Prince of Orange

Prince Willem-Alexander was born on 27 April 1967, the first child of Princess Beatrix and Prince Claus of the Netherlands. The Prince was born at University Hospital Utrecht and spent his early childhood at Drakensteyn Castle in the municipality of Lage Vuursche. Prince Willem-Alexander has two brothers: Prince Johan Friso (b. 1968) and Prince Constantijn (b. 1969).

Prince Willem-Alexander received his primary education at the Nieuwe Baarnse School in Baarn and started his secondary education at the Baarns Lyceum.

The Prince of Orange  

On the inauguration of his mother as Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands on 30 April 1980 Prince Willem-Alexander, as her eldest child, became first in line of succession. As heir to the throne, he bears the title Prince of Orange, which has been held by the Sovereign's eldest son since 1815.

In 1981 the Royal Family moved from Drakensteyn Castle to Huis ten Bosch Palace in The Hague. The Prince continued his secondary education at the Eerste Vrijzinnig Christelijk Lyceum in The Hague, and completed it at Atlantic College in Llantwit Major, Wales, where he gained an International Baccalaureate in 1985.

Prince Willem-Alexander completed his military service before enrolling as a history student in the Arts Faculty of Leiden University in 1987. During his student years he lived in a house on Rapenburg in Leiden. His studies included general and Dutch history, economic history, political science and constitutional law, EC law, international law, human rights and economics.

The Prince concluded his studies with a dissertation on the Dutch response to France's decision under President de Gaulle to leave NATO's integrated command structure. On 2 July 1993, the Prince was awarded a degree in history.

On 2 February 2002, Prince Willem-Alexander married Ms Máxima Zorreguieta. The marriage took place in Amsterdam.

Military career

The Prince of Orange performed his military service in the Royal Netherlands Navy from August 1985 to January 1987. After several months' training at the Royal Naval Institute in Den Helder, the Prince served on board the frigates HMS Tromp and HMS Abraham Crijnssen. In 1988 he received refresher training, spending several weeks as a duty officer on board the frigate HMS Van Kinsbergen.

After graduating in 1993, the Prince gained his Military Pilot's Licence with 334 Transport Squadron of the Royal Netherlands Air Force.

In 1994 Prince Willem-Alexander spent several months at the Netherlands Defence College, mainly studying aspects of the Royal Netherlands Army and Air Force. He also paid a number of working visits, including to the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps and the Royal Netherlands Military Constabulary. In 1995 and 1996, Prince Willem-Alexander visited the troops stationed in Bosnia, the Dutch-German Army Corps, as well as NATO manoeuvres in Norway. In 2001 he visited Dutch units stationed in Ethiopia and Eritrea as part of the UNMEE operation (United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea).

The Prince holds the military ranks of Captain in the Royal Naval Reserve, Colonel in the Royal Netherlands Army Reserve and Group Captain in the Royal Netherlands Air Force. In December 2001 he also received the Officer’s Long Service Cross. The Prince is also Aide-de-Camp Extraordinary to Her Majesty the Queen.

The Royal Family  

Following his extensive induction programme in the armed forces, the Prince turned his attention to the broad field of law enforcement. He then immersed himself in the constitutional structure of the Kingdom and the functioning of central and lower-tier governments by visiting ministries and High Councils of State. In this connection the Prince also made study visits to European institutions. He concluded this period with a programme focusing on the business community.

The Prince of Orange represents the Royal House at official events in all areas of life. He regularly represents the Queen at international events or accompanies her on state visits, for example the state visit to Russia in 2001. In addition to his official engagements, Prince Willem-Alexander also makes many working visits within the Netherlands, taking an interest in a wide range of social issues. He also regularly visits the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. His personal interests are focused in particular on two areas, water management and sport.

Water management

The Prince attends, and often addresses, international conferences and symposia in the field of water management. Since September 2000 he has chaired the Integral Water Management Commission in the Netherlands, which acts as an advisory body to the government. He visits businesses and institutions active in the water sector both in the Netherlands and beyond in order to acquaint himself locally with developments in the field. The Prince is patron of the Global Water Partnership, a body established by the World Bank, the United Nations and the Swedish Ministry of Development Cooperation with the aim of turning international environmental agreements into projects and programmes designed to achieve integrated water management. In March 2000 he chaired the Second World Water Forum in The Hague. In 2002 the Prince is a member of a Panel of Eminent persons which has been asked by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to make recommendations for a UN conference on sustainable development, to be held later this year in Johannesburg. The Prince is sitting on the Panel as an expert in the field of water management. 

Hobbies and other interests

Up to 1998, Prince Willem-Alexander was patron of the Netherlands Olympic Committee* Netherlands Sports Federation. In that capacity he attended the Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer in 1994, the Summer Olympics in Atlanta in 1996 and the Winter Olympics in Nagano in 1998. The Prince has been a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since February 1998. He is also a member of the Olympic Solidarity Commission, one of the IOC's permanent bodies.

Prince Willem-Alexander is keen on sports, both as a participant and as a spectator. He regularly attends major sporting fixtures involving the Dutch national teams. The Prince himself engages in a number of sports, including tennis, running, skiing, sailing, golf, rock climbing, horse-riding, skating and diving. In 1986 he completed the Frisian eleven-town skating tour (Elfstedentocht) and in 1992 he ran the New York Marathon.

Aviation

Flying is another of Prince Willem-Alexander's great interests. In 1985 he obtained his Private Pilot's Licence (Second Class), followed in 1987 by his Commercial Pilot's Licence (with Instrument Rating). In the summer vacation of 1989, the Prince flew as a volunteer for the medical aid organisation African Medical Research and Education Foundation (AMREF) in Kenya and in 1991 he spent a month flying for the Kenya Wildlife Service. In 1989, the Prince obtained an endorsement on his commercial pilot’s licence, enabling him to fly heavy multi-engined aircraft. In order to maintain this standard, the Prince regularly pilots the government PH-KBX aircraft, and occasionally flies KLM City Hopper's Fokker 70 aircraft as a guest pilot.