Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange

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Crown Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, (Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand van Oranje-Nassau) (born April 27, 1967) is the eldest son of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and is the heir apparent to the Dutch throne, with the style HRH The Prince of Orange (in Dutch: "Z.K.H. De Prins van Oranje").

1 Heir Apparent and Titles
2 Early life and education
3 Work and Royal Duties
4 Leisure activities
5 Marriage
6 Children
7 External link

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Heir Apparent and Titles

Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand van Oranje-Nassau, Prince of Orange, Prince of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau, Jonkheer of Amsberg is the eldest son of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and her late husband, Prince Claus von Amsberg. He is the first heir-apparent to the Dutch throne since Prince Alexander, son of William III, died in 1884. If he survives his mother, he would assume the throne and the regal name William IV of the Netherlands (because of tradition) or Alexander I of the Netherlands (because he is called Alexander by his family) upon his mother's eventual abdication or death. If he ascends the throne he will be the Netherlands' first male monarch in over a century.

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Early life and education

Prince Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht. His godparents are Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, Prince Ferdinand von Bismarck, Professor Dr. Jelle Zijlstra, Gosta van Amsberg, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, and Renee Smith. He was educated at a Protestant grammar school in The Hague, where he mixed with children from all social backgrounds. He also attended the United World College of the Atlantic in Wales prior to university. He has been groomed in state affairs to assume the Dutch throne one day. He earned an academic degree in history from Leiden University and is interested in international water management issues.

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Work and Royal Duties

Prince Willem-Alexander is an honorary member of the World Commission on Water for the 21st Century and patron of the Global Water Partnership, a body established by the World Bank, the UN, and the Swedish Ministry of Development.

The prince is a member of the Raad van State, the highest council to the Dutch government that is chaired by his mother, Queen Beatrix. As part of his Royal duties, he holds commissions in the Dutch Army, Navy and Air Force and was a patron of the Dutch Olympic Games Committee until 1998 when he was made a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

On behalf of the Crown, the Prince carries out various other representative duties.

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Leisure activities

He is an avid aircraft pilot and sportsman. In 1989, the Prince flew as a volunteer for the "African Medical Research and Education Foundation" (AMREF) in Kenya, and in 1991 he spent a month flying for the Kenya Wildlife Service.

Using the name "Van Buren," one of the less well-known surnames of the House of Orange-Nassau, he has participated in the New York City marathon, where his aunt, Princess Christina, and several cousins live. In the Netherlands, he was a participant in the Frisian Eleven Cities ice skating marathon.

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Marriage

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On February 2, 2002, he married Máxima Zorreguieta (born 1971), an Argentine woman of French, Spanish, and Italian ancestry who, prior to their marriage, worked as an investment banker in New York City. In choosing her, the prince continued the Dutch monarchy's tradition of choosing a controversial partner.

Like all Dutch monarchs, Prince Willem-Alexander is a nominal member of the Protestant Dutch Reformed church but, unlike the highly controversial 1964 marriage to a Roman Catholic by his aunt, Princess Irene, religion was not a major issue in the Prince's marriage. However, under the British Act of Settlement, Prince Willem-Alexander forfeited his (distant) succession rights to the British throne, because he married a Catholic.

The issue of Máxima's father, Jorge Horacio Zorreguieta Stefanini was rather sensitive: he was a civilian member of the Videla regime, a brutal military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. As a result of the controversy, Mr. Zorreguieta chose not to attend the royal wedding.

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Children

Willem-Alexander and Máxima have two daughters. The older, Catharina-Amalia Beatrix Carmen Victoria, Princess Catharina-Amalia for short (the royal family calls her Amalia) was born December 7, 2003 in The Hague. She is second in line to the Dutch throne and named after Amalia von Solms.

Their second daughter, Alexia Juliana Marcela Laurentien, was born June 26, 2005 in The Hague. She was named after her father and is third in line to the throne.

The family lives at the estate 'De Horsten' in Wassenaar.

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