Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

Máxima
Máxima at her husband's inauguration
Queen consort of the Netherlands
Tenure	30 April 2013 - present
Spouse	Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands
Issue
Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange Princess Alexia Princess Ariane
Full name
Máxima
House	House of Orange-Nassau (by marriage)
Father	Jorge Zorreguieta
Mother	María del Carmen Cerruti Carricart
Born	(1971-05-17) 17 May 1971 Buenos Aires, Argentina
Religion	Roman Catholic

Queen Máxima of the Netherlands (née Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti; born 17 May 1971) is the wife of King Willem-Alexander. On 30 April 2013, she became the first Dutch queen consort since Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont who held that title until 1890.

Early life and education

Born Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 17 May 1971, Queen Máxima is the daughter of Jorge Zorreguieta (born 1928) and his second wife, María del Carmen Cerruti Carricart (born 1944). She has two brothers, a sister and three half-sisters by her father's first wife, Marta López Gil. She is named after her paternal great-grandmother Máxima Bonorino Gonzalez (1874–1965), whose mother Máxima González y de Islas belonged to the family of Justo José de Urquiza († 1870), the first President of Argentina.

She studied at Northlands School in Argentina and worked as an investment banker before graduating with a degree in Economics from the Universidad Católica Argentina in 1995. She subsequently worked for large international finance companies in Argentina, New York and Brussels.

Through her father, she is a descendant of King Afonso III of Portugal, many noble families of the Iberian Peninsula and of Inca princess Catalina Paucar Ocllo, palla del Cuzco, a descendant of Túpac Huallpa.

Relationship with Prince Willem-Alexander

Máxima met Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, in April 1999 in Seville, Spain, during the Seville Spring Fair. In an interview, they stated that he introduced himself only as "Alexander", so that she did not know he was a prince. She thought he was joking when he later told her who he was. They agreed to meet again two weeks later in New York, where Máxima was working for Dresdner Kleinwort Benson. Their relationship apparently began in New York, but she did not meet his parents, Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus, for some time.^{[citation needed]}

The news of the couple's relationship and eventual marriage plans caused controversy in the Netherlands, due to the involvement of Máxima's father as a cabinet minister during the regime of Argentine President Jorge Rafael Videla. At the request of the Dutch Parliament, Michiel Baud, a Dutch professor in Latin American studies, carried out an inquiry into the involvement of Zorreguieta in the Dirty War. Although Zorreguieta claimed that, as a civilian, he was unaware of the Dirty War while he was a cabinet minister, Baud concluded that it would have been unlikely for a person in such a powerful position in the government to be unaware of it. However, Baud's research determined that Máxima's father had not been directly involved with the many deaths during that period. Even so, his possible presence at the royal wedding was debated for several months.

Approval for the marriage was granted by the Dutch parliament (as necessary by law for the Prince of Orange to remain heir to the throne), but Máxima's parents were not invited to attend the wedding.

Marriage

Princess Máxima during her second pregnancy

The couple announced their engagement on 30 March 2001; Máxima addressed the nation in fluent Dutch during the live televised broadcast. Máxima was granted Dutch citizenship by Royal Decree on 17 May 2001 and now has dual citizenship: Argentine and Dutch. She remained a Roman Catholic after her marriage.

Máxima and Willem-Alexander were married on 2 February 2002 in a civil ceremony in the Beurs van Berlage, Amsterdam, which was then followed by a religious ceremony at Amsterdam's Nieuwe Kerk ("New Church").

The couple have three daughters:

• Princess Catharina-Amalia (born 7 December 2003)
• Princess Alexia (born 26 June 2005)
• Princess Ariane (born 10 April 2007)

Royal duties

Máxima and her husband with Prime Minister Mark Rutte in 2010

Queen Máxima focuses on the issue of integration of immigrants into Dutch culture. She was a member of a special parliamentary commission which sought to recommend ways to increase the participation of female immigrants in the workforce. Máxima stresses the importance for immigrants of learning the Dutch language (as she did) in order to fully participate in Dutch society. Dutch is actually the Queen's third language; she is also fluent in Spanish (her native language) and English.

The Queen participates in conferences around the world representing the Netherlands. She was granted a seat in the Dutch Council of State on 20 October 2004, the highest advisory body and court of administration. She became a member of the Committee for Ethnic Minority Women’s Participation; has a seat on the board of governors of the Chair on the Management of Diversity and Integration at the Free University of Amsterdam; she (along with her husband) is a patron of the Orange Fund (established to promote social welfare and cohesion in the Netherlands); and she also chairs the Board of Trustees of the Prince Claus Chair of the University of Utrecht.^{[citation needed]}

Máxima is one of the few royals in the world to be an open supporter of gay rights, and was the first royal to attend an LGBT rights conference on 5 March 2008.

