Catharine-Amalia, the first Princess of Orange, is turning 18 on December 7th. “Amalia”, by Claudia de Breij, is being released in the Netherlands today. The book is only available on the Dutch market, so we have our resident Hofdude, Triple-A, to thank for getting us some previews of photos and summarizing the highlights of the book in English. It was a lot of work and it’s greatly appreciated!
Copyright RVD, Dutch Royal Court. We ask that you do not reproduce these photos elsewhere.
The lives of the younger royal set are pretty private, as they should be. Everyone deserves a childhood. That said, their introductions to public life have taken different turns. The Princess of Asturias has been making speeches for the last two years, Princess Ingrid-Alexandra of Norway spoke publicly around the time of her confirmation, the Duchess of Brabant made a public statement on her eighteenth birthday, and Princess Estelle has been highly visible throughout her childhood.
We haven’t heard a lot from the Princess of Orange. She appears with her family on Koningsdag, where she has had a slightly more visible role in the last few years. She was highlighted, somewhat, during her father’s inauguration in 2013. The new book gives us a glimpse of the person outside of the united family block, and for jewel-lovers in particular, there are some promising signs.
“Yea! I love tiaras. Show me a tiara, and I’ll know where it came from. I can recognize all the tiaras in Europe. I used to put them on from my mother. Then there would be one on her make-up table and I would have it directly on my head. I loved my mother’s jewelry anyway. Ever since I was very little. She would be preparing for an important dinner and she would call around the house, ‘Amalia, where’s that ring?’
Catharina-Amalia
Here’s a little interaction between the author and subject. It’s always interesting to see someone on video. It provides a new perspective.
Vandaag verschijnt het boek ‘Amalia’. Claudia de Breij schreef dit boek ter gelegenheid van de 18e verjaardag van Prinses Amalia. Tijdens een videogesprek blikken de Prinses en de schrijfster terug op hun samenwerking en bespreken het eindresultaat. https://t.co/8i4jYeQSEh pic.twitter.com/G83xWPAxmT
— Koninklijk Huis (@koninklijkhuis) November 16, 2021
Good news for us, right? A tiara-lover! Can’t wait for more from this Queen-in-Training!