed. And the reason that it was so "empty" was only because not everybody had the chance to get a ticket -  everybody else had stayed home... Alas I was only accused of being jealous.
We all have had important events cut dead by Corona, not only little Miss Princess. Other people turned 18, 50, 70 or 80 too, other people had no wedding, no baptism and worse of all because you can really never make up for it: funerals. There are surgeries delayed, people in hospitals and nursing homes alone, etc...
Sad for a 18 birthday, yes, but something shared with numerous others...

[Pomme]

Hmm so they didn’t break rules just guidance. But why should anyone else follow guidance is the Head of State doesn’t have to?

Its been on the BBC news which is a bit rare for Dutch royal news.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-59681409

That is the point I was trying to make.
'We'  are perfectly capable of deciding for ourselves when/if we need to follow any rules/recommendations/guidance thankyouverymuch. Such is our love of autonomous thought, that we care little about the solidarity and thus compliance necessary for any covid restrictions to have effect.
We stick to the rules if it doesn't hamper our plans too much.
We are insufferable and selfish when it comes to this.

[shastadaisy]

Probably W-A and Max knew there would be fallout, but went ahead anyway. I guess that’s one of the benefits of royalty, as opposed to elected officials.

[Lady Alice]

Probably W-A and Max knew there would be fallout, but went ahead anyway. I guess that’s one of the benefits of royalty, as opposed to elected officials.

But it's a pattern now. I don't like that. Everyone else locked down? They go on vaca. Restrictions in place? Have a big bash anyway.

TONE. DEAF. They do not care!

[luvcharles]

When I read this the image that came to my mind was of a 95 year old lady sitting alone at the funeral of her partner of over 70 years - sure she could have breached the guidelines and claimed they were only 'guidelines' and not the 'law' but she didn't - she stuck to the guidelines in her country and set the example as a Head of State should do while across the Channel another royal family just seems to ignore the guidelines in their country and simply carries on with their lives.