Princess Amalia stamp issued « Euro Weekly News

Princess Amalia of the Netherlands celebrated her 21st birthday on December 7.

Despite the significant milestone in the young royal’s life, the family celebrations were kept private, a Royal Information Service release confirmed.

Nevertheless, the postal service of Sint Maarten in the Leeward Islands, part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, issued a stamp in honour of Amalia’s coming of age.

Nearer to home in Amsterdam, the Madame Tussauds wax museum unveiled a figure of the princess, inviting visitors to leave birthday messages for her.

Threats to young royal’s life

Usually referred to as Princess Amalia, the 21-year-old’s baptismal name is Catharina-Amalia and, as the heir to the Netherlands’ throne, her official title is Princess of Orange.

The princess said recently that she was eager to meet and learn from people with different, interesting backgrounds and this part of her future has clearly begun.  Amalia accompanied her parents, King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and her younger sister, Princess Alexia, to last summer’s Paris Olympics and she will attend a state banquet for the Portuguese president, Marcelo Rebelo de Susa, who visits the Netherlands on December 11 and 12.

The crown princess, whose hobbies include tennis, riding and singing, is studying Politics, Psychology, Law and Economics at the University of Amsterdam although between 2022 and 2023 she continued her studies remotely from Madrid.

Owing to threats from a criminal group linked to drugs and human trafficking, Amalia had to leave her student accommodation in Amsterdam and return to the royal palace. At the time, the Dutch press agency ANP quoted Queen Maxima as saying her daughter could “hardly leave the house.”

Grateful for Madrid welcome

Instead the princess moved to Madrid, a logical choice as Amalia’s mother is Argentinean and the princess speaks fluent Spanish,

Only insiders knew that she was living in Spain and her year out was not revealed until last April during an official visit to the Netherlands by King Felipe – one of Amalia’s godparents – and Queen Letizia.

By next spring,  Madrileños will see proof of the princess’s gratitude for the happy and safe time she spent in their city when a mass of orange and white tulips that she gifted the city begin to bloom in a garden in the Plaza de Oriente.

Madrid’s mayor, Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida, and the Dutch ambassador, Roel Nieuwenkamp, helped to plant the bulbs in November, although the princess was unable to attend.

In a note explaining her absence, the Amalia said she hoped her country’s flowers would bring a little extra colour to Madrid.

“Especially in the spring,” the princess wrote, “in the same way I received everything that the city generously gave me.”

Read more news for the Netherlands