King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima
Cheering during a state visit to Austria
Queen Máxima and her husband Willem Alexander, Alexander Van der Bellen and Doris Schmidauer (from left to right) in the Vienna Hofburg.
© imago/ANP
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima have arrived in Vienna. It starts with a laugh, gusts of wind and even cheering royal fans.
The Dutch royal couple Willem-Alexander (55) and Máxima (51) started their official state visit to the Austrian capital Vienna on Monday morning. As reported by the newspaper “Krone” among others, the two were received with military honors by Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen (78) and his wife Doris Schmidauer (58) in the Vienna Hofburg. Dressed all in red, Máxima struggled to keep her wide-brimmed hat on her head due to the strong wind. Again and again she had to fix and hold him with her hand.
Nevertheless, Máxima had a great time in Vienna: in several photos she can be seen laughing heartily when she is greeted by Van der Bellen and Schmidauer. According to Austrian media reports, the streets were lined with numerous royal fans who waved to Willem-Alexander and Maxima on their way to the Federal President and took numerous photos. Even jubilation is said to have broken out in phases.
That is still on the agenda for Queen Máxima and King Willem-Alexander
In the afternoon, the Dutch continue with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Shoah Wall of Names in memory of the terrible crimes of the Holocaust. Later, an appointment with the Mayor of Vienna Michael Ludwig (61) for the obligatory entry in the city’s Golden Book is on the agenda. The first day of their trip to Austria ends after a visit to Parliament. On Tuesday, among other things, a visit to a bread factory, a meeting with refugees from Ukraine and a visit to the national library are planned.
On Wednesday, Willem-Alexander and Máxima will continue by train to Graz, the provincial capital of Styria. From there, the return journey to their Dutch homeland is to be started.