The visit of the King and the Queen

King Willem- Alexander and Queen Máxima will start their visit to the Dutch Caribbean on St. Maarten on November 12, writes The Daily Herald. The Dutch Government Information Service RVD released the tentative data of the royal visit to the six islands on Friday. The King and Queen will arrive in St. Maarten on Tuesday, November 12. They also will be in St. Maarten the following day and will travel on to Saba on Thursday, November 14. The royal couple will go to St. Eustatius on Friday, November 15, and on to Bonaire on Saturday, November 16. After a private day on Sunday, they will visit Curaçao on Monday, November 18, and Tuesday, November 19. The last two days, November 20 and 21, are reserved for Aruba.

The focus of this first visit since Willem-Alexander became King on April 30 is on the people of the six islands. The idea is that as many people as possible can see and meet the new king and queen. The Governors of Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten and the Island Governors of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba have been requested to draft programmes for the visits to their islands. Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk will accompany the king and queen during their visit.