Princess Máxima

Princess Máxima was born Máxima Zorreguieta on 17 May 1971 in Buenos Aires (Argentina). She is the fourth daughter of Mr Jorge Horacio Zorreguieta and the eldest daughter of Mrs Maria del Carmen Cerruti de Zorreguieta. She has two brothers, one sister and three half-sisters.

Princess Máxima grew up in Buenos Aires. She received a bilingual education at Northlands School, where she obtained her baccalaureate in 1988. In 1995 the Princess graduated in economics from the Universidad Católica Argentina.

From 1989 to 1990, whilst studying at the university, Princess Máxima worked for Mercado Abierto S.A., where she carried out research on software for the financial markets. From 1992 to 1995 she worked in the Sales Department of Boston Securities S.A. in Buenos Aires. She also taught English to children and adults, and mathematics to secondary school pupils and first-year students.

From July 1996 to March 1998 Princess Máxima worked at HSBC James Capel Inc. in New York, where she was Vice-President of Latin American Institutional Sales. From then until August 1999 she was Vice-President of the Emerging Markets division of Dresdner Kleinwort Benson in New York, where she specialised in Equities. She then moved to Deutsche Bank in New York, where she was Vice-President of Institutional Sales until May 2000. After that, Princess Máxima worked until April 2001 at the EU Representative Office of Deutsche Bank in Brussels.

On 30 March 2001 it was announced that she had become engaged to HRH the Prince of Orange. She was granted Dutch nationality on 17 May 2001.

On 3 July 2001 the Plenary Session of the States-General passed a bill tabled by the government granting consent for the marriage of the Prince of Orange to Máxima Zorreguieta. The Mayor of Amsterdam, M.J. Cohen, conducted the civil marriage ceremony on 2 February 2002 in the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam. The Church blessing was conducted in the Nieuwe Kerk church by the Reverend C.A. ter Linden.

The Royal Couple will reside for the time being at the present home of the Prince, at Noordeinde 66 in The Hague, next to the Royal Palace.

Since her engagement, Princess Máxima has been engaged in a process of familiarisation with the society of the Netherlands and of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. Among other things her programme consists of the study of the Dutch language, history and constitutional law. Princess Máxima will take up a seat in the Council of State.