International appointments

Queen Máxima currently serves as the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA). The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon designated her to this role in September 2009 in order to raise awareness on the importance of inclusive financial systems for achieving economic and development goals such as poverty alleviation, food security and education. In her work as UNSGSA, the Queen focuses on how formal financial services such as savings, insurance, credit can prevent people from falling into poverty due to expenditures on healthcare, and people who are not able to protect themselves against rising food prices and poverty because they do not have access to basic savings accounts. The role of the UNSGSA is to foster action by governments, private sector, financial system standard setters, and others towards a more inclusive financial system that works for the poor.

Máxima is also the Honorary Patron of the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) since June 2011. In this role she works with governments and partners to advance the G20 Action Plan on Financial Inclusion, and the G20 Financial Inclusion Peer Learning Program. Previously, the Queen was a member of the Advisors Group for the United Nations' International Year of Microcredit 2005. and until 2009, was a member of UN Advisors Group on Inclusive Financial Sectors.

Titles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

Dutch Royal Family

HM The King * HM The Queen * HRH The Princess of Orange * HRH Princess Alexia * HRH Princess Ariane * HRH Princess Beatrix * HRH Prince Friso HRH Princess Mabel Countess Luana Countess Zaria HRH Prince Constantijn * HRH Princess Laurentien * Countess Eloise Count Claus-Casimir Countess Leonore Extended royal family HRH Princess Irene HRH The Duke of Parma HRH The Duchess of Parma HRH The Countess of Colorno Tjalling ten Cate HRH The Count of Bardi HRH The Marchioness of Sala Albert Brenninkmeijer HRH Princess Margriet * Professor Pieter van Vollenhoven * HH Prince Maurits HH Princess Marilène HH Prince Bernhard HH Princess Annette HH Prince Pieter-Christiaan HH Princess Anita HH Prince Floris HH Princess Aimée HRH Princess Christina Bernardo Guillermo Eva Prinz-Valdes Nicolás Guillermo Juliana Guillermo * Member of the Dutch Royal House

• 17 May 1971 – 2 February 2002: Miss Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti
• 2 February 2002 – 30 April 2013: Her Royal Highness Princess Máxima of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau, Mrs. Van Amsberg
• 30 April 2013 - present: Her Majesty Queen Máxima, Princess of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau, Mrs. van Amsberg

By Royal Decree nr. 41 of 25 January 2002, upon the solemnization of marriage Máxima Zorreguieta was taken up into the Dutch nobility and the titles Princess of the Netherlands and Princess of Orange-Nassau, and the predicate Royal Highness, were formally conferred upon her.

By Royal Decree nr. 42 of 25 January 2002, the Princess was granted her own personal coat of arms and a personal standard.

On 13 May 2011 the Dutch parliament confirmed that when the Prince of Orange ascends the throne, Princess Máxima will take the style and title of Her Majesty Queen Máxima, Princess of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau.

On 28 January 2013, it was announced that Queen Beatrix would abdicate on 30 April in favour of Willem-Alexander. Máxima is the Kingdom's first queen consort since Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, the second wife of William III. She is the first Dutch queen consort to have been born as a commoner. She is also the first Dutch queen consort to be born outside of Europe.

Honours

See also List of honours of the Dutch Royal Family by country

• Netherlands : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion
• Belgium : Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown (2006)
• Brazil: Grand Cross of the Order of the Southern Cross
• Brunei: Member of the Family Order of Honour of Brunei (2013)
• Chile: Grand Cross of the Order of the Merit of Chile
• Luxembourg: Grand Cross of the Order of Adolphe of Nassau (2006)
• Mexico: Sash of the Order of the Aztec Eagle (2009)
• Oman: Member 1st Class of the Order of Sultan Qaboos (10 January 2012)
• Spain: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (2001)
• Sweden: Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star (2010)
• UAE: Member 1st Class of the Union Order (9 January 2012)

External links

• Princess Máxima at the website of the Royal House
• Queen/Reina Máxima non official website; biography, news and fashion

Dutch royalty
Vacant Title last held by Claus von Amsberg as prince consort	Queen consort of the Netherlands 2013 - present	Incumbent