They’re the King and Queen of low-key cool.
The Dutch royal couple visited New York City Thursday — and although they’re not paparazzi magnets like Harry and Meghan, they’ve got an fascinating backstory, a “boundary-pushing” style and an economy-boosting political agenda.
King Willem-Alexander, 57, is known as a laid-back, beer-loving former Romeo who flies planes while Queen Máxima, 53, is fashion-forward Argentinian-born former New York City investment banker who was once dubbed Europe’s “most interesting” royal.
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of The Netherlands on the Brooklyn Heights promenade during their trip to New York on June 13, 2024. Photo by Patrick van Katwijk/Getty Images
The Dutch royals taking a stroll in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. Hollandse Hoogte/ShutterstockThe lesser known potentates arrived in the US Monday on a Boeing 737 jet co-piloted by the king himself, who moonlights as KLM Royal Dutch Airlines pilot to keep his flying license up to date, according to his bio.
The couple — who has three daughters, including 20-year-old heir apparent Princess Catharina-Amalia — traveled to the Empire State in a bid to strengthen economic ties between Netherlands and the US.
They kicked off their four-day trip in Georgia then spent Wednesday in Albany meeting with Gov. Kathy Hochul at the Governor’s mansion before attending business-boosting nanotechnology event.
The Queen changed her outfit — from a playful yellow dress to more sensible slacks — for the SUNY nanotechnology center appearance, where the king proclaimed that Netherlands “accounts for 57,000 jobs” in New York State.
“New York became what it is because of the Dutch. Their willingness to explore new worlds, to go into the unknown,” Gov. Hochul said at the event, giving a nod to Dutch-rooted names like Brooklyn, Harlem and Coney Island.
The couple spoke with Brooklyn residents about issues including climate change and affordable housing. Hollandse Hoogte/Shutterstock
King Willem-Alexander, center and Queen Maxima talking to an engineer during a visit to to Newlab in Brooklyn Navy Yards. AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura“It is that risk taking gene that has been passed on to all the people who claim Dutch heritage today. That is what drives you. We have that same sense here in the State of New York. This is a state of unlimited possibilities and exceptionalism,” she said.
The king talked of the Dutch settlement of Governor’s Island in 1624 — which came just two years before they purportedly bought Manhattan for $24 — The Netherlands was still interested in doing business here.
“This visit . . . gives us an opportunity to examine our shared history in all openness and honesty and to strengthen our cooperation in those areas that mean so much to the state of New York and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, peace, social justice, sustainability, climate action and development opportunities for all,” he said in Albany.
The Dutch royal couple visited Georgia and New York in a bid to boost economic ties with the US. Getty Images
The Dutch royal couple met with Gov. Hochul in Albany. Getty Images
The royals during a visit to New York Creates in Albany on June 12, 2024. Getty Images“A lot has been written about the influence the Dutch had on this area and often in quite flattering terms.”
In the Big Apple Thursday, the royal couple planned to tour the Highline along with parts of East Flatbush and attend a “clean technology” event at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Their itinerary also included touring a Dutch history exhibition at the New-York Historical Society on the Upper West Side.
Queen Maxima changed out of a playful yellow dress before attending a nanotech event in Albany. Getty ImagesKnown for their casual approach to royal life, the Dutch king and queen didn’t participate in a coronation ceremony and chose to send their three daughters to public school.
King Willem-Alexander — the eldest child of former Queen Beatrix and the late Prince Claus— has forgone the traditional roman numeral number in his title, scrapping “Willem IV,” because it’s too formal and impersonal.
He ascended to the throne in 2013 after earning a reputation as a party prince.
King Willem Alexander co-piloted a jet from the Netherlands to the US. Getty ImagesIn college at Atlantic College in Llantwit Major, he earned the nickname Prins Pils — Dutch for Lager Prince — for his love of beer, and once drove his car into a ditch, according to The Guardian.
He then served in the military from 1985 to 1987, earning his pilot’s license.
The couple met at a party in Spain in 1999, when Maxima was working as an economist working at Deutsche Bank in New York City, and soon fell in love.
The Dutch royal couple met at a party in Spain in 1999. Getty ImagesBut their courtship became rocky when local media revealed that Maxima’s father had been a minister for the brutal military junta government during Argentina’s notorious Dirty War.
But Queen Beatrix — who herself had a controversial engagement to Klaus von Amsberg, a former Hitler Youth member — gave their marriage her blessing, declaring Máxima as an “intelligent modern woman.”
She eventually became popular in the Netherlands for her charisma, intelligence, and strong work ethic, according to macleans.ca.
The couple plans to tour the Highline and attend a “clean technology” event at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Getty ImagesThe royal couple has three daughters: Princess Catharina-Amalia, 20, Princess Alexia,18, and Princess Ariane, 17.
Queen Máxima has since earned praise for her colorful fashion choices, including in a Women’s Wear Daily write up this week that praised her “playful Prints, loud color and experimental looks.”
But she also doesn’t shy away from tough political issues, such as immigration, and was early champion of gay rights.
Willem-Alexander has recently thrown his weight behind international water management and climate action issues.






