NewsPrincess Amalia: Daring too much normality

Princess Amalia: Daring too much normality

Created: 10/17/2022, 4:05 p.m

Kronprinzessin Amalia zu Beginn ihres Studiums in Amsterdam.
Crown Princess Amalia at the beginning of her studies in Amsterdam. © dpa

The Dutch princess Amalia is approachable, recently she lives and studies in Amsterdam. After a planned kidnapping, she will probably have to live in the palace again.

The announcement was clear: “Our services are working day and night to protect Princess Amalia’s safety,” Dutch Justice Minister Dilan Yesilgöz said over the weekend. The Dutch royal couple had previously made the threat to their eldest daughter public in a video message. “She can’t leave the house anymore. This has enormous consequences for her life,” said Queen Maxima, King Willem Alexander stood by and nodded. The heir to the Dutch throne, Princess Amalia, 18, is being threatened by kidnappers.

Everything was different though. Last month, Amalia, Princess of Orange and the Netherlands, began her studies in psychology, political science and political science. In bustling Amsterdam, not in the cute little university town of Leiden, as is usual with the royal family. A residential building was rented, picturesquely situated on a canal in the middle of the metropolis. A symbol: the future queen is approachable.

Amalia had already proven her independence before. It largely foregoes the annual appanage of around 1.6 million euros. She had already spoken about depressive moods and body shaming as a teenager. “For years I cried myself to sleep,” she confessed last year shortly before her 18th birthday.

Studying and living in Amsterdam was a conscious attempt to dare more normality. Or whatever is possible with four security guards accompanying you on your way to the lecture hall by bike. The mere idea is gone now. Amalia only leaves the royal palace in The Hague via side entrances, most of her studies are done via Zoom. As with so many of the Corona generation. “These are questions that I cannot go into detail. Not on the type of threats and not on specific security measures,” Minister Yesilgöz said.

The newspaper “De Telegraaf” reported weeks ago about possible kidnapping plans. They were directed against the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and the Crown Princess. Serious security measures have now been taken. The drug mafia is said to be behind the plans. “If the threat comes from this corner, you have to take it seriously,” said criminologist Emile Kolthoff in a TV interview, adding: “The attacks on lawyer Derk Wiersum and journalist Peter R. de Vries have shown what is possible.”

Wiersum was murdered in 2019, de Vries last year. Both were involved in solving crimes committed by Ridouan Taghi’s drug cartel. Taghi is currently in prison. Speculations about liberation attempts made the rounds again and again. Now the assumption is that the heir to the throne should be kidnapped and only released in exchange for the cartel boss. “The point of this type of threat is: You never know when it’s over,” says criminologist Kolthoff, explaining the criminals’ calculations.

Justice Minister Yesilgöz, on the other hand, is determined. “Security is freedom. The freedom to be yourself,” she said over the weekend. Expenditure on fighting organized crime in the Netherlands is expected to increase from 40 million euros in 2023 to 100 million euros a year in 2025. “Unfortunately, our country is an important hub in the international drug trade – with serious consequences,” says the Yesilgöz template for parliament. The fight against organized crime is now at the top of the list in the Netherlands. Yesilgöz: “The consequences are terrible. First of all for the princess.”

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