Princess Ariane of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau (Ariane Wilhelmina Máxima Inés; born 10 April 2007) is the third and youngest daughter of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima. Princess Ariane is a member of the Dutch Royal House and currently third in the line of succession to the Dutch throne.

Life

Princess Ariane was born in the in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

at 21:56 local time on 10 April 2007 as the third child and youngest daughter of

King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands Willem-Alexander (; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born ) is King of the Netherlands, having acceded to the throne following his mother's abdication in 2013. Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht as the oldest child of Princess Beatr ...

and

Queen Máxima of the Netherlands Máxima (born Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti; 17 May 1971) is Queen of the Netherlands as the wife of King Willem-Alexander. Argentine by birth, she worked in marketing when she met Willem-Alexander, eldest son and heir apparent of Queen Beatrix ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Balkenende Jan Pieter "Jan Peter" Balkenende Jr. (; born 7 May 1956) is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 July 2002 to 14 October 2010. Balkenende studied H ...

addressed the nation shortly afterwards and said both mother and child were healthy and doing well. The next morning, her father appeared on television with his new daughter. The names of the baby were announced on 26 October, when the birth was registered in The Hague. Princess Ariane was

baptised Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

in the

Kloosterkerk, The Hague The Kloosterkerk (or Cloister Church) is a church on the Lange Voorhout in The Hague, Netherlands. The church and its accompanying monastery were first built in 1397. Rijksmonument report The church is known today as the church where Beatrix of th ...

on 29 October 2007.

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

Deodaat van der Boon used water from the

Jordan River The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...

to baptize the princess, who was wearing the

christening gown Baptismal clothing is apparel worn by Christian proselytes (and in some cases, by clergy members also) during the ceremony of baptism. White clothes are generally worn because the person being baptized is "fresh like the driven manna". In certain ...

that Princess Wilhelmina first wore in 1880. Over 850 guests were invited to attend, including Princess Máxima's parents and Dutch prime minister

Jan Peter Balkenende Jan Pieter "Jan Peter" Balkenende Jr. (; born 7 May 1956) is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 July 2002 to 14 October 2010. Balkenende studied ...

. Her godparents are Valeria Delger, Inés Zorreguieta, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg, Tijo Baron Collot d’Escury, and Anton Friling. Princess Ariane speaks Dutch, English and Spanish.

Hospitalisation

On 2 May 2007, Princess Ariane was admitted to the Leiden University Medical Center with a suspected

lung The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of ...

infection. She was released from the hospital on 5 May 2007 after treatment for her bacterial and viral infection. On 13 June 2007,

Prince Willem-Alexander Willem-Alexander (; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born ) is King of the Netherlands, having acceded to the throne following his mother's abdication in 2013. Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht as the oldest child of Princess Bea ...

and Princess Máxima released a thank you note "not only for the congratulations upon Ariane's birth but also for the best wishes they received upon her hospitalisation" and released a third official picture with their newborn daughter. The couple reportedly received over 30,000 letters of well-wishers. On 8 October 2009, Princess Ariane was again admitted to a hospital, in which she had to stay for one night, due to a respiratory infection.

Titles, styles and arms

Ariane's full title and style is: ''

Her Royal Highness Royal Highness is a style used to address or refer to some members of royal families, usually princes or princesses. Monarchs and their consorts are usually styled ''Majesty''. When used as a direct form of address, spoken or written, it t ...

'' Princess Ariane of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau. ( nl, Hare Koninklijke Hoogheid Ariane Wilhelmina Máxima Inés, Prinses der Nederlanden, Prinses van Oranje-Nassau).

References

External links

Prinses Ariane
(official website of the Dutch Royal House) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ariane Of The Netherlands 2007 births Living people House of Orange-Nassau Royal children Dutch people of German descent Dutch people of Argentine descent Dutch people of Basque descent Dutch people of Italian descent Dutch people of Portuguese descent Dutch people of Spanish descent Princesses of Orange-Nassau Protestant Church Christians from the Netherlands People from Wassenaar Daughters of kings