Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange (; Catharina-Amalia Beatrix Carmen Victoria; born 7 December 2003) is the

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

to the throne of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the constituent countries of

Aruba Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in the southern Caribbean Sea north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná Peninsula, Paraguaná and northwest of Curaçao. In 19 ...

Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, and

Sint Maarten Sint Maarten () is a Countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean region of North America. With a population of 58,477 as of June 2023 on an area of , it encompasses ...

. Catharina-Amalia is the eldest child of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima. She has two younger sisters, Princess Alexia and Princess Ariane. She became

when her father ascended the throne on 30 April 2013.

Early life

Princess Catharina-Amalia Beatrix Carmen Victoria of the Netherlands was born at 17:01 CET on 7 December 2003 in the HMC Bronovo in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, the first child of the then

Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange Willem-Alexander (; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born 27 April 1967) is King of the Netherlands since 30 April 2013. Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht during the reign of his maternal grandmother, Queen Juliana, as the eldest ch ...

(now king) and Princess Máxima. Upon the public announcement of her birth, 101 salute shots were fired at four places in the

Kingdom of the Netherlands The Kingdom of the Netherlands (, ;, , ), commonly known simply as the Netherlands, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united under the monarch of the Netherlands, who functions as head of state. The re ...

Den Helder Den Helder () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Den Helder occupies the northernmost point of the North Holland peninsula. It is home to the country's main naval base. From here the Royal TESO fe ...

and The Hague in the Netherlands,

Willemstad Willemstad ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that is a Countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was the cap ...

in Curaçao, and Oranjestad in Aruba. On 12 June 2004, Catharina-Amalia was

baptised Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

by the Rev. Carel ter Linden in the

Great Church The term "Great Church" () is used in the historiography of early Christianity to mean the period of about 180 to 313, between that of primitive Christianity and that of the legalization of the Christian religion in the Roman Empire, correspond ...

in The Hague. Her godparents are her uncle Prince Constantijn,

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Västergötland (Victoria Ingrid Alice Désirée; born 14 July 1977) is the heir apparent to the Swedish throne, as the eldest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf. If she ascends to the throne as expec ...

, the (then) vice-president of the

Council of State of the Netherlands The Council of State () is a constitutionally established advisory body in the Netherlands to the government and States General that officially consists of members of the royal family and Crown-appointed members generally having political, comm ...

Herman Tjeenk Willink, her mother's friend Samantha Deane, her uncle Martín Zorreguieta, and her father's friend Marc ter Haar. Catharina-Amalia's maternal grandparents, Jorge Zorreguieta and María del Carmen Cerruti, were prohibited from attending her parents' wedding in 2002 due to Zorreguieta's involvement in the regime of General Jorge Rafael Videla, but were present at her baptism, which was a private rather than a state affair. Princess Catharina-Amalia has two younger sisters: Princess Alexia (born in 2005) and Princess Ariane (born in 2007). The family spent the princesses' formative years at Villa Eikenhorst on the De Horsten estate in

Wassenaar Wassenaar (; population: in ) is a municipality and town located in the province of South Holland, on the western coast of the Netherlands. An affluent suburb of The Hague, Wassenaar lies north of that city on the N44/A44 highway near the Nort ...

. In 2019 they moved to Huis ten Bosch Palace in The Hague. Her birthdays are traditionally celebrated with a concert at the Kloosterkerk in The Hague, which is attended by ambassadors and members of the royal household and the

. Catharina-Amalia's paternal grandmother,

Queen Beatrix Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 30 April 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix was born during the reign of her maternal gr ...

, abdicated on 30April 2013 and her father ascended the throne. Catharina-Amalia, as the new heir apparent, assumed the title of

Princess of Orange Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by the stadtholders of, and then the heirs apparent of, ...

, becoming the first to do so in her own right.

Education

In December 2007, Catharina-Amalia started attending Bloemcamp Primary School, a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

primary school in Wassenaar. After graduating from primary school, she attended the Christelijk Gymnasium Sorghvliet in The Hague, where her aunt Princess Laurentien attended. She participated in the student council and attended both the

Model United Nations Model United Nations, also known as Model UN (MUN), is an educational simulation of the United Nations, which teaches students about diplomacy, international relations, global issues, and how the United Nations is run. During a model UN confe ...

of the

International School of The Hague The International School of The Hague (often abbreviated as ISH), established in 1983, is an international primary and secondary school in the vicinity of Kijkduin, The Hague. The school was originally located on Theo Mann-Bouwmeesterlaan in ...

and The Hague International Model United Nations conferences. She graduated in 2021 with distinction. After completing her studies at Sorghvliet, Catharina-Amalia took a gap year, during which she interned at the Orange Fund and volunteered at other organisations. As of 5 September 2022 Catharina-Amalia is studying at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

for a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in Politics, Psychology, Law and Economics (PPLE). During her second month in university, she was moved back to the royal palace from her student housing in Amsterdam due to security risks. In April 2024, King Willem-Alexander revealed that Catharina-Amalia lived in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

in 2023 under the protection of the

Spanish monarchy The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish monarchy is constitu ...

, while she continued her studies online, due to the threats from the Moroccan mafia, a criminal organization dedicated to drug trafficking that has been threatening to kidnap her. In August 2024, the Dutch Broadcasting Foundation announced that Catharina-Amalia joined Amsterdam corps, a Dutch student association. Catharina-Amalia speaks Dutch, English, and Spanish (her mother's first language). Additionally, she took classes in

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin ( ; zh, s=, t=, p=Guānhuà, l=Mandarin (bureaucrat), officials' speech) is the largest branch of the Sinitic languages. Mandarin varieties are spoken by 70 percent of all Chinese speakers over a large geographical area that stretch ...

Public life

Catharina-Amalia and her sisters attended the annual

Koningsdag () or King's Day is a national holiday in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Celebrated on 27 April (26 April if the 27th is a Sunday), the date marks the birth of King Willem-Alexander. When the Dutch monarch is female, the holiday is kno ...

. On 19 June 2010, Catharina-Amalia served as a bridesmaid at the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Daniel Westling. On the occasion of her 18th birthday in 2021, a biography of Catharina-Amalia was published. Similar books were published on the 18th birthday of

Princess Beatrix Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as List of monarchs of the Netherlands, Queen of the Netherlands from 30 April 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix was born ...

in 1956 and Prince Willem-Alexander in 1985. The book titled "Amalia" is written by Dutch entertainer Claudia de Breij. On 8 December 2021, Catharina-Amalia assumed her seat in the Advisory Division of the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

when she reached the

age of majority The age of majority is the threshold of legal adulthood as recognized or declared in law. It is the moment when a person ceases to be considered a minor (law), minor, and assumes legal control over their person, actions, and decisions, thus te ...

at 18 the day before. On the same day, she gave her first public speech at the

meeting in

Kneuterdijk Palace Kneuterdijk Palace ( ) is a former royal palace of the Netherlands located in The Hague, nowadays the seat of the Council of State (Netherlands), Council of State. Built in 1716 in the Louis XIV style by architect Daniel Marot, it was commissione ...

. An outdoor birthday party thrown by her family to mark the occasion was found to be in breach of regulations and restrictions imposed during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, which made her father admit that "it was not right to organize this". On 17 June 2022, together with her parents, she was among the royal guests invited to the celebrations of the 18th birthday of

Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway (born 21 January 2004) is the elder child of Crown Prince Haakon and the second child of Crown Princess Mette-Marit, and a grandchild of Harald V of Norway, King Harald V. She is second in line of succession ...

. This was Catharina-Amalia's first public engagement outside of The Netherlands and the first occasion to which she was allowed to wear a

tiara A tiara (, ) is a head ornament adorned with jewels. Its origins date back to ancient Greco-Roman world. In the late 18th century, the tiara came into fashion in Europe as a prestigious piece of jewelry to be worn by women at formal occasions ...

. On 20 September 2022, together with her parents, Catharina-Amalia attended

Prinsjesdag Prinsjesdag () is the day on which the reigning Monarchy of the Netherlands, monarch of the Netherlands addresses a joint session of the States General of the Netherlands, States-General of the Netherlands (consisting of the Senate of the Neth ...

, where the King addressed a joint session of the

States General of the Netherlands The States General of the Netherlands ( ) is the Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate (Netherlands), Senate () and the House of Representatives (Netherlands), House of R ...

to outline government policy for the upcoming parliamentary session. In November 2022, Catharina-Amalia and her family visited an exhibition at Nieuwe Kerk dedicated to

Queen Juliana Juliana (; Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina; 30 April 1909 – 20 March 2004) was List of monarchs of the Netherlands, Queen of the Netherlands from 1948 until her abdication in 1980. Juliana was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Duke ...

. In December 2022, she visited the three branches of Dutch military: Air Force, Army and Navy. In January and February 2023, Catharina-Amalia went on a tour of the

Dutch Caribbean The Dutch Caribbean (historically known as the Dutch West Indies) are the New World territories, colonies, and countries (former and current) of the Dutch Empire and the Kingdom of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea, mainly the norther ...

with her parents. They visited Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten,

Bonaire Bonaire is a Caribbean island in the Leeward Antilles, and is a Caribbean Netherlands, special municipality (officially Public body (Netherlands), "public body") of the Netherlands. Its capital is the port of Kralendijk, on the west (Windward an ...

Sint Eustatius Sint Eustatius, known locally as Statia, is an island in the Caribbean. It is a Caribbean Netherlands, special municipality (officially "Public body (Netherlands), public body") of the Netherlands. The island is in the northern Leeward Islands ...

, and

Saba Saba may refer to: Places * Saba (island), an island of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea * Sabá, a municipality in the department of Colón, Honduras * Șaba or Șaba-Târg, the Romanian name for Shabo, a village in Ukraine * Saba, ...

. It was her first official royal tour. In April 2023, Catharina-Amalia and her sister Princess Ariane attended King's Day concert in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

. On 5 May 2023, she accompanied her grandmother to a reception held at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

the evening before the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom. In June 2023, she and her parents attended a state banquet honoring the wedding of Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan and Rajwa Al Saif. She carried her first solo official trip abroad in October 2023 by attending Prince Christian of Denmark's 18th birthday celebration banquet at Christiansborg Palace, Denmark. Catharina-Amalia attended her first state banquet, honouring King Felipe VI and

Queen Letizia of Spain Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano (; born 15 September 1972) is List of Spanish royal consorts, Queen of Spain as the wife of King Felipe VI. Letizia was born in Oviedo, Asturias. She worked as a journalist for ''ABC (newspaper), ABC'' and EFE before ...

, in April 2024. In June 2025, Catharina-Amalia underwent surgery after falling from a horse and fracturing her arm.

Public image

Catharina-Amalia has experienced repeated fat shaming by tabloids and on social media since she was young, most notably by the Portuguese celebrity magazine '' Caras'' labeling her as plus size. In response to the body shaming, members of the public have expressed their support for the princess, calling the fat shaming against her unacceptable.

Annual allowance

Catharina-Amalia became entitled to an annual allowance from the Dutch state upon reaching the age of 18. This allowance consisted of two parts: a personal income component of €296,000 and a €1,338,000 allocation for staff and operational expenses. Following her high school graduation, Catharina-Amalia opted to decline the annual allowance until she completed her studies. In May 2024, citing changed circumstances, Catharina-Amalia announced she would begin utilizing her annual allowance for staff and operational expenses, starting in January 2025. This decision comes despite her ongoing studies. Her annual allowance for staff and operational expenses has continued to increase in recent years and amounted to €1.5 million in 2024.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Royal Monogram of Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands

Titles

Catharina-Amalia has been Princess of the Netherlands and Princess of Orange-Nassau since birth. Until her father's accession, she was therefore styled "Her Royal Highness Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau". On 30 April 2013, she additionally assumed the

substantive title A substantive title, in the United Kingdom, is a title of nobility which is owned in its own right, as opposed to titles shared among cadets, borne as a courtesy title by a peer's relatives, or acquired through marriage. Current monarchies * ...

. She has since been known as "Her Royal Highness Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau, The Princess of Orange", although is styled "Her Royal Highness The Princess of Orange"

Honours

National

Order of the Netherlands Lion ribbon - Knight Grand Cross

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands (7 December 2021). * Knight of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau (7 December 2021).

Foreign

* : **

Member 1st Class of the Order of the Renaissance (15 April 2025) * : ** PRT_Order_of_Christ_-_Grand_Cross_BAR

Grand Cross of the Order of Christ (10 December 2024) * : ** ESP Isabella Catholic Order GC

Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (GYC, 10 April 2024)

Honorific eponyms

Geographic locations

* : Princess Amalia Wind Farm in the offshore of

IJmuiden n IJ (digraph) and that should remain the only places where they are used. > IJmuiden () is a port town in the Netherlands, Dutch province of North Holland. It is the main town in the municipality of Velsen which lies mainly to the south-ea ...

North Holland North Holland (, ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht (province), Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevola ...

Structures

* : Princess Amalia Bridge in Scharloo,

Other

* : ''Prinses Amalia'', a

Douglas C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II. During the war the C-47 was used for tro ...

once owned by her great-grandfather,

Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld (later Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands; 29 June 1911 – 1 December 2004) was Prince consort of the Netherlands, Prince of the Netherlands from 6 September 1948 to 30 April 1980 as the husband of Queen J ...

. * : ''Vox Amalia'', a dredging vessel built by Dutch maritime contracting company Van Oord. * : Regiment Huzaren Prinses Catharina-Amalia, a regiment of the

Royal Netherlands Army The Royal Netherlands Army (, KL) is the Ground warfare, land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised making the Dutch standing a ...

. * : ''Amalia Waltz'', a dance music composed by John Nathan Suarez and presented to the Dutch Royal Family by Curaçaoan governor

Lucille George-Wout Lucille Andrea George-Wout (born 26 February 1950) is a Curaçaoan politician currently serving as the second governor of Curaçao since 4 November 2013. Political career George-Wout was a member of parliament for the Partido MAN in the Island ...

Arms

Notes

References

External links

The Princess of Orange
at the website of the Royal House of the Netherlands , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands 2003 births Living people Dutch people of German descent Dutch people of Argentine descent Dutch people of Portuguese descent Dutch people of Italian descent Dutch people of Basque descent Female heirs apparent House of Orange-Nassau Nobility from The Hague People from Wassenaar Princes of Orange Princesses of Orange-Nassau Princesses of Orange Dutch people of Spanish descent Daughters of kings Protestant Church Christians from the Netherlands Members of the Council of State (Netherlands) Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Grand Crosses of the Order of Christ (Portugal) Recipients of the Order of the Renaissance (Oman)