Historical Figure
Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands
b. 1967
King of the Netherlands since 2013
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Biography
Willem-Alexander is the current King of the Netherlands, having reigned since 30 April 2013.
Timeline
The story of Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, told in moments.
Licensed commercial airline pilot who co-pilots KLM flights incognito. His passengers rarely recognize the king in the cockpit. He focuses on water management and sustainability. The informal king of an informal country.
Earned a history degree from Leiden University. Chose water management as his cause. Became a member of the International Olympic Committee. Ran the New York City Marathon in 1992. Finished in 3 hours 31 minutes.
Married Maxima Zorreguieta, an Argentine investment banker, at the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam. Her father's role in Argentina's military dictatorship caused controversy. He was barred from the wedding.
Became King of the Netherlands after his mother Beatrix abdicated on Queen's Day. The first Dutch king in 123 years. He was 46. The investiture ceremony at the Nieuwe Kerk drew over a million people to Amsterdam.
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine. 196 of the 298 people killed were Dutch citizens. Willem-Alexander addressed the nation. The disaster became the defining crisis of his early reign.
In Their Own Words (3)
I’m not a protocol fetishist. People can address me however they want. For me, it is about people feeling at ease when I’m with them.
People make mistakes. I will make mistakes in the future, too... I think we have learnt a lot from this and that it has also been part of the training in our preparation for kinghood.
[I want to be] a king who in the 21st century can unite, represent and encourage society.
Artifacts (13)
Hendrik Alexander Sangster - Portrait of King Willem III
Hendrik Alexander Sangster
President Giorgio Napolitano during talks with King Willem Alexander of the Netherlands
Willem van Haecht - Alexander the Great visits the studio of Apelles N08610-169-lr-1
Willem van Haecht
Willem van Haecht - Alexander the Great visits the studio of Apelles N08610-169-lr-1 (cropped Apelles painting Campaspe)
Willem van Haecht
Alexander I of Russia and William I of the Netherlands visit the Brentano collection in Amsterdam in 1814
Jan Kamphuysen
Willem Alexander Paul Frederik Lodewijk Nassau van Oranje as a child, by Anonymous
Unknown authorUnknown author
Alexander Willem Frederik Idenburg (1861-1935). Gouverneur-generaal (1909-16) Rijksmuseum SK-A-3815
Jan Franken (1878-1959)
